Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion

Make the educated choice; make it fair trade

Timothy O'Brien
Opinion Columnist

 Aramark was recently awarded the new food service contract by the University of Houston. A few weeks ago Aramark launched a research project entitled MarketMATCH. Aramark and the University administrators hope to use the results of this project to develop the right mix of dining options.
  
Aramark's resident district manager is not very concerned with students' requests to offer food products that are socially responsible. So far, they have only paid lip service to requests that all coffee vendors offer fair trade certified coffee.

trade certified coffee cuts out the middlemen and brokers, and provides the growers of coffee beans with a more equitable share of the final market value of their products. 
Coffee that is certified by Transfair USA, the only independent certifier, is examined to determine if it meets five criteria: a guaranteed floor price based on cost of living and production; fair labor conditions for all people working on the farms; freedom of association for farmers and workers; environmental standards that foster sustainability and restrictions on the use of agrochemicals; and a line of pre-harvest credit for co-ops. 

exploitive conditions for third world agriculture workers. Instead, you are directing your spending power to the pockets of coffee growers and fostering sustainability.

Ethiopia and Burundi depend on it for the majority of their export revenue. Coffee is also the second most traded commodity in the world after oil.

a UH chapter of the United Students for Fairtrade was organized. Its goal is to make sure that all the coffee served on our campus is fair trade certified. Fair trade coffee is now available at three hundred college campuses across the nation. 

Melcher Hall have claimed to offer fair trade coffee, they have not had a good track record providing it upon request. 

providing information on fair trade coffee and requesting that you become involved in ensuring that third-world coffee growers receive a living wage. All you have to do is request fair trade coffee when you patronize any campus food vendor.

Part of the college experience is applying the knowledge you learn in the classroom to the outside world. 

Whether it's your economics professor preaching about the importance of "free trade" or your history professor lecturing on the evils of globalization, the knowledge you gain in the classroom can affect your actions and earning capacity for the rest of your life. 

for yourself whether it is worth exploiting a third world worker to save a few cents on a cup of coffee. Most students hope that by working and studying hard they will obtain a college degree that will give them the opportunity for a better future. Don't farmers in poor countries deserve the same hope and the chance to earn a living wage from their labor?

 Just as there are social costs involved when you decide to ride a bike, carpool, take the bus or drive an SUV, there are costs when you do not bother to learn the social implications of your coffee purchases. Maybe you won't save the world by drinking a cup of fair trade coffee, but it's a good start. 

O'Brien, a guest columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu.