Coffee and the Dream of Justice - by Little Bird #35
I dreamed that I was dozing on a bench at work. All around me were cafes serving Americanos, flat whites, cortados and espressos. Cheese specialists making cheeses with names you can't even pronounce, but the milk comes from cows that have their own masseur.
I heard the clatter of fresh, hip people sipping oat flat whites and talking about where they got their tans.
It's wonderful that there are so many people in Berlin who have enough money to afford a lifestyle that is not only fulfilling but also good for the environment. Who can support this sipping of fair trade coffee without feeling guilty because they paid €6 for their coffee that comes from the other side of the world. Who can all support fair trade fashion, vegan shoes, natural wine and organic bread.
To do something good for the world, you have to pay for it. We, the bike couriers, are in between. We deliver fairly (expensively) priced natural products to where they are consumed. But is it fair that we, as transporters in between, constantly have to worry about whether we can pay our rent? That we will get sick?
In my dream, I woke up and shouted: "What about us? What part of the pie do we get? Our tan has weird edges and burns like hell!" In a city like Berlin, where luxury and sustainability go hand in hand, those who make this lifestyle possible are often forgotten. We deliver your organic bread and natural wines, but our working conditions are far from the glamorous environment we work in.
In my dream I demanded justice, in reality we must continue to demand it. For a sustainable future to be possible, it must be sustainable for everyone. It is not enough to pay €6 for a coffee when the people who deliver the beans to your table can barely live on their wages. Justice begins with recognizing the invisible hands that hold society together.
So the next time you sip your €6 oat cappuccino, think about why it is so expensive and why it is not more expensive.
The Berlin bicycle courier "Little Bird #35" belongs to the Berlin courier service CROW, which specializes in replacing cars with environmentally friendly cargo bikes. CROW offers efficient cargo bike transport and the sale of reliable cargo bikes, thereby contributing to improving the quality of life in the city. The sustainable courier service also promotes a cooperative way of working. Information at crowberlin.de
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