Georgetown Students for Fair Trade have made considerable progress toward their goal of having Georgetown’s campus serve only Fair Trade-certified coffee. Fair Trade guarantees farmers a higher wage and meets higher product standards.
New South, the Center Grill and Buzz now serve the coffee. Uncommon Grounds received its first shipment of Fair Trade-certified coffee yesterday. Vital Vittles will soon be selling 12 oz. packages, according to GSFT President Stephanie Faith Green (SFS ‘05).
To mark Uncommon Grounds’ sale, GSFT planned a presentation in Sellenger Lounge Wednesday night. Representatives from Fair Trade supporters Transfair and Oxfam America were present, and Benjamin Cholotio, a Guatemalan coffee farmer, spoke in support of Fair Trade Coffee.
Over 25 million coffee farmers worldwide are experiencing a “quiet crisis,” according to John Jacoby of Oxfam America, a non-governmental organization involved in the Fair Trade movement.
Coffee prices have dropped 70 percent in the last five years, Jacoby said. Farmers are struggling to support themselves on wages of only 40 cents per pound of coffee.
“The economic effects are equivalent to Hurricane Mitch,”Green said
The reasoning behind the Fair Trade certification is in many ways focused on the welfare of coffee farmers in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Fair Trade coffee guarantees a higher wage, Green said; farmers receive approximately 40 cents per pound for regular coffee unless they are in a co-op which participates in Fair Trade.
Several conditions exist for coffee to be certified as Fair Trade.
According to Scott Cody from TransFair, the coffee must be priced at $1.26 per pound, or $1.42 if the coffee is organic. The farmers must also have access to credit and direct trade and the product must meet an environmental stability plan.
“Less than 1 percent of coffee consumption in this county is Fair Trade. Even the best co-ops we have only sell one-third of their coffee on Fair Trade terms,” Cody said.
Many farmers are beginning to grow drugs because it is their only alternative, Cholotio said. Families are hungry and can not afford to send their children to school anymore, he said.
“It’s not fair that in developed countries like the United States … You pay $5 a cup for something that we get paid $1.25 a pound for,” said Cholotio.
All the speakers encouraged students to purchase and ask for Fair Trade coffee everywhere they go.
This year, along with advocating the purchase of Fair Trade coffee, GSFT is also focusing on educating students, according to Green.
Sarita Daftary (CAS ‘03) has been involved in the students’ drive to make campus 100 percent Fair Trade certified since the group first formed.
Daftary said that she is optimistic the group will reach its goal.
“There’s a lot that can be done by educating students,” said Daftary. “The University has to respond to what students want.”
Campus organizations and activism have been a critical part of Fair Trade’s success, Cody said.
“Fair Trade is a lifeline to farmers. It really is a matter of life and death,” he said.
