Fair Trade coffee to be discussed at Buskirk theater tonight

At 8 p.m. Friday, Bloomingfoods Market & Deli and Equal Exchange Coffee Co-op will present "Fair Trade Hope & Vision: Response to Crisis in Coffee Country" at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. This event is free and open to the public.\nThis talk and slide show will feature hosts Porfirio Zepeda and Ellin Blandon from Miraflor Cooperative in Nicaragua. They will address fair trade in the coffee business and how Americans can create a more fair and environmentally friendly economy.\nCurrently, coffee is the second largest import (petroleum being the largest), yet farmers are receiving only $.30 to $.50 per pound. Fair Trade is an international effort that enables small farmers in Asia, Africa, Latin and Central America and the Caribbean to receive a minimum of $1.26 per pound of coffee. Ellen Michel, marketing manager at Bloomingfoods Market & Deli, said farmers can use this extra money to build clinics and provide education for their families and villages.\n"Most coffee growers live in lives of poverty around the world," Michel said. "Fair Trade takes a more personal interest in the community of growers."\nFair Trade also promotes the selling of organic products and shade growing. This method prevents forests from being cut down, which provides a healthier environment and lives for the farmers and their families. Dave Boeyink, a journalism professor, said that without pesticides and fertilizers coffee will have optimum taste.\n"Buying Fair Trade coffee is a voice in favor of preserving the environment," Boeyink said. \nRodney North, answerman of Equal Exchange, said preserving trees not only maintains the natural habitats for many animals, especially types of birds, but also ensures a safe working environment.\n"Organic growing avoids any possibility of poisoning water and accidental poisoning of workers in the area," North said.\nEqual Exchange and Bloomingfoods Co-ops both sell Fair Trade coffee. First Presbyterian Church, in Bloomington, began selling Fair Trade coffee two years ago in order to support small coffee farmers. \nMichel said Bloomington residents are well aware of topic of Fair Trade.\n"In Bloomington there is a lot of sympathy for the issue," Michel said. "Customers show interest, as well as lots of students."\nMichel also noted that buying Fair Trade coffee is a great way to support international, cooperative business trade. \n"Besides rebuilding the communities in which growers and their families live, fair trade co-ops promote environmental practices that preserve the diversity of cultures and habitats worldwide," she said. "You can buy fair trade products knowing that they build bonds of friendship and dignity across international boundaries, linking producer co-ops and consumer co-ops in mutually affirming ways."\nBoeyink has traveled often to Posoltega, Nicaragua, a sister town of Bloomington, since 1995 through First Presbyterian Church. \nHe noted that unless farmers are getting a fair price for their coffee many will leave their farms and travel to the cities in search for employment.\n"It's about justice, treating people fairly and giving them what they deserve for the work they've done," Boeyink said. "It's one way you can help some people make a living."\nMichel said this event will be informative, as well as interesting.\n"You will get a glimpse of the life of these people who live in the communities where coffee is grown and also see the difference it makes if one purchases Fair Trade coffee," Michel said.\nBefore the event, at 6 p.m. in Encore Cafe, a reception will be held. This is a chance to meet and speak to Zepeda and Blandon. \n"After meeting some of the folks who grow your food, and hearing the challenges they face," North said, "and learning how your decisions are influencing their lives, you won't think about food the same way again"