It's Time to Wake Up


I wake up in the morning and immediately reach for my Apple iPhone that was built in China. I spend several minutes staring at my closet and my drawers full of clothes that were produced all over the world, trying to decide what to wear today. I go downstairs, I make myself a cup of a cold, refreshing iced coffee that was manufactured in Vietnam, and quickly grab a banana grown in Central and South America. Lastly, I go into my PT Cruiser, manufactured in Toluca, Mexico, and start making my way to school. This first hour of my everyday morning wouldn’t be possible without globalization.
My favourite part of my morning that would not be possible without globalization is drinking coffee. It only takes 30 seconds to brew a cup of coffee, but the process of getting my coffee from the Dong Nai plant in Vietnam to my Keurig machine takes much longer and is something that not a lot of people realize would not happen without globalization. Coffee is mainly grown in the regions of Africa, Latin America and Asia. It is then transported to be manufactured in Vietnam, which when finished, is then transported to Canada by either ships or plane. This process may seem easy and unproblematic, but, in reality, it is hurting our planet. The workers that pick the coffee are treated poorly and paid little to no wages. The manufacturing and use of plastic to package causes pollution and contains toxic effects. The transportation used to ship is burning fossil fuels.
I chose this example because coffee is an essential part of my daily life and I wanted to learn more about the effects globalization has on the whole coffee process. Learning about the process has made me realize that the coffee process may be great for North Americans but it is not great for our planet as a whole.


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