Starbucks Helps Poor Farmers In Poor Countries. Naturally, Anti-Globalization Protesters Hate It

Last year, Starbucks helped more than 72,000 farmers in the developing world earn a fair living from their family farms with its Farmer Loans program. They're working with the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International to ensure that poor producers take control over their lives and get a fair price for their product. On the environmental front, they're helping conserve forests in the areas with their partner coffee growers. You could say that they set the standard for how an ethical company can operate.

Which explains why Starbucks is the target of choice for the anti-globalization movement's protesters. It's not that Starbucks is a symbol of American cultural imperialism or greedy capitalism. On the contrary, the way Starbucks does business and the good it does in the world is fatal to the protesters' world view. So they lash out against that which they cannot understand.

Join in solidarity with the poor and the downtrodden. Enjoy your grande latte.