Within the generic barrage of ?Friends don?t let friends ... ? bumper stickers, my preference is with the one ending in ? ... drink Starbucks.? The New River Valley is only a handful of coffee shops away from arriving on the nation?s top ten list for having the most coffee shops per person. Clearly then, as consumers we have a choice of where we get our coffee, espresso and freshly baked goods. However, I hope we all understand the impact that Starbucks has on a global scale.

When I think of Starbucks, I think of McDonald?s. Why? Starbucks? mission is to serve the same coffee at every location in every country, continent, hemisphere; this is identical to McDonald?s eternal goal of offering the same hamburger patties, with the precise hints of processed flavors, the world over. When food chains desire to create an ultimate uniformity on this scale, there are several drawbacks, rather severe ramifications. Take a look at McDonald?s: they are now the nation?s largest buyer of meat and notice how their demand has horrifically altered the slaughterhouses and meat-packing plants in this nation. Starbucks is becoming a similar giant in the coffee industry. Buying coffee beans in enormous quantities at minimal prices continually changes the lives of coffee bean growers throughout the world (further, there are great environmental effects to this corporate demand that are difficult to minimize).

Should I even mention Starbucks? stated business objective of becoming the premier provider of coffee in our world? This sounds strikingly equivalent to McDonald?s ubiquitous yellow arches. There are side effects to being ridiculously successful and gleaning up everyone?s coffee fix. So before you are once again allured by a fertility goddess and crave some frou frou frappuccino, check around for local alternatives and you may find a far better coffee environment and experience.