In Designer Coffee Age, Growers Go Hungry

Jose Alerio grows some of the finest coffee beans in the world, which sell for premium prices in the United States and Europe.

But in Colombia, farmers like Alerio aren’t seeing any of the profits.

“I think we’re going to starve to death,” he says. “I can’t afford to keep this farm going.”

Alerio’s five children got just one meal the day ABC News visited — beans and bananas.

It really is remarkable, given world demand and what people pay for coffee that this is the case. Nevertheless:

In 1997, Colombian growers were paid $3.80 for a pound of coffee. This year, they’ve been getting 70 cents.

And the implications go beyond that steamin’ cup o’ joe (mmmm, coffee…):

In Colombia, the crisis is about much more than coffee. It threatens to undermine U.S. efforts in the South American country to combat guerrillas and the drug trade — as guerrillas find willing recruits amongst unemployed farm hands and as desperately poor coffee growers switch to growing heroin and cocaine to keep their families fed.

Yup, the fun never stops.