Name the word that doesn’t belong in this set: slavery, injustice, poverty, coffee.

Was your answer “coffee?” My answer is “none” — they all belong in the same set. Slavery, injustice, poverty and coffee are all directly related to one another. Believe it or not, more often than not we endorse slavery and poverty, and empower injustice, when we buy a cup of coffee. And we may not even know it.

On a seemingly small scale, common phrases like: “Just do it,” “Have it your way” or “Hungry? Grab a Snickers,” just don’t seem to be that big of a deal when it comes to making decisions about buying a pair of sneakers or eating some grub. To us, having multiple consumer choices is a harmless contest where whoever presents a faster, easier, more eye-catching option at a cheaper price or a higher quality will win our cash. Whether it does or does not affect someone else doesn’t matter — our decisions are individual.

I mentioned coffee because, according to Dunkin’ Donuts, coffee is one of the most valuable traded commodity, second only to oil. Coffee is a valid example of how our independent consumption habits aren’t actually independent at all; they affect the lives of others without us even coming into direct contact with them.

According to Oxfam International, an estimated 25 million people earn their livelihoods growing coffee, making it their main, if not only, source of income for both themselves and their families.

Another one of Oxfam’s articles explains that the oversupply of coffee is causing the export price of coffee to fall in proportion to its retail price, which results in trading profit increases, benefiting the coffee production company, but hurting the farmers. Consequences for the farmers include not being able to send their kids to school, not having enough money to cover health care costs or not being able to put food on the table.

As a result, every sip we take contributes to the exponential rise of poverty.

Coffee isn’t the only product to worry about — there’s also the production of chocolate (cocoa farms), which creates a market for human trafficking. According to a report released by the U.S. State Department in 2000, approximately 15,000 children aged nine to 12 have been smuggled into our country and forced into labor on cotton, coffee and cocoa plantations just within the northern part of the country.

And it doesn’t end with coffee and cocoa. Millions of people’s entire lives are surrounded by poverty, unfair wages, forced labor and injustice; their lives are directly affected by the food we choose to eat, the clothes we choose to wear and the electronics or other products we choose to buy, which often produce more waste.

We are past feeling guilty, past thinking that the injustices we see are too big and past putting the blame on big corporations. Companies like Wegmans, Ben & Jerry’s and Starbucks have goals that include serving the local community, creating environmentally sustainable products and equalizing trade and wages for workers. Not only are they meeting them, but they invite us to join them on this endeavor. Even our campus has taken strides in creating helpful opportunities, such as Sodexo’s move to Aspretto fair-trade coffee, sugar and tea and 100 percent recyclable printed materials. In addition, the Food Co-op also offers organic and fair-trade foods. It’s not even necessary to drive a car or take a bus.

We can’t make the excuse of “I’m just one person — what difference could I possibly make?” Because if we really believe in the freedoms we’ve gained, then we have a choice and that choice makes a difference.

For some of you, fighting injustice will mean passionately jumping into the social justice movement right away — and for that, I commend you. But for all of us, it starts by choosing to fight indifference and apathy by taking proactive steps in becoming a well-informed, considerate consumer, instead of a naive, reckless one.