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FAIR TRADE COFFEE • Local sources for Fair Trade Coffee • Learn more online: Websites of Interest It was with great pleasure that we hosted a forum on September 28 with FST student Stefano Lancellotta, and Deborah Hirsh, a representative from TransFair USA, the local, non-profit Fair Trade organization that certifies coffee beans as having been "traded fairly" (meaning that democratically-run, sustainably farmed, agricultural coops working on small parcels of land participate in a direct export program that ensures that they are paid a fair price for their coffee beans). If you did not make it to the educational event mentioned above, we hope that by spending a few minutes with these web resources, you might enjoy learning about a few of the inspiring and compelling reasons to support the grassroots movement for "Fair Trade." These great tasting coffee blends are through a number of local vendors. And, contrary to what many assume, if you are already enjoying gourmet coffee, you'll find that the prices are commensurate! TREES would like to commend FST and the GTU administration for making the switch to Fair Trade blends for their offices. We would be thrilled to see the entire GTU community, including the food services based at SFTS, PSR, & CDSP, make this small commitment to economic & environmental justice. If you or your community would like to receive a packet of printed information on this subject, please note that these are available for free from TransFair USA; call 510-663-5264. It becomes increasingly clear that all consumer decisions have become political decisions as well, decisions that will either contribute to or detract from justice for the worlds labor force and "natural" capital that generate so much wealth. Below are a few insights from Deborah's talk: About TransFair USA The Fair Trade Coffee (FTC) movement is being driven by consumer command; thus, it is an important alternative model of economics that puts consumer interests, labor, and the environment first. TransFair USA is part of an International network called the Fair Labor Organization (FLO). FLO was formed about five years ago, but the seeds for it were planted in Holland about 15 years ago with one of the first international fair trade organizations. TransFair is the 18th of FLOs initiatives and it began about 3 years ago. FLO monitors the international side of things for TransFair and the TransFair USA office monitors the US side of things. There are only 7 people on staff at TransFair. TransFair, a nonprofit organization, receives funding from individual donors, the Ford Foundation, and low-interest loans. TransFair monitors the process of coffee production and certifies co-ops as "Fair Trade." Currently, Fair Trade certification insures that farmers get no less than $1.26 per pound of coffee beans. Another qualification is that the farmers must have 5 acres or less of farmland and be a part of a democratically run co-op. TransFair also looks at issues of sustainability in coffee farming. The farmers must begin implementing or must have already implemented some type of sustainable farm practices. Many of the farmers that have the FTC certification are organic and/or shade grown. (Incidentally, most coffees that are organic are already shade-grown as this reduces the amount of pesticides/chemicals in coffee production; once coffee production takes place in direct sunlight without shade, farmers must use more chemicals in the process). TransFair works with consumer organizations, institutions, and individuals to spread the word about FTC. They work with religious organizations as well, and have found faith-based groups to be very supportive and responsive in making the commitment to buy FTC in large quantities. They also work with over 100 student campuses. TransFair just certified their first line of tea (available through Choice Organic Teas) and they are hoping to move into certification of cocoa production as well. Why Fair Trade Coffee? The US consumes about 1/5 of the worlds coffee. Coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world (oil is the first). The conventional price per coffee (currently) is .50 per pound; this is the lowest price in history. The grower gets .15-.25 per pound. The cost of production for the grower is .75 per pound on average. As mentioned earlier, TransFair currently offers 1.26 per pound; were the market price to rise to 1.26 per pound or above, TransFair would offer .05 above the market price. The higher wages paid for FTC create a ripple effect in small coffee-growing communities: better labor conditions, better education, better health care, and in some cases it allows farmers to go through the very expensive process of becoming certified organic farmers. Unfortunately, there are many coffee growers (among other produce growers) that are already growing according to organic methods that cannot afford the certification process, and thus cannot demand the higher prices in the market for their product. The reason that the market price for coffee is so low right now is that there is an over production of coffee in the world. This is largely due to the fact that the World Bank and the IMF lend money to poor countries for coffee-bean production, often to countries where coffee would not normally grow. Why? Many Multi-National corporations have lobbied the IMF and World Bank to charge more countries with growing coffee and to create a surplus of coffee so that the price of coffee will stay low. In the process of conventional coffee production (from dirt to cup) the steps would be: a small grower would produce coffee; the small grower would be a part of a larger coop; this coop would sell to an exporter (located in the country where the coffee is produced); then this exporter would sell to a US importer; the US importer sells to the roaster (like Pete's or StarBucks). So, the farmer (with the most labor costs) gets the least amount of the money, the exporter gets more from the importer, the importer gets more from the roaster, and the roaster charges the consumer the most. In the FTC model, the coop bypasses the exporter and sells directly to a US importer (cutting out the middle-people), and the importer then sells directly to the roaster. Consequently, the farmer gets more for the coffee. What you can do Stefano Lancellotta was responsible for getting FTC at the Franciscan School of Theology. FST receives FTC at a bulk rate (minimum of five pounds of coffee); other GTU schools could also order FTC at a bulk rate. Most FTC is no more expensive than regular gourmet coffees! FST gets their coffee from Jeremiahs Pick, a local vendor that can be reached at office@jeremiahspick.com. We in the bay area are very lucky there are so many vendors to choose from! Please find a few listed below. Also mentioned in the presentation was that TransFair is hoping to move into Fair Trade cocoa production as well. Cocoa is usually grown on small family farms (mostly in South American and African countries) and often involves child labor. There have been reports that some larger, cocoa plantations have actually been purchasing children from poor families to work on the plantations. Just this year, a group received funds from Congress to investigate the extent to which this form of child slavery is occurring. So, TransFair sees an urgent need to begin a certification process for Fair Trade Cocoa. You may ask, "Why Coffee?" or "Why cocoa?" Well, if you think about it, anywhere you go, coffee is available. Likewise, most any dining experience will include a chocolate option for dessert. So, by focusing on just "coffee"you can actually make a huge difference, not to mention you can use it as a way to raise awareness about larger agricultural, socioeconomic justice, and environmental issues. Thanks to those of you who attended this great Forum. Summary of forum respectfully submitted by Whitney Bauman. A FEW LOCAL SOURCES FOR FAIR TRADE COFFEE Equator Estate Coffees and Teas 1525 E. Francisco Blvd., No. 9 San Rafael, CA 94901 Tel. 415-485-2213; fax 415-485-2218 kaffeo@aol.com Greenbeanz 18080 San Ramon Valley Blvd. San Ramon, CA 94583 Tel. 925-244-1000; fax 925-244-9031 paul9@richochet.net Jeremiahs Pick 1495 Evans Ave. San Francisco, CA 94124 Tel. 415-206-9900; fax 415-206-9542 office@jeremiahspick.com Peerless Coffee Co. 260 Oak St. Oakland, CA 94607 Tel. 510-763-1763; fax 510-763-5026 peerless@peerless.com Organic Coffee Co. 1933 Davis St., Ste. #308 San Leandro, CA 94577 Tel. 888-829-8886; fax 510-638-0760 jbr@gourmet-coffee.com Peets Coffee & Tea 1400 Park Ave. Emeryville, CA 94608 Tel. 800-999-2132 or 510-594-2950; fax 510-594-2180 Uncommon Grounds 2813 Seventh St. Berkeley, CA 94710 Tel. 510-644-4451; 510-644-9246 kim@uncommongrounds.net Village Cup Coffee 273 Green St., #3 San Francisco, CA 94133 Tel. 415-362-7656 flamenco_jen@yahoo.com WEBSITES of INTEREST TransFair USA: www.transfairusa.org Global Exchange: www.globalexchange.org Equal Exchange: www.equalexchange.com Oxfam America: www.oxfamamerica.org/fairtrade

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