18/01/2011 GMT

When you buy a cup of coffee, do you think of the farmer who made it possible? Do you care what price he got for the beans in your cappuccino?

Increasing numbers of consumers in the developed world do seem to think it matters.

Stephen Sackur speaks to Harriet Lamb, who runs the fast-growing Fairtrade Foundation in the UK which offers farmers premium prices in return for sustainable practices.

It is supposed to benefit producer and consumer, but is it really in the best interests of either?