Fair trade coffee activist speaks 3/22

Fair trade coffee activist speaks 3/22
March 2001

Jorge Cuevas will speak about fair trade on March 22 at 7 p.m. in the Reitz Union ballroom on the UF campus. Cuevas is the general manager of the Rainforest Trading Company, an exporter of organic and fair-trade coffee in Oaxaca, Mexico. Fair trade coffee helpes stop what have been called "sweatshops in the fields," not only guaranteeing farmers a living wage, but providing assistance in the transition to organic and more environmentally sustainable growing methods. Fair trade coffee also means helping the community itself by aiding projects like building schools and health care centers, giving these struggling communities some hope for the future. The benefits of fair trade coffees, which are certified by nonprofit monitoring organizations, now reach 300 co-ops containing around 500,000 coffee farmers all over the world.

Cuevas has 6 years of experience working on organic certification and development of small farming co-ops in Mexico and has served on the environment board for the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). He is currently on a short speaking tour of the U.S. organized by Global Exchange.

Fair trade coffees are sold at:
Wards supermarket, Alternatives, and Mother Earth.

For more information, contact Rua Stob at Rstob@yahoo.com.