by Caleb Fort
Daily Lobo
If the Fair Trade Initiative gets its way, UNM will join other schools around the country that sell only Fair Trade coffee by the end of the fall semester.
Fair Trade coffee makes up 25 percent of the selection at the University.
Katie Mann, co-chair of UNM's Fair Trade Initiative, said it is the duty of the University and Aramark, which sells most of the coffee on campus, to make the switch.
"I think that it's a social responsibility by the University, because it fits with the University's mission, and it fits with Aramark's mission," Mann said. "It's one way to show support for indigenous farmers."
Mann said Fair Trade ensures coffee farmers get reasonable prices for their crops by cutting out the middleman. She said many farmers in remote regions of South America and Asian countries are swindled by truck drivers, and Fair Trade focuses on building healthy relationships between growers, transporters and distributors.
Switching to only Fair Trade coffee would not affect the price by more than a few cents per cup and would not cut into Aramark's profits, Mann said.
ASUNM passed a joint resolution 19-1 on Wednesday, which encouraged coffee vendors on campus to only provide Fair Trade coffee. Starbucks is exempt from the resolution because it is a separate corporation.
Naomi Todd, co-chair of the Fair Trade Initiative, said the next step in selling only Fair Trade coffee on campus will be to present the resolution and discuss options for implementing the change to Bill Harvey, Aramark's resident district manager.
Harvey said he was not aware of the resolution, but he supports Fair Trade coffee and said Aramark is working toward 100 percent Fair Trade coffee.
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"I think it's a great program, and we need to continue promoting it," Harvey said.
He said he hopes to have 50 percent of the coffee sold on campus be Fair Trade Certified by the end of the fall semester, which is half of the initiative's goal.
Student Sen. Alex Hughes said he voted against the ASUNM resolution because it hinders free trade at UNM stores.
"Although it's an admirable cause on their part, I think we should allow students to vote with their pocketbooks for what they want sold," Hughes said.
He said he is not against Fair Trade, but he is opposed to not giving students a choice about whether to support it.
"I think there should be a diversity in what's sold on campus, and I think this would give some brands an unfair stranglehold on sales," Hughes said.
Todd disagreed with Hughes.
"The cool thing about Fair Trade is that works within the market system," Todd said. "It's not the exact opposite of free trade."
Todd said TVI, the University of Arizona, the University of Colorado, New York University and others only sell Fair Trade coffee.
Todd said the hardest part about getting Fair Trade coffee on campus has been raising awareness of what it is, and convincing ASUNM that it is good idea for the University.
She said most people support Fair Trade coffee after they learn how it helps farmers and realize it's not a brand.
There has been a good-faith agreement between the Fair Trade Initiative and Aramark since 2003 for 25 percent of the coffee sold on campus to be Fair Trade Certified, Mann said.
