Give Yourself A Better Cuppa José

I first encountered Fair Trade Coffee this past spring at a Presbyterian Men's Conference I have attended for the past three years. Then, I heard more about Fair Trade at a talk given by a Fair Trade honcho who is the son of a terrific woman who lives in the same geezer community (Sun City, TX) where I now reside. So when I exhausted my coffee supply, I found myself in Starbucks Coffee here on the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Starbucks carries Fair Trade Coffee and so I replenished my coffee canister with java grown by folks who need all of the help we can supply. What Fair Trade is all about is a fair market price for coffee growers from Guatemala to Bolivia. This is a revolutionary idea in a part of the world that barely acknowledges small coffee growers as human beings. The Fair Trade Coffee was not cheap. However, I will drink my morning coffee and enjoy it more while thinking of campesinos pobres who finally are making more than a pittance for their labor. If this is (fair & balanced) social consciousness, so be it.

[x PCUSA]
The Presbyterian Coffee Project

The Presbyterian Coffee Project is a new way to help people in need while enjoying fellowship and an excellent cup of coffee. Presbyterian congregations that participate are supporting fair trade--practices which complement our mission with farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as our commitment to stewardship of the natural environment.

Congregations participate simply by ordering fairly traded coffee! In your congregation, a women's group, youth group, mission committee or peace and justice committee might sponsor this project. As your congregation enjoys this high-quality coffee, take time to learn about its impact on the people who grow it. Read about coffee farmers, discuss issues of justice in the global marketplace and take action in the spirit of love.

A Bitter Cup? Facts About Coffee

• Coffee is the second most heavily traded commodity in the world, after oil.


• Americans drink an estimated 320 million cups of coffee each day. That’s 25% of the world's coffee imports, and 20% of the world's total coffee production.


• Some 20 million people near the equator depend on coffee for their livelihood.


• For the majority of small coffee farmers, the benefits are small. World prices are in constant flux, and coffee industry middlemen (known to Latin American farmers as “coyotes”) offer farmers the lowest price possible. Farmers never know how much they’ll get for their crops.

Fair Trade is Good News

Fair trade shares the bounty of the coffee trade with those who grow the crop, helping them build a better future for themselves and their communities. Through fair trade, farmers earn a fairer share of income, have access to services that are otherwise unavailable, and gain long-term trading partners they can trust.

When buying coffee in the United States, consumers need to be sure they are buying a certified fair trade product. If your bag of coffee carries the label at right, it has been certified by TransFair USA, the only independent fair trade certifying agency in the US. The presence of this label means that every step involved in getting coffee from the crop to your cup has been monitored by this neutral third party certifier, ensuring the farmers really received a fair price for the coffee.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) and Fair Trade

The Presbyterian Church (USA) is committed to fair trade standards as defined by TransFair USA. Voting delegates at the 213th General Assembly (2001) passed a resolution concerning fairly trade coffee and tea as well as organic sugar.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) co-sponsors the Presbyterian Coffee Project with Equal Exchange, an employee-owned certified fair trade company which purchases 100% of its coffees and teas according to fair trade standards. Equal Exchange was founded in 1986 to create a new approach to trade, one that includes informed consumers, honest and fair trade relationships and cooperative principles. Equal Exchange accomplishes these goals by offering consumers fairly traded gourmet coffee and tea directly from small-scale farmer cooperatives in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Its Interfaith Program links faith and fair trade, providing eduational resources for congregations.

What Your Church Can Do

• Serve fairly traded coffee and tea at church events and during fellowship hour, and make it available to members for home use. Pat Plant, Hunger Action Advocate for PCUSA in San Jose
  
• Offer gift baskets of fairly traded coffee and tea for new members, as Christmas presents, or on other occasions.
  
• Design fund-raising projects in your church offering fairly traded coffee and tea.
  
• Discuss fair trade issues in Sunday school and study groups.
  
• Provide local businesses with information about offering fairly traded coffee and tea.
  

How to Order

Order Fair Trade Coffee and Tea Online (this link will take you to the Equal Exchange website, so you may first wish to add this site to your "favorites" or "bookmarks" so you can return to it later.)

The Presbyterian Coffee Project is part of a new PCUSA initiative called Enough for Everyone: Global Discipleship. Programmatic entities sponsoring this initiative include the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the Social Justice Program Area, the Women’s Ministries Program Area and Presbyterian Women.

Copyright © 2004 Presbyterian Church (USA)