Fair Trade Blog

Pie and coffee are a great combination.   It’s easy to find a good cup brewed with beans from another country that were fairly traded, but the locally grown berries in your pie probably weren’t.  While the principles of fair trade are spreading throughout the developing world, it is ironic to realize they are largely not practiced right here in the US. 

My hat is off to the Local Fair Trade Network, based in Minneapolis, Minn., for trying to change that.  This grassroots effort, supported mostly by food co-ops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, is working to get fair trade practices adopted by growers of local produce. 

To that end, they have called for growers and retailers in the Midwest to take the pledge.  The pledge commits growers to practice principals including, respect for worker’s freedom of association and right to collective bargaining, providing adequate health and safety protections, and providing a living wage. 

Just a few local farms have taken the pledge, but I hope more will join in making fair trade principles part of their production process.  

Note:  Don’t miss Sarah Chayse on Bill Moyers Journal this Friday night on PBS.  Check your local listings, as they say…

Keep shopping your good values.

Kile