Starbucks will begin offering discounted value meals, excuse me, “breakfast pairings” this morning, in an effort to attract increasingly budget-conscious customers, while maintaining their gourmet image.  If you’re looking for cultural indicators that people across the board are watching their wallets more closely and this recession might stick around for a bit, this would be one.  I’ve long steered clear of the corporate behemoth, in favor of supporting local businesses and fair labor practices, but if you do happen to drop in for a “breakfast pairing”, be sure to ask for fair trade coffee, as they have to brew a pot for you.  That way, you save a little money, and the farmers who produced the coffee receive a living wage.  And while I’d like to think that Starbucks might be preparing healthier food than most on-the-go breakfast spots, I would be mistaken:

The food development team spent a year creating two breakfast sandwiches for the pairings. Although the eggs and cheese are mixed in huge vats, poured into tins, baked, frozen and shipped to distribution centers to be assembled, they wanted them to look freshly made to appeal to people who do not like fast-food outlets. -NYTimes

Yum.  Appearances are everything.  Now, if we could get Starbucks to start using locally sourced ingredients, maybe you could convince me to stop in.  Maybe.  I realize that Starbucks isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so the more good we can encourage them to do, the better.

takepart by learning more about the benefits of Fair Trade.

Photo: orangejack’s Flickr Photostream (creative commons)