Spring Break
Students vote for Fair Trade coffee on campus
by Michelle Hamburgh
News | 12/6/05
Posted online at 11:08 AM EST on 12/6/05
Students voted to pass a petition supporting the exclusive sale of Fair Trade coffee in campus dining halls, Student Union Secretary Aaron Braver '07 announced in a campuswide e-mail on Saturday, Nov. 26.
The petition, which resulted from months of campus lobbying by the Fair Trade Brigade, a Brandeis advocacy group, passed with a vote of 620 in favor, 259 against and 43 abstentions.
The vote throws official opinion of the Student Union behind the selling of Fair Trade coffee exclusively on campus, but Aramark, which provides nearly all of the campus's food services, makes the final decisions regarding dining hall supply.
Student Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 said Vice President of Facilities Services Mark Collins, who oversees Aramark's operations on campus, told her Aramark would make the change if students supported it. Dining Services Director Barb LaVerdiere could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Fair Trade coffee would sell for 20 cents more than coffee currently costs in Java City, Fair Trade Brigade financial liaison Lauren Abramowitz '07 said. All dining locations on campus currently offer Fair Trade coffee at the same price as regular coffee, but the switch to selling only Fair Trade would be too costly to keep the same prices.
"I am really excited that the referendum passed," Abramowitz said. "I think it's a really great statement that Brandeis is making as a community showing that we're progressive and looking to make changes in the way that global trade is run."
Advocates of Fair Trade claim importers pay impoverished coffee farmers prices that fall below production costs. Through Fair Trade, importers are required to pay competitive prices, a minimum of $1.26 per pound, according to global exchange.org.
While some consider the concept to be a humanitarian victory, others deem it economically inefficient.
Prof. Michael Coiner (ECON) said students and faculty should have a choice when choosing which coffee they consume.
The petition, which resulted from months of campus lobbying by the Fair Trade Brigade, a Brandeis advocacy group, passed with a vote of 620 in favor, 259 against and 43 abstentions.
The vote throws official opinion of the Student Union behind the selling of Fair Trade coffee exclusively on campus, but Aramark, which provides nearly all of the campus's food services, makes the final decisions regarding dining hall supply.
Student Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 said Vice President of Facilities Services Mark Collins, who oversees Aramark's operations on campus, told her Aramark would make the change if students supported it. Dining Services Director Barb LaVerdiere could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
Fair Trade coffee would sell for 20 cents more than coffee currently costs in Java City, Fair Trade Brigade financial liaison Lauren Abramowitz '07 said. All dining locations on campus currently offer Fair Trade coffee at the same price as regular coffee, but the switch to selling only Fair Trade would be too costly to keep the same prices.
"I am really excited that the referendum passed," Abramowitz said. "I think it's a really great statement that Brandeis is making as a community showing that we're progressive and looking to make changes in the way that global trade is run."
Advocates of Fair Trade claim importers pay impoverished coffee farmers prices that fall below production costs. Through Fair Trade, importers are required to pay competitive prices, a minimum of $1.26 per pound, according to global exchange.org.
While some consider the concept to be a humanitarian victory, others deem it economically inefficient.
Prof. Michael Coiner (ECON) said students and faculty should have a choice when choosing which coffee they consume.
