Notes from previous campaign cordinator
March 2001
TOTAL VICTORY!!!!!!
College of the Atlantic Passes Fair Trade Coffee Policy
College of the Atlantic voted unanimously today to become the first school in the country to purchase only Fair Trade Certified coffee. The Fair Trade Certified mark has been developed to assure consumers that the coffee we drink was traded under Fair Trade conditions. Since coffee is the U.S.'s second largest import after oil, and Americans consume one-fifth of the world's coffee production, there is a large potential for social and economic change. According to Rob Fish, the College of the Atlantic student who brought forth the proposal, "Fair Trade Certified Coffee caters both to our cravings for social and economic justice as much as it does our cravings for caffeine. College of the Atlantic has a responsibility to use its purchasing power to further the human ecological ideas this college espouses."
"More and more consumers every day are demanding products made under fair labor conditions," says Deborah James, Fair Trade Director of Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based human rights organization. "We are seeing dozens of universities taking on this issue right now, and College of the Atlantic has demonstrated real leadership in being the first to pass a comprehensive policy in favor of Fair Trade for coffee farmers."
Most small coffee farmers receive prices for their harvest which are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. Intensive coffee farming also leads to environmental problems, such as the contamination of air and water supplies through pesticide poisoning, which also affects farmers. Industrial coffee farming also contributes to tropical forest deforestation; the Smithsonian Institute has documented that the eradication of the natural environment of songbirds (trees providing shade to coffee) is a major contributor to songbird extinction.
Fair Trade Certified coffee works to correct these imbalances by guaranteeing stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound of $1.26, providing much needed credit at fair terms to farmers, and providing technical assistance such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade means community development, health care, education, economic independence, and environmental stewardship for coffee farmers around the world.
College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor ME just passed the following Fair Trade Coffee policy by a 34 yes, 0 no, 0 abstention vote.
Fair Trade Coffee Policy March 1, 2001
Whereas, According to the Campus Environmental Initiative: I. College of the Atlantic is committed to instituting environmentally and socially responsible purchasing policies IV. College of the Atlantic is committed to enhancing sustainability in land-use and building planning. VII. College of the Atlantic is committed to utilizing regional and organic food sources VIII. College of the Atlantic is committed to environmentally and socially responsible development and investment. IX. College of the Atlantic is committed to green public outreach X. College of the Atlantic is committed to enabling access of tools for sustainability
Whereas, in the context of the global economy, our consumer choices unknowingly affect communities and the environment in all corners of the earth; and as a purchaser of goods and services, College of the Atlantic has a responsibility to ensure that its monies are spent in a manner consistent with the ethical principles which can be deduced from the Campus Environmental Initiative, including assuring that workers are paid a living wage, and purchasing goods made in the most fair and sustainable manner when possible; College of the Atlantic can and should use it's market power to bring about policies that are representative of the College's goals. Whereas, many people are looking for more socially conscious and environmentally responsible ways to conduct their lives, which do not degrade people, animals or the environment; and Whereas, College of the Atlantic is aware of the dire situation of poverty in Central America and other areas of the world. Most small coffee farmers receive market payments for their harvest which are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. Fair Trade Certified coffee works to correct these imbalances by guaranteeing stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound, providing much needed credit at fair terms to farmers, and providing technical assistance such as help transitioning to organic farming; With the profits generated from receiving a fair wage, farmers can invest in community development, health care, education, and environmental stewardship. Whereas, intensive coffee farming also leads to environmental problems, such as the contamination of air and water supplies through pesticide poisoning, deforestation and the extinction of some bird species through habitat destruction. Fair Trade Certified coffee encourages the cultivation of coffee under a shade canopy which preserves trees and birds, as well as coffee grown under organic conditions; and Resolved, College of the Atlantic will restrict the purchasing of coffee by Take A Break (our dining services) and all other office to brands that are organic and Fair Trade Certified by TransFair USA, it's successor organization or another independently monitored labeling Non Governmental Organization Resolved, TAB shall strive to purchase fair trade certified products whenever possible given budgetary restraints. This includes rice and most fruits and vegetables of non-US origin. No new policy will be necessary to implement such changes unless the additional cost of purchasing such products is substantial. TA
