It’s finals time, and the official coffee guzzling season has begun. Lines at Jazzman’s swell as students attempt to remedy late nights of studying with heavy doses of caffeine. Getting fresh coffee before class is taken for granted on campus, but not many students stop to think about where their coffee came from. Fairfield University’s Model United Nations club is currently selling fair-trade coffee as both a fundraiser, and as a way to raise awareness about fair-trade practices.
“I think fair-trade is an awesome idea,” said Geoffrey Cook ’05, “coffee is the second most highly traded commodity after oil, and the farmers of the coffee bean can get that privilege abused.”
The coffee being sold was purchased from an organization called Equal Exchange. Coffee growers in developing nations have been nicknamed the “sweatshop workers of the fields,” and the organization works to stop these practices. Equal Exchange works by selling directly from farmers’ co-operatives to a seller, in this case the Model UN group. This practice eliminates the middle man, and through the organization, coffee bean farmers receive twice as much profit on every dollar than if they had sold to traditional commercial coffee suppliers.
Julia Cunico’05 is a member of the Model UN on campus. She said that, “Equal Exchage has a faith-based initiative in which it helps religious institutions raise money for the cause. We chose to sell fair trade coffee, cocoa and tea because it is an issue that everyone should be aware of as it affects the populations of many countries and the global market.”
Professor Robbin Crabtree, chair of the department of communication, only uses fair trade coffee in her home. ” I’m thrilled to know that students are becoming aware of the role their dollars play in “voting” for different international trade policies,” she said.
Yet do Fairfield students really care where their coffee came from?
“If you had asked me last week, I would have said probably not, but given the reception the coffee has had around campus, I am confident that the Fairfield community is aware of what’s going on and is willing to do their part to help,” said Cunico.
“I think it’s a great idea, to support the cause. It would make a good Christmas present too,” said Stacy DeGabriele ’05.
The coffee sales, in addition to increasing awareness, will fund trips to conferences for the Model UN. In the spring they plan to travel to Montreal, Canada and also to the World Model UN Conference in Egypt.
Equal exchange products are sold at a table outside of the bookstore. Coffee is sold at wholesale prices, which range between $8-10 for coffee, $6 for cocoa, and $5 for English Breakfast Tea. Coffee sales were originally scheduled to last until Wednesday, December 10th but will continue based on success.
Leave a Reply