You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2007.
There’s an Associated Press story about the Christian East African and Equatorial Development Trust, which helps Ugandan coffee farmers produce and market their product at a fair price. Working in one of the poorest countries on the planet, the group has helped farmers earn a higher profit on the coffee, most of which goes back into community projects like water wells. The organization’s official website says its process is better than fair trade, because it “controls all phases of the supply chain” ensuring “100% of the profits go back to the community“.
A number of economic factors are forcing local Ugandan coffee producers to sell their assets to foreign companies, and now international coffee giant Starbucks is the latest and biggest player to move into the African country’s coffee production, reports Ugandan newspaper The Monitor.
Moreover, the article notes that Ethiopia’s case “should be treated as an eye opener for Uganda that intends to do business with Starbucks or any multinational for that matter“. Starbucks and the Government of Ethiopia were recently involved in a dispute over coffee trademark issues. The article says that with such a high poverty level, the Ugandan government should also look into using as much of its resources as possible to negotiate a favorable deal with the coffee giant.
Starbucks has been tapped to provide the Canadian Parliament with coffee in a new pilot project, reports Canada.com. Until the end of June, Starbucks will be served in select locations in cafeterias throughout the buildings. While some Members of Parliament are excited about the idea, other are complaining that they ought to have given preference to Tim Horton’s – a Canadian icon and coffee behemoth.
The real loser, however, might be Kingston Ontario based coffee retailer Multatuli. They’ve been the official supplier on Parliament Hill for a few years and they haven’t been replaced (yet) – but at a time when consumers are increasingly green conscious, Starbucks incursion may not sit well. According to an editorial with Osprey News, Multatuli “composts its coffee waste, uses renewable energy to fuel its roasters, and deals fair-trade coffee grounds it purchases from producers in underdeveloped countries such as Nicaragua and Guatemala“. I suppose there’s no room at the House of Commons cafeteria for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s environmental plans?
Australians are taking increasingly buying fair trade coffees, reports Australian newspaper The Age. The article reports that they’re now spending over $6 million a year on them, which is a huge increasing from the $143,000 spent in 2003 when Fair Trade labelling was first introduced to the country. It has grown from a niche market to expand to national department stores and retailers. For the full article click here!
Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s show Lateline Business recently had a report on fair trade, with a spotlight on economists arguing for free, as opposed to fair trade. Professor Sinclair Davidson’s objection to fair trade is that it “creates a situation where those farmers who are able to access the label are rewarded” and also that the fair trade labeling system is not monitoring as closely and as well as it should be. You can watch the news report and read a transcript by clicking here!
The intellectual, commercial and scientific revolutions of the Enlightenment were fueled by the buzz of coffee and cafes around Western Europe. The machines of the industrial revolution in Britain were oiled with tea. Beer helped build the Egyptian pyramids. Or so says Tom Standage in his book A History of the World in Six Glasses.
This short, and easy to read book places importance on beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola in the major Western historical developments. As someone used to reading all too often drab social, military, economic and political histories, I was pleased to have read such an engaging book.
According to a recent Canadian census report, organic farming is bigger than ever, says the Toronto Star. Statistics Canada says the number of certified organic producers in the country has risen nearly 60 percent since 2001. While this is a huge growth in the industry, and represents a huge boost to small, local producers – there’s still lots of room to grow. A spokesperson for the Canadian Organic Growers association is quoted as saying that “the No. 1 issue right now in the organic industry is there are not enough domestic suppliers.” Click HERE! if you want to read the official Statistics Canada report.
The Sapulpa Daily Herald of Supulpa Oklahoma (yeah, I also didn’t believe it existed till I Googled it) has a column this week arguing that fair trade is “increasingly uniting social progressives and religious conservatives”. Citing a number of articles that appear in the May issue of Sojourners magazine (www.sojo.net) the editorial suggests that fair trade issues are increasingly becoming a way for Christian faithful in the U.S. to wear their faith on their sleeve. The editorial concludes with
“Most folks would at least pay lip service to the virtues of “doing unto others.” The fair trade movement is a way to do more than talk. Yes, you might pay a little more, but you’ll get a better product, and you’ll be following the Golden Rule. That’s a mandate we can all live with.”
A Canadian expat will be sailing for fair trade, reports the Edmonton Journal. The so-called Greenheart Project will take Chris Kozak and some colleagues across the seas in an environmentally-friendly sailboat, delivering fair traded goods across the globe to potentially new markets. The only thing he’s lacking is the money to get it off the ground – er – into the water. Read more about it here!!
International coffee honchos Starbucks and the Government of Ethiopia have come to a (tentative) agreement in their battle over coffee ownership and naming rights, reports the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper.
New Zealand is getting ready for its “Fair Trade Fortnight” , and it promises to be a huge affair. The country, it seems, is enjoying fair trade, with fair trade product sales in New Zealand rising $200,000 in 2004 to $4m in 2006 according to the Fair Trade Association.
The event, sponsored by a range of groups and organizations, is set up to promote fair trade issues and products through contests, concerts and whole whole lot of information. New Zealand popstars are lending their talents to the affair, while another organization is promoting the issue through a poster contest for children. Meanwhile, to coincide with Fair Trade Fortnight, New Zealand’s Worldvision offices became fair trade workplaces themselves.
