How Equal Exchange Reclaims Power in Our Food System

In honor of National Co-op Month, we’re shining a light on Equal Exchange, a worker-owned business that has been building long-term, economically just partnerships with small-scale organic farmer cooperatives around the world for the past four decades. The organization was founded to create an alternative trade model that puts power back in the hands of farmers and eaters.

Read on to learn about the various types of cooperative structures embodied by the Equal Exchange brand, featured on Cornucopia’s Independent Organic Brand List:

Producer co-ops: Coffee is typically grown in high altitudes by small producers – 60 percent of the world’s coffee is produced by an estimated 12.5 million people working on farms no larger than 50 acres. Yet the coffee industry is increasingly controlled by multinational corporations. Equal Exchange buys coffee and other products directly from producer co-ops, ensuring dignity for member farmers by going above and beyond Fair Trade standards to redefine ethical trade. These small farmer co-ops run their businesses democratically and decide how to invest in their communities, whether through shared organic compost production facilities or farmer-to-farmer training programs. Equal Exchange’s green bag coffee, which features Cornucopia’s logo, is imported from farmers cooperatives that prioritize regenerative organic practices that are more resilient to climate change.