Hugh Jackman wants you to drink better coffee

hugh jackman
Actor Hugh Jackman stars in a new documentary on why you should buy Fair Trade coffee.

The coffee you're drinking may harm people or the planet, and Hugh Jackman wants to change that.

The Australian actor, best known for his role as Wolverine on X-Men, stars in a new documentary exploring the role that socially responsible coffee plays in helping African farmers.

In the film, which opened Friday, Jackman goes to Ethiopia -- thought to be where coffee was discovered 3,000 years ago -- to see how one farmer's life has been transformed by selling Fair Trade coffee.

Fair Trade USA is an certification organization that makes sure coffee is grown under safe and fair working conditions. In order to be certified, farmers must disclose all their finances, commit to not using harmful chemicals or genetically modified organisms, and follow water conservation techniques and use proper water disposal. They are free to associate with any other organization.

About 5% of the coffee sold the the United States is Fair Trade certified, up from about 1.5% 10 years ago, according to the organization.

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Fair Trade Coffee is often more expensive, but that money trickles back to the farmer. In the film, Jackman works with a farmer named Dukale, who says his Fair Trade coffee brings him twice what he was making before.

Seeing the difference this has made in Dukale's life inspired Jackman to start his own line of coffee -- the Fair Trade-certified Laughing Man brand, which is now owned by Keurig. One of the blends is called Dukale's Dream -- which is also the name of the movie.

"I do not want things to be given to me. I want to develop [them myself]," Dukale says in the film.

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