a
Conference
on the World Economy
at the University of Cincinatti 10/10 thru 10/12
Fair
Trade Rally!!
at the P&G Annual Shareholder Meeting in
Cincinnati 10/14
Background
Info
on the Coffee Crisis and the
Fair Trade Solution
SUPPORT A LIVING WAGE FOR COFFEE FARMERS!!
FAIR TRADE
RALLY, OUTSIDE THE P&G ANNUAL SHAREHOLDER MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER
14, 11:00a.m.
AT THE ARONOFF CENTER
7th (650) AND WALNUT, CINCINNATI
For more information, contact the InterCommunity Justice and Peace Center at
513-579-8547 or Global Exchange at 415-225-3787 and visit www.globalexchange.org/coffee.
On October 14th Procter & Gamble is holding its annual shareholder meeting in Cincinnati!
After almost 2 years of grassroots campaigning with consumers,
people of faith, students, the labor community, human rights
organizations, and shareholders, Procter & Gamble (P&G), owner
of Folgers and Millstone and the largest US coffee company, finally
agreed to buy Fair Trade and sell it online at www. millstone. com!
Because P&G is taking this first, small step in a commitment to
Fair Trade, it is a victory for small-scale farmers and the corporate
accountability movement. There is, however, still a lot of work to be
done.
This year, the P&G shareholder meeting offers a key opportunity to
raise awareness and increase consumer demand for Fair Trade! Coffee
farmers remain in severe crisis, due to the abysmally low world market
price. Fair Trade Certified coffee guarantees a living wage for
farmers. Join us to celebrate this victory for farmers and to let
P&G know wešll be watching to make sure the company keeps its
promises.
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GLOBAL: A CONFERENCE ON THE WORLD ECONOMY
OCTOBER 10-12 at UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI'S Old Chemistry
Building.
Workshops include: Fair Trade/Alternatives to Corporate Capitalism,
Coalition Building, Media: Corporate and Independent, Reaching Out:
Suburbs and the Inner City, Making Connections Between Global and Local
Issues, Working with Diverse Peoples, Prison Industrial Complex and the
"Justice" System, Environmental Effects of
Globalization, Street Medic Basics, Direct Action and Civil
Disobedience, Anti-Militarism
CONTACT:
cincyglobal@yahoo.com
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Background
on the Coffee Crisis and the Fair Trade Solution
Fair Trade certification guarantees small farmers a living wage,
improves their access to health care and education, promotes
sustainable agricultural practices, and empowers producers with control
of their own marketing as members of democratic farmers cooperatives.
Human rights groups, social justice activists, environmentalists, and
unions around the world are pressuring large corporations to sell Fair
Trade certified products.
The Coffee Crisis Millions of coffee farmers around the world are
facing poverty and starvation. That's because in recent years global
coffee prices have plummeted to all-time lows and now hover around 50
cents a pound. The price slump is wreaking havoc on the estimated 20
million families that depend on coffee to earn a living. The crisis is
breeding social instability and conflict, contributing to famine, and
threatening to ruin an entire generation of farmers.
In El Salvador, the government says that 30,000 jobs have been lost due
to the plummeting prices. In Nicaragua, thousands of displaced coffee
workers have set up makeshift refugee camps in regional cities to
demand work, land, and food for their families. Some 30,000 Panamanian
indigenous families, who depend on seasonal coffee-picking wages, face
hunger from plummeting prices. In Africa, the price crash has
exacerbated strains between Hutus and Tutsis. And in Colombia, the
effort to limit coca production is being hindered by the flood of
out-of-work coffee growers. The World Food Program estimates that
150,000 refugees have been created as a result of the crisis. Hundreds
have died, and thousands may follow.
THE FAIR TRADE SOLUTION
Luckily, there is a solution to this crisis. "Fair Trade Certified"
coffee guarantees farmers a minimum of $1.26 a pound. With this income,
farmers can put food on their table and invest in their families'
health and education. Fair Trade coffee has been a widespread and
popular product in Europe for decades. Fair Trade coffee was introduced
in the US four years ago, and since then more than 160 coffee companies
have started selling the socially responsible brew. Fair Trade
Certified coffee currently benefits 600,000 farming families in 32
countries. But the number of farmers benefiting from Fair Trade could
be far higher. In 2001, Fair Trade cooperatives produced 235 million
pounds of coffee. However, because not enough people know about Fair
Trade, only 32 million pounds were sold under Fair Trade terms, leaving
thousands of Fair Trade-certified farmers with no choice but to sell
their crop at rock bottom prices.
As Fair Trade advocates, we need to get more companies to buy Fair
Trade coffee on a large scale! Come show your support for Fair Trade at
the Procter & Gamble shareholder meeting Oct. 14 in Cincinnati!
Background info is from Valerie Orth, Fair Trade Organizer, Global Exchange
2017 Mission Street #303 San Francisco, California 94110 Phone 415.558.6938 or 800.497.1994 ext. 361 Fax 415.255.7498
valerie@globalexchange.org
Global Exchange is a San Francisco-based international human rights
organization that builds alliances between citizens of the global North
and South.
Since its founding in 1988 Global Exchange has participated in
grassroots international social movements, promoting human rights,
peace, corporate accountability, sustainable development and fair
trade.
In particular, Global Exchange is committed to communities in the
Global South and the US that have been hardest hit by corporate
globalization and militarization.
Global Exchange organizes several educational and activist programs,
working for local, international and global justice.
See also: www. globalexchange.org/coffee
and www. globalexchange.org/cocoa.
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