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For Immediate Release: Contacts: Morgan Guyton,
Nicaragua Network, 202-544-9355 Thursday, December 6, 2001
Simon Harris, Organic Consumers Association, 510-525-7054
Facing a Crisis for Global Coffee Farmers, Activists Promote Fair
Trade Coffee Day
Saturday, December 8 - In over fifty cities across the United States,
activists this Saturday will educate consumers about the global
coffee crisis and promote "Fair Trade Certified" coffee.
Throughout the world, farming families who depend on coffee to earn
a living are facing land expropriation and starvation due to a crippling
collapse in the international price of coffee-currently at an all-time
low of 50 cents per pound. Deborah James and Melissa Schweisguth
of Global Exchange called it "chilling to watch the profits
made at the direct expense of starving farmers." Fair Trade
Certified coffee is independently monitored by TransFair USA and
guarantees farmers $1.26 a pound, giving farmers the income they
need to pay for their families' health and education.
Fair Trade Coffee Day locations are listed at www.purefood.org/dayofaction.cfm.
Events vary. In Santa Cruz, California, U.S. Representative Sam
Farr will speak at a rally on his work to promote fair trade coffee
in Congress. In Boston, 50 college students will split into pairs
to hit fair trade-friendly local coffee shops. A make-shift coffeehouse
will take over the center of historical Williamsburg, Virginia on
one of the busiest tourist days of the year. In cities like Burlington,
Vermont, fair trade coffee supplier Equal Exchange will brew coffee
in their Solar Express-O van. Morgan Guyton of the Nicaragua Network
says, "We wanted each community to find their own way to support
the good guys who sell Fair Trade coffee."
For decades the sale of Fair Trade arts and crafts has been a popular
way of supporting communities in the developing world. But it has
only been in the past two years that Fair Trade has hit the mainstream
with the introduction of Fair Trade Certified coffee. An estimated
three out of four Americans drink coffee daily, and the US is the
largest consumer in the world.
According to Simon Harris of the Organic Consumers Association,
fair trade coffee also benefits the environment. "Since growers
are guaranteed a fair price for their output, fair trade coffee
allows for time-intensive organic and shade-grown agricultural techniques."
Buying fair trade coffee is more than just doing the right thing,
Virginia Berman, spokesperson for the Equal Exchange coffee cooperative,
wants to remind consumers. "It just tastes better," she
says, "We want the best quality coffee. Farmers are Equal
Exchange's backbone. If we treat them right, with dignity and fair
pay, they are better farmers."
The activists are asking consumers nationwide to buy fair trade
coffee and report their purchases to fairtradeday@yahoo.com. Fair
Trade Coffee Day has been sponsored internationally by a broad coalition
of solidarity, social justice, and environmental organizations,
fair trade coffee roasters, and national consumer networks. ###
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