By Hemesh Patel
Daily Bruin Staff
The Environmental Coalition will meet with the Associated
Students of UCLA Services Community Board Friday to discuss the
possibility of having Fair Trade Certified coffee available on
campus.
The Fair Trade label would allow the university’s coffee
provider to work more directly with farmers, eliminating
“middle men” who work as intermediates between farmers
and distributors, according to EC members.
In addition to members of ASUCLA and the EC, a representative
from Trans Fair, a third-party that monitors and certifies
producers as Fair Trade, will be at the meeting.
“ASUCLA is our starting point, hopefully it will become
campus wide,” said EC member Christine Riordan, a third-year
international development studies and Spanish student.
Riordan said she is optimistic the board will decide to make the
switch, either completely or in phases.
But the possibility of switching raises issues of cost.
“Looking at reports, the issue is a good one for
us,” said Jerry Mann, student union director. “We have
to look at the total impact of ASUCLA’s revenue.”
Because Fair Trade coffee uses organic farming, which is high
quality coffee, the cost of coffee on campus would go up an
estimated 2 to 3 cents per cup, Riordan said.
The association’s current distributor, Superior, is of a
premium or moderate level.
ASUCLA officials raised concerns about the availability of Fair
Trade coffee.
“There is also the issue of whether or not Fair Trade
vendors, who are fairly small, would be able to realistically
supply us with the coffee we need,” Mann said.
But large companies, including Safeway and Trader Joe’s,
sell Fair Trade certified coffee. In addition, UC Davis and
Berkeley have partially switched over to the Fair Trade label.
“The production of coffee used by ASUCLA would benefit the
equivalent of a small village or community,” Riordan
said.
According to the EC, the cost of producing one pound of coffee
is 75 cents, and without Fair Trade, farmers earn 15 to 40 cents
per pound.
“The amount the farmers get does not even cover the cost
of production,” Riordan said.
Under the Fair Trade system, farmers receive a minimum of $1.26
per pound of coffee. One dollar goes directly to the farmer, and
the remaining 26 cents goes to a cooperative and is used for
education, roads and healthcare facilities in the farmer’s
community.
The EC has rallied the support of various ethnic and political
groups, professors and administrators, but some students are weary
of the potential price increase to consumers if ASUCLA sells Fair
Trade coffee.
“Prices are already high enough as it is,” said
Gustavo Chang, a second-year business student.
If the meeting today goes well, Riordan said she would like to
see the Fair Trade label expand campus wide, to the UCLA Medical
School and dining services.