'Right now, there are no ethics in the €30bn global coffee industry - but it's racking up huge profits by relying on modern-day slavery'

In the weekend that the RDS hosted the World Of Coffee festival, Java Republic founder David McKernan asks tough questions about the sector

Coffee is largely produced by subsistence farming, and depends on low-paid farmers to harvest it

David McKernan

I've spent nearly 30 years in the coffee industry. I've seen it grow in Ireland from a boring tea alternative with major health concerns in the Eighties to the most-talked-about and trendy specialist drinks sector on the planet, worth €30bn.

Throughout Ireland, a string of corporate coffee houses are engaged in one of the most intense retail fights to secure the dominant position for their coffee brands. A never-ending stream of capital is flowing in from investors looking to claim their own piece of a sector that continues to grow, fuelled by innovation, passion and love.