Educational Opportunity on Sustainability

Improve your health! Lessen your carbon footprint! Have fun and make new friends! Sign up for the NWEI discussion class “Menu for the Future,” sponsored by the Four Corners of the World Fair Trade Store.

Consider the following facts recently mentioned in a NY Times article:

Today it takes 10 calories of fossil fuel to produce 1 calorie of food.

In 1940 it took 1 calorie of fossil fuel to produce 2.3 calories of food.

Agriculture consumes 19% of our fossil fuel and contributes 37% of our greenhouse gases.

Four of the top 10 deadly diseases in the US are chronic conditions related to diet.

Information on the course:

Title/Theme: “Menu for the Future” (from the Northwest Earth Institute – see HYPERLINK “http://www.nwei.org” www.nwei.org) will explore how we eat and what impact that has on our health, society and the environment.

Cost: $20 for materials (couples can share materials)

Dates: Tuesday evenings, 6:30-7:45, from April 21- June 2

Location: Blessed Trinity Church, 4717 N. 38^th St., Milwaukee

Size of the group: Limited to 8-12 participants

How we eat has a tremendous impact on both our health and the health of the planet. This discussion class will give you the motivation and inspiration to improve both your health and the planet’s health by making changes in the way you buy and eat food.

More information on topics and readings is available at HYPERLINK “http://www.nwei.org” www.nwei.org

A free, no obligation introduction to the course will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 14 at Blessed Trinity Church.

If you wish to participate, call or email The Four Corners of the World Fair Trade Store, 414 443-9606 or HYPERLINK “http://www.fairtrademilwaukee.org” www.fairtrademilwaukee.org.

Several years ago, when I was a Parish Councilor, Bill Lange asked us Councilors to join him in protesting poor wages for Mexicans working in sweatshops producing jeans. It was during Advent and there was already too much on my plate, so I didn’t go; but I couldn’t stop thinking about Bill’s concern for the working poor.

With that on my mind, and some subsequent reading in the Milwaukee Journal and the National Geographic about the harvesting of cacao and the mining of diamonds, I created a research unit for my students at Menomonee Falls High School. With help from our school’s librarian, my students began researching the stories behind products marketed in the U.S. The products included GAP jeans, chocolate, diamonds, coffee, bananas and more. I asked my students to do their best to get at the truth of the costs and benefits of producing and consuming these products.

This unit turned into an eye-opening experience for my students and for me. We learned about the widespread exploitation of humans: young women working 14-20 hour days, six to seven days per week, in sweatshops in Haiti; boy slaves harvesting cacao beans on the Ivory Coast; amputations and killings resulting from wars paid for by slaves mining diamonds in Sierra Leone; coffee farmers starving in Tanzania, and the beatings of striking banana workers by soldiers in Honduras. We also learned about the degradation of our environment; such as, the loss of 3 million acres of Latin American rainforests (the cost of sun-grown coffee) and the explosion of toxic chemicals contaminating our ground water as consumers dump old cell phones and computers. In short, we learned that free trade, as it’s being practiced, is not a sustainable practice. We learned that we were actively contributing to suffering and death through our purchase of everyday products.

When you learn the kinds of things we learned, you just have to do something. That’s how I got involved with Fair Trade. I learned about Fair trade through my students first and then through Fair Trade volunteers. Fair Trade is a sustainable practice. It promises workers humane working conditions, fair wages, the right to unionize, and more. Fair Trade also calls for improved care of our earth. When you purchase a bag of Fair Trade coffee, for instance, you can be sure that the workers receive not only sustainable wages but also that the coffee has been produced without exposure to chemical pesticides. Furthermore, the beans are shade grown and that means precious animals and insects are not being destroyed in its production. You can be sure of all this because Fair Trade business practices are available for public review.

I believe I have taken a step toward building peace in our world by purchasing and promoting the purchase of Fair Trade goods when possible. Even though I don’t get the satisfaction of seeing how I’m contributing to life-sustaining measures, I know I am doing the right thing. A lot of Blessed Trinity parishioners are also making this commitment in solidarity with the poor. I am grateful (and proud!) to be part of this parish that truly does follow its Mission Statement of reaching out to all.

LIZ DIXON

Supporters of the Southeastern Wisconsin Initiative for Fair Trade (SWIFT) dba Four Corners of the World Fair Trade Store have been asked to explore the connection between the concepts and practices of Fair Trade and Sustainability. In doing so, it is the intent of SWIFT, its Board members, staff, Education Committee members and supporters to educate themselves in regard to Sustainability and to incorporate the language of Sustainability into the language of Fair Trade. It is immediately evident that this is not only a possible but an honest thing to do since sustainable practices are inherent in the practices of Fair Trade. Thus it is important to note that this was true prior to the current new found interest in things “green” and sustainable related to planetary practices of all kinds.

This paper will address four threads of Sustainability and Fair Trade: ecological, economic, social and cultural. In doing so, it will borrow from sources which will be cited. The first is a piece from the Fair Trade Resource Network (FTRN), the educational affiliate of the Fair Trade Federation (FTF), the umbrella organization in the U.S. which certifies companies importing and selling artisan crafts and clothing from developing countries. Four Corners has an application for membership pending in the FTF.

The Top 10 Reasons to Support Fair Trade according to the FTRN:

-Fair Trade means fair pay and working conditions for farmers and producers. Fair Trade products are made in safe and healthy working conditions where farmers and producers receive a fair price and have a voice in how their workplace is run.

-Fair Trade is better for the environment. Fair Trade supports sustainable practices that minimize our environmental footprint.

-Fair Trade means high quality goods. Artisans and farmers take pride in their work. Crafts are often handmade, which translates into closer attention to detail and in the end higher quality products.

-Fair Trade means better tasting food. Farmers are involved and invested in the entire production process and crops are grown and harvested in smaller quantities. As a result, Fair Trade food is fresher and tastier.

-Fair Trade is safe. Fair Trade actively promotes integrated farm management systems that improve soil fertility and preserve valuable ecosystems and limit the use of harmful agrochemical that present dangers to farmers’ health. That means food that’s safer for you and for the people who grow it.

-Fair Trade supports communities. By working through cooperative business structures, Fair Trade artisans and small farmers are able to invest Fair Trade earnings in their communities by improving housing, healthcare and schools.

-Fair Trade is trade producers can count on. Fair Trade is committed to strengthening direct partnerships between buyers and producers. These partnerships provide an avenue for buyers to purchase quality products from people they trust, and offer a sustainable and reliable way for farmers, artisans and their families to improve their livelihood.

-Fair Trade connects you with other cultures. Fair Trade products are unique to the places they come from and the people who make them. Farmers and artisans are involved in the entire process and Fair Trade products reflect the people and cultures they come from.

-Fair Trade means sustainable local economies. Fair Trade gives farmers and artisans control of their own future. They can build their own businesses rather than working for a middle man and the profits stay in their communities and go back into their businesses.

-Fair Trade means what you buy matters. By choosing Fair Trade products, you are not only accessing high quality products, you are making a difference in the lives of the people who grow the food you eat and make the goods you use.

The practices implicit in the above principles are followed by the crafts and clothing importers and retailers which are members of the Fair Trade Federation.

As you can see in the points above, all aspects of Sustainability are addressed in the process of doing Fair Trade as opposed to the practices of Free Trade neo-liberal capitalism which, despite its proponents’ promises, has caused an increase in poverty, massive dislocation of peoples and their respective cultures, extensive exploitation of natural resources, increasingly serious food shortages and an increase in wars and violence.

A similar but somewhat expanded set of principles for Fair Trade are found in documents from the coffee certifying arena. TransfairUSA is the primary certifying agent for coffee and other food commodities, although as with any evolving methodology, there are companies which have developed their own variation of Fair Trade principles and practices.

The Fair Trade Principles listed by Transfair are:

-Fair Prices: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.

-Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.

-Direct Trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

-Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.

-Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement training and organic certification.

-Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemical and GMO’s are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.

Additional principles are stressed by coffee importing cooperatives such as JUST Coffee in Madison. These include:

-Direct and Lasting Relationships: Importers purchase directly from fair trade producer cooperatives and commit to long term relationships.

-Pre-financing: Importers offer pre-harvest financing or credit - often 60% of the purchase price. In coffee country, traditional types of credit are scarce and expensive.

Although the word and language of sustainability was, and still is for many, relegated to ecology and the environment, it is quite evident that the practices of Fair Trade have been carrying out the core elements of sustainability from the beginning. These are activities and behaviors which make life itself sustainable for those who have access to them. Fair Trade supports social and cultural traditions in community through activities which are ecologically and economically sustainable.

A word must also be said about the seeming contradiction of supporting locally sustainable living and retailing global imports. Four Corners of the World is an active member of the Vliet Street Business Association which focusses on the support of locally owned small businesses which provide goods and services to the surrounding neighborhood and supports activities, such as a Community Green Market for local farmers and artisans. At the same time, the Board members of SWIFT recognize the rights of all persons in our globalized economy for justice and peace and believe that the requirements of solidarity require international Fair Trade commerce.