The renovations to the Student Union Building dining area aren't the only food-related campus updates. Things look a little different in Jazzman's, too.

Jazzman's Café launched a new line of completely sustainable coffee this July and introduced the slogan, "Coffee in concert with nature." This environmentally and socially aware upgrade would seem to be the effect of last year's Senate legislation urging Jazzman's to carry only fair trade coffee.

The change, however, occurred in all 170 Jazzman's locations nationwide, including the three located on the campus. Most blends offered are Rainforest Alliance certified, but there are also some certified Fair Trade blends. Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance certifications are similar in their focus on environmentally-friendly standards. They also aim to ensure a fair price for producers of coffee, but their approaches to this end differ.

To don a Fair Trade certification label, farmers of the coffee are ensured a living wage for the coffee produced, with a guaranteed minimum of $1.26 per pound. The Rainforest Alliance ensures farmers the locality's minimum wage.

Sarah Alexander, of United Students for Fair Trade, visited a Rainforest Alliance certified coffee farm in Nicaragua this summer and said the conditions were "disgusting." The farmers she met were paid the minimum wage of $1 a day, but, she said, "like in the United States, the minimum wage isn't a living wage."

"Rainforest Alliance is a very low-bar certification," said Alexander. "The focus is on environmental factors rather than people. In terms of taking care of producers, the Rainforest Alliance does nothing."

The legislation passed last year by the student Senate was part of USFT's nationwide campaign to have all Jazzman's carry solely Fair Trade coffee blends. As former New York Public Interest Research Group Program Director Jackie Hayes told The Oracle in April, the legislation was an effort to move "away from coffee made in slave-like conditions."

Jazzman's impetus in creating this new line was to "create a line of coffee that would showcase a global line of certifications," said spokesperson Stacy Bowdman-Hade. The Rainforest Alliance stamp is not "any lesser seal of approval."

"We want to educate consumers of all that's out there," she said, in terms of environmental and social standards of coffees.

NYPIRG Board Representative Chris Utzig said that farm culture has a lot to do with coffee production.

"Fair Trade certification improves working conditions," he said. If farmers are working around pesticides, it's harmful to their health, aside from any environmental problems.

"Improved environmental conditions are a big part of Fair Trade," said Utzig.

He noted that the Rainforest Alliance has no regulations on Genetically Modified Organisms and isn't as strict regarding pesticide use as Fair Trade.

Utzig said NYPIRG is planning a reusable Jazzman's mug campaign for this year, to cut down on coffee cup garbage. The group will still be pushing for Fair Trade organic coffee at all Jazzman's.