Coffee, Capitalism and Social Justice
Lisa Kahle-Piasecki, Ph.D; Matthew Bereza, Ph.D; Joseph Laumer

Abstract
Coffee is as seductive of a beverage as it is controversial as a commodity. One of the most traded, and consumed, products on the planet is served with a back-story of human rights abuses, plantation labor practices, and inequality. This conflicted commodity serves as the focus of an interdisciplinary qualitative study—to explore the international management of coffee through a lens of social justice and highlight examples of humane coffee commerce in the Americas. The researchers traveled to Ecuador in 2018 with six students. The results of the experience indicated that students gained a unique perspective through in vivo research.

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