This morning you were assigned to report on a demonstration at a chic and popular store that sells fine coffee

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This morning you were assigned to report on a demonstration at a chic and popular store that sells fine coffee. Your first task in completing the assignment is to reorganize the material below into a media story format. As always, the lead should summarize the most important and interesting news. It is especially important for this story that you present the information in a balanced fashion. There are two sides to this story and opinions that bolster each one. Your assignment is to write a story of between 360 and 420 words. Rainbow Coffee is an American company that sells coffee in Whole Foods markets and online. It also owns 120 stores that sell a variety of brewed coffees. Since its founding nine years ago, the company has become popular with consumers and analysts predict it will in the future compete with Starbucks for a share of the brewed coffee market. More than 70 percent of the coffee the company sells is grown on plantations it owns in the Mexican states of Veracruz and Oaxaca. Rainbow Coffee advertising says its coffee is organically and shade-grown, which means it is produced under a canopy of trees and other vegetation. By contrast, sun-gown coffee is ecologically harmful. While sun-grown coffee produces higher yields and subsequently gives the farmers a higher profit, it harms the ecosystem and coffee quality. Pesticides used in sun-grown coffee farms can potentially seep into the soil and affect local watersheds. In Guatemala, coffee is traditionally shade-grown, so it has not been a major cause of deforestation in the country. However, in all of Central America, the sun cultivation of coffee has led to a 2.5 million-acre loss of forest. With coffee being the second most traded commodity in the world, how coffee is cultivated does matter. Today, about 500 demonstrators blocked the entrance to a Rainbow Coffee store in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Square. They chanted, “Hey, hey, ho, ho, Rainbow has got to go.” Later they chanted, “Rainbow, Rainbow, enemy of children and planet Earth.” The demonstrators included men, women, and children of all ages. Many held aloft signs that read “Rainbow, stop using child labor!” Others held banners that read “Rainbow is ravaging Mexico’s farmlands” You were sent to report on what is going on. Soon after you arrived at the protest, you met a young man who identified himself as Seth Tobin, director of an organization called The United Front for the Protection of Coffee Workers and Mother Earth. “We are here today to let people know that Rainbow Coffee is a criminal organization,” he said. “At least 30 percent of its workers in Mexico are younger than 18, the legal age of employment in that country. They have workers as young as 13 working on their farms.” Tobin handed you two affidavits with photos of boys who appear to be adolescents. Both documents were signed and state that the youths are 15 years old and work at Rainbow’s Veracruz farm and coffee processing installations. The boys are named Ramon Carmona and Miguel Santos. “I know that the coffee my co-workers and I pick is sold in fancy stores in the United States,” wrote Carmona. “Even though the workweek in Mexico is 48 hours, most of the time we work almost 60 hours.” Mexico’s minimum wage for 2021 is the equivalent of $7.10 per day. Tobin noted a cup of Rainbow coffee costs $3.75. “So, a day of labor for many workers would cover the price of a cup and little more,” said Tobin. Santos wrote, “I cannot afford to go to school because my family is poor. The small amount of money I earn helps us to eat and keep a roof over our heads and nothing more. We Rainbow workers know that the company is prosperous and could pay us a lot more and still make a profit. “A just salary is our main demand. We are also very troubled to see how the environment is being degraded by Rainbow’s use of sun-growth methods. We should take care of Mexico and the world.” Tobin said that Rainbow employs about 700 workers and he estimated that most earn the minimum wage. “Top managers and supervisors typically earn the equivalent of $650 a month. But even that is still paltry,” Tobin alleged. “It’s not enough to fully cover the basics in Mexico.” As the crowds chanted and continued to block the store’s entrance, wouldbe customers seemed confused and annoyed. Demonstrators handed them flyers that described Rainbow in unflattering terms. “What the protestors say is disturbing,” said Jeff Taylor, an office worker, “I’m going to research these guys. I love my morning cup of Rainbow coffee. But I don’t want to do business with an unscrupulous company.” Tobin said he and his group first became aware of conditions at Rainbow from reading Mexican press accounts. “There have been many stories in the Mexican media, especially online, that judge Rainbow to be frauds,” said Tobin. “They present themselves as an ethical company, but the opposite is true. We have tried meeting with Rainbow management, but they have turned us down. All we want them to do is what’s right.” He added that for now, his group is targeting the company’s stores. Next, said Tobin, they will hold demonstrations at select Wholefoods. One of the demonstrators who identified herself as Emilia Delgado told you that she is a Mexican immigrant. “I know how badly workers can be exploited there,” she said. “During my youth, I worked for an American accounting firm in Mexico City. When I moved here, I learned how much less I earned compared to the company’s workers in New York. It’s time to put an end to exploitation.” Several feet away, a middle-aged man in a business suit beckoned to you. You then approached him. “I’m Jeff Thurman, Rainbow vice president for communications. Don’t let these people fool you,” he said gesturing to the demonstrators. “Everything and I mean everything, they are alleging are lies. We pay a lot more than do Mexican coffee growers and we don’t hire kids.” You asked him what the average salary for Rainbow workers is. “Oh, I can find that out for you. Keep in mind we're talking about Mexico and everything down there a lot cheaper than here in New York.” He also said that the company is “very ecologically conscious” and does not engage in sun-growing. According to Thurman, Tobin and his group are being paid by Mexican coffee growers who dislike competing with Rainbow. “We see no point in meeting with these people because they are not honest,” Thurman concluded. Tobin told of Thurman’s accusation, laughed. “Rainbow is really worried and scared, so they are fabricating lies.” You noticed a man filming with a camera and taking notes. After a few minutes, you introduced yourself to him. He said he is Mexico’s consul general, Moctezuma Esparza. “I am concerned by the accusations,” he said. “Of course, my government needs to determine whether they are true. “Employing minors is a serious offense. We welcome American investment and investment from all over the world. But, like the United States, Mexico expects laws to be respected.” You asked Esparza if he would inform his government of the demonstration. “Yes, of course,” he replied. About five minutes later, a Rainbow employee came outside and spoke with Tobin. “The guy is a real jerk,” Tobin said to you following his brief conversation with an employee. “He’s the manager and said the cops are on their way to make us leave.” Within about 10 minutes five New York Police Department squad cars arrived. Some 20 cops took up positions in front of the demonstrators who jeered at the officers. “This is an unlawful assembly. You do not have a city permit to congregate. Blocking access to the store is an unlawful act,” an officer said through a loudspeaker. “You must disperse and cease blocking the entrances to the Rainbow store. If you have not in the next few minutes obeyed the orders you will be subject to arrest.” Tobin called you over. He appeared very angry. ‘We didn’t come here to get arrested, just to educate people,” he said. “So, we’re going to move back and disperse. Meanwhile, we’ll get permits for future demonstrations, not just here but in other cities.” You asked him what cities he had in mind. “I don’t know yet because we have to meet and coordinate our future actions. But this is just the start of our struggle.”