Social Change and My Community by aidenbeens

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 00:56:25 UTC

This article communicates the message that baristas are more than just fun latte art, and are a rather vital part of the machine that is the economy. They represent the entire coffee industry and the humanity behind it.

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 00:58:52 UTC

I actually found this through an ad while searching up "barista + sustainability" - it's one of the many modern examples of people limiting their coffee waste.

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 01:00:53 UTC

While I don't agree with a lot that Starbucks has to say politically, this is an enlightening message about coffee sustainability.

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 01:04:15 UTC

This article explains the history of coffee and its effects on/place in society. It mentions its patriotic origins and the symbolism for new and progressive thought it had through the 1700's to today.

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 01:06:56 UTC

King Louis XIV - an important figure in the history of coffee

aidenbeens — 2024-04-07 01:16:43 UTC

Michelle, one of my older coworkers that has been in the coffee community for several years. Here she is performing acrobatics (putting up syrups).

Starbucks Union!

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 20:30:44 UTC

The first thing mentioned in the chapter is the recognition of union workers in the Starbucks corporation back in 2021. Workers protested and advocated for having more say in their jobs. This was a large pressure of capitalism in the workplace for baristas.

Impact of the Economy

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 20:34:13 UTC

The entirety of Chapter 5 is about the influence of the economy on people, whether it be capitalism itself, a business trying to stay afloat, or you contributing by purchasing goods. The change in the economy influences all aspects of it; my top is the business area of it, involving coffee shops and basic minimum-wage workers. There have been protests (as I mentioned already) for basic rights in a job and higher pay so as to survive in the economy. Therefore, economic systems have great influence over my topic.

Health Inspections Galore

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 20:55:53 UTC

There are general rules of cleanliness and hygiene that must be upheld in any public space, but especially food service. Often health inspectors and QA assessments are hosted in food businesses (like coffee shops) so that the general public is safe from disease, illness, or harm.

HISTORY OF HEALTH AND SAFETY

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 21:07:17 UTC

Chapter 6 covers important health and safety guidelines; food service is big on that. In fact, in 1862, the USDA and FDA were officially formed, by President Abraham Lincoln. From there, lots of acts were passed, including the CDC starting to keep records on foodborne illnesses in 1970. The Food Safety and Quality Service was officially created in 1977 and things continued from there - these are all things put in place to protect the public from sickness and it is found and upheld in coffee shops everywhere, or is at least supposed to be.

SOURCE

EDUCATION IN COFFEE CULTURE

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 21:19:41 UTC

A big thing involving specific coffee corporations and education in modern society is scholarships granted by the corporation for schooling. For example, Dutch bros raised over $2000 for College Dreams, a youth project for getting kids opportunities to go to college. Starbucks has a program called the Starbucks College Achievement Plan (SCAP) that sends hires to college as well. This has been a more recent adaptation in the education/food service world.

Culture Shock: School > Work

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 21:24:09 UTC

A lot of entry level workers such as myself have trouble balancing the school vs. work schedule, especially pre-college. The community I currently reside in specifically does not value school as much as work, but there are still age limits to those who can start working at these jobs. I have personally worked really hard to balance my work vs. school life so that I can succeed in both. I think there should be more than just an age requirement and a cap on hours kids can work. Often, jobs are prioritized over schoolwork because money is more immediate - the work being done by corporations to send kids to school, though, I find very inspiring.

LDS and Coffee - Brief History Lesson (Chapter 8)

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 21:28:09 UTC

I personally had found very little tying coffee working and religion together prior to living here in Oregon, where the LDS (Mormon) community is quite prominent. Mormons are not supposed to drink coffee, as caffeine was declared a sin (or whatever). However, modern coffee shops like the one I work at and Dutch Bros have found a way around this: energy drinks. Somehow, as long as it isn't really coffee, this form of caffeine is acceptable. There isn't a Mormon in my community that hasn't tried a RedBull/Rebel (from Dutch).

Starbucks Union; Reform Movement

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 21:59:04 UTC

A big social movement (chapter 9) that involved coffee was the one I mentioned previously with Starbucks workers protesting for union rights. This was an example of a reform movement, which tried to change something about the social structure. They were demanding more rights - it was also more than just state level, as it affected their entire corporation.

Chapter 9: Environmental Impact and Social Change

aidenbeens — 2024-06-05 22:02:32 UTC

Environmental impacts of the food service/coffee shop scene has been extensive, and I covered a lot of it at the start of the term. Environmental movements have worked to reduce human impact on the earth and environment, and the "save the turtles" movement is one of the many that come to mind, where many businesses switched to paper straws over plastic to reduce plastic waste. Generally, my community has worked hard to reduce their footprint, by giving coffee grinds to compost, recycling materials we can, and encouraging reusable cups you can purchase and bring back.

Health + Safety

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 21:10:45 UTC

My Community Profile: Baristas/The Coffee Business

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 21:54:02 UTC

The two big changes that most influenced this topic were social movements and health + safety. These have had separate impacts on this community over the years but they were the most prominent from the options given.

Social Movements

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 21:54:58 UTC

<-- This contributes to the health and safety of children and their educations

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 22:02:56 UTC

In addition to this, there also labor laws in Oregon specifically that require you to be 16 years of age to work legally. According to Oregon.gov, 16 and 17 year olds cannot exceed 44 hours a week and "several hazardous types of work are completely off-limits for minors" (Oregon).

This is literally THE health and safety guideline put in place -->

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 22:03:20 UTC

IN CONCLUSION

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 22:14:10 UTC

There are a few different footnotes up here that mention people in my community being part of these different social changes. Specifically, schools and places of employment in my town adhere to guidelines put in place by the state, as mentioned on the left. In terms of unions, my community is not as active in this as their social location is less involved with that of a reform movement - it's not necessary for my personal community. However, there is advocation for entry-level employees rights still progressing today. There is also tons of work being done still to reduce the environmental impact that is made by coffee shops (hence the information about environmental awareness). My personal coffee shop encourages people to bring their own cups and reusable mugs to limit the paper waste. Overall, the barista impact on both health and safety and social movements aspects of social change is immense - I hope this is informational enough to communicate their message!

unused

aidenbeens — 2024-06-10 22:14:28 UTC