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December 2002
By Suzanne Baker

Berkeley¹s Measure O, which the Alameda County Greens endorsed, would have required cafés to served only Fair Trade certified brewed coffee. Passage of this measure would have put Berkeley once again in the forefront of economic justice issues. However, the measure lost big -- gaining only 29.5% of the vote. Neigh Sayers said that the measure threatened freedom of choice (even though coffee drinkers aren¹t usually given much choice when they order a cup of coffee‹few cafés brew Fair Trade as a matter of course); would make coffee more expensive (even though brewed coffee prices are artificially high compared to the price of beans); and pointed to a potential 6-month jail sentence for offenders as ridiculous (even though this is a maximum penalty that many local ordinances have). Apparently the voters bought these arguments. Although losing, the Measure O campaign helped widely publicize the Fair Trade issue and hopefully jogged consumer conscience. It will surely not go away. Purchasing Fair Trade is the right thing to do.

Give Fair Trade Coffee as a Holiday Gift!

As consumers, each one of us had tremendous power to influence how goods are grown, produced, and delivered simply by making responsible choices about what we buy. This is especially important at the holiday season when our gifts can send a message about the world of peace and justice we envision. If you plan on sending Hanukkah or Christmas gifts this year, consider sending Fair Trade coffee.

For more information on how to order:

www.friendsofthethirdworld.org and click on "Coffee and Other Products"

www.globalexchange.org and click on "Fair Trade"

www.equalexchange.com and click on "New Consumer Web Store"

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