Collegiate Times

The Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices agreed upon in 2001 were a needed step towards curbing the long-developed ills of the coffee growers worldwide; further, Fair Trade coffee purchases are always another move in the best direction. Yet, while Starbucks is sure to secure their supply for customers (CT Nov. 1, 2005, ?Starbucks Protects ... ?), the situation at home becomes grim. And it?s the problems here that typically get more notice.

On the American front, it is the local coffee shop owners and workers that fall slain against the seemingly unstoppable competition of the coffee giant. In Starbucks? 2002 Annual Report, the company points out its current stateside situation.

?As a result of its expansion strategy of clustering stores in existing markets, Starbucks has experienced a certain level of cannibalization of sales of existing stores by new stores as store concentration has increased ... However, management believes such cannibalization has been justified by incremental sales and return(s), ? it said in the Starbucks.com Annual Reports.

So, not only are they sure to firmly defeat local competition with their clustering, but they also force their own store owners to compete against the other Starbucks around the block and down the street and a few stories above them. This practice is horrendous and with over 4,500 operating locations, the effect shows no sign of diminishing. A corporate practice of pursuing effectual defeat of all competition stymies local diversity and, naturally, relieves us of our choice.

It?s difficult to work against a machine that has but one purpose, but there are ways to curtail the negative effects of this type of consummate dominance. Buy local. There are countless local coffee shops in the Blacksburg area and plenty of opportunities to make a statement against the progressive defeat of local coffee shops. Just 18 months ago, there were no Starbucks in this Virginia Tech community; now there are three, one being in Christiansburg. How many will there be another 18 months from now? Four? Seven? Will you start to notice a Starbucks perched right beside every BT stop? I hope not. Check out your coffee options; Blacksburg is full of them.