1) BLACK GOLD: WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
Tadesse Meskela in the documentary Black Gold
In
his talk, Fair Trade Coffee and the Global Coffee Industry, Meskela will speak about the realities and impact of the
global commodity trade in coffee on all involved, from small Ethiopian coffee
farmers to large multinationals such as Starbucks Coffee. He gives his talk
Monday at
Meskela founded the Oromia
Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in 1999 and spends most of his time flying
around the world meeting coffee buyers who will pay his farmers a better price
than that set by the international commodities exchange. The union represents
101 cooperatives and ensures the livelihood of some half million individuals
(74,000 coffee farmers and their families).
Meskela’s drive to help poor coffee farmers comes from growing up in poverty in
the countryside outside
Since
then, the union has paid $2 million in dividends to member farmers as well
as funded the contruction of four new schools, 17
additional classrooms, four health centres and two
water supply stations.
Fair
Trade is an organized social movement that aims to help marginalized producers
and workers in developing countries gain economic self-sufficiency by exporting
their products to developed countries and selling them at a "fair"
price. The movement promotes international labour, environmental and
social policy standards in the production of Fair Trade labelled
and unlabelled goods. It encourages producers to play an active role in their
cooperatives and in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international
trade.
The
principles of Fair Trade are fair price, fair labour
conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community
development, and environmental sustainability.
Fair
Trade-certified goods available in the
At
the Schulich School of Business, Timothy's Market
Café sells Las Nubes coffee, York’s own Fair Trade
coffee brand.
Meskela’s lecture is sponsored by Planet Bean Coffee, Just Us! Coffee Roasters
Co-Op, York’s Business & Society Program, Las Nubes
Sustainable Coffee Project, Division of Social Science, International
Development Studies Program, African Studies Program, and the Schulich School of Business' International MBA,
Entrepreneurial Studies & Family Enterprise, Business Ethics, Corporate
Social Responsibility, and Business & Sustainability Programs.
QUESTION:
THE
FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT OFFERS A “MICRO” {LOCAL} APPROACH/STRATEGY AIMED AT FAIR
PRICE, FAIR LABOUR CONDITIONS, DIRECT TRADE,
DEMOCRATIC AND TRANSPARENT ORGANIZATIONS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.
ONE
PARTICULAR “MACRO”{CONTEXTUAL} SOLUTION/STRATEGY
OFFERED BY BLACK ACTIVISTS FOR “THE THREAT ON