Dear Editor:
(In response to the Sept. 4 article “Coffee shop offers friendly alternative”) I recently visited Village Coffee and while their coffee drinks were delicious, I found that the vast majority of coffee beans they use are not fair trade certified.
The barista extended a single variety of fair trade beans, as if fair trade is merely another flavor of coffee.
Fair trade is certainly not a flavor, but market-based system to ensure that farmers receive a living wage for their crops through direct trade.
Several local coffee shops brew only fair trade beans including First Cup Cafe, which is within walking distance from campus. Personally, I’d rather spend my daily buck fifty knowing that it is doing some good in the world, rather than continuing oppression abroad.
Sincerely,
Chad Carson
Sociology Senior
