Central America and Fair Trade

I went to a presentation today that was done by the 24 Whitworth students who just returned from our every-3-years Central America Study Tour. Some of my former residents were part of the trip, as was one of the RAs I hired for Warren for next year. This trip is an amazing and life-changing experience for the students who go each time. They spend time in several countries, including 3 or 4 weeks in Honduras in a home-stay on their own (apart from the rest of the group). They experienced poverty and different cultures and it was so wonderful and moving to hear about the experience.

While in Central America, if I heard them correctly, some of the students worked on farms harvesting beans for coffee, and they definitely became more aware of who the farmers are who pick the beans for the coffee we drink. They also learned about Fair Trade Coffee, an issue that I have been passionate about since I first learned about it in September. In Central America, farmers are not paid a living wage for the coffee beans they harvest, and so they live in poverty while we sip our $3 lattes, oblivious or apathetic that our coffee was harvested by farmers living in poverty. If we only realized that by a little effort on our part, we could help to provide a living wage for the farmers. You see, by intentionally buying Fair Trade Coffee (coffee with a "Fair Trade" label), you are buying coffee that a farmer was paid a living wage for (read the link below for a more accurate description of Fair Trade Coffee).

Unfortunately, Starbucks does not brew Fair Trade Coffee in its stores. A friend told me it does at least sell Fair Trade Coffee beans. Starbucks makes so much money, one would think they could afford to spend a little extra cash for Fair Trade Coffee. It is unfortunate that a company with so much influence on the industry isn't doing this. I believe that they will someday...it just takes us asking for change. Starbucks is a great organization and treats its employees very well from what I can tell, so I am hopeful that they are moving toward brewing only Fair Trade Coffee.

In the meantime, I think instead of boycotting Starbucks, I will ask them to brew me some Fair Trade Coffee when I'm in their store.

Here's a really long article (but interesting) if you'd like to read more about Fair Trade Coffee. I'm thankful for the students today and them sharing their experiences.

Starbucks Facts--Fair Trade Coffee Facts -Starbucks Fair Trade Campaign - Organic Consumers Association-Genetically Engineered free foods, supporting Fair Trade.