3/3/2004

Concerned coffee drinkers should welcome Fair Trade

Erin Roof
Columnist

Kent needs to become a city of compassionate coffee drinkers. Every day, tens of thousands of coffee growers in South America and around the world suffer because of our support of big coffee suppliers who care only about profits and nothing about workers.

The price per pound of coffee paid to farmers has dropped 75 percent since 1997. So coffee companies’ pockets have grown immensely from the $4.99 cappuccinos we buy while South American coffee growers cannot even afford to feed their families.

If coffee drinkers started drinking Fair Trade coffee, this problem would be diminished. Buying Fair Trade coffee ensures coffee growers receive a living wage and have safe working conditions. It also means that no forced or child labor was used to produce it. Currently in Kent, Peaceable Kingdom bakery, the Kent Natural Foods Co-op and Acme Grocery sell Fair Trade.

Interest in Fair Trade is picking up in Kent. The Coalition for a Humane and New Global Economy (CHANGE) is campaigning to bring more Fair Trade to campus. They have petitioned Andrea Spandonis, director of Dining Services, to offer Fair Trade at every on-campus location that sells coffee.

And beginning last week, a handful of students have demonstrated outside of Starbucks to promote Fair Trade. They pass out fliers and free cups of Fair Trade coffee to customers to discourage them from entering. The action has been welcomed by citizens as passing cars honked and cheered for them. The two groups should be commended for spreading awareness of Fair Trade products and doing their part to stop the devastation of South America.

Some may contend that the Starbucks actions are inappropriate because Starbucks is one of the few places in Kent that actually does sell Fair Trade. This is true, but the amount of Fair Trade that Starbucks sells is so small, it is irrelevant. According to the human rights organization Global Exchange, Starbucks buys more than 100 million pounds of coffee every year, and less than 1 percent is from coffee farmers that are guaranteed a living wage.

Despite how they may promote themselves, it appears Starbucks does not care about being fair with farmers. And they certainly do not care about Fair Trade.

Ever since Starbucks opened its corporate jaws upon Kent, competing coffee bars have been petrified they will be forced to close. Given its growing popularity in Kent, selling Fair Trade seems like an obvious tactic to attract more customers, but most places have been ignoring it.

I encourage Kent State and local coffee shops to start selling more Fair Trade. Switching to Fair Trade is a simple way to help out our global community. It will help heal South America and help take care of thousands of coffee farmers struggling to be treated fairly for their work and merely to survive.

Of course, the only way to convince local businesses and the university to make the switch is to let them know how important it is. Sign comment cards and ask for Fair Trade coffee. Tell the managers why they should support it. Help out coffee growers, and stop Starbucks!

Erin Roof is a sophomore magazine journalism major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.

E-mail: eroof@kent.edu