What is Fair Trade

Coffee?
Fair Trade Coffee is designed to benefit
coffee farmers and the environment. In many
coffee-producing countries, small coffee
farmers receive such low prices for their
coffee that they cannot even cover the cost
o f
production and support their families. In fact,
coffee prices have recently fallen to an
all-time low, causing extreme hardships for
many Latin American farmers.
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Fair Trade coffee farms, certified by TransFair
USA, are required to ensure that the coffee
was grown using sustainable methods (such
as organic farming) and that farmers receive
a fair price for their coffee beans. Fair Trade
coffee farming ensures that families benefit
from improvements in education, housing,
and healthcare. Currently, organic Fair Trade
coffee and espresso can be purchased at
Caf Vivian in the Frist Campus Center. Be
sure to ask for organic Fair Trade coffee by
name. Dining Services is considering
making organic Fair Trade coffee available
in other locations based on the popularity of
the organic Fair Trade coffee sold in Caf
Vivian.
References

1. AntibioticResistance: Playing Chicken With Essential
Drugs, Environmental Defense Fund, http://
www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/
619_abr_general_factsheet_rev2.pdf
2. Consumer Information, USDAs National Organic
Program, http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/ Consumers/
Consumerhome.html
3. Peter Singer, Animal Liberation, pp.147-150.
4. B. P. Baker; C. M. Benbrook; E. Groth; K. Lutz
Benbrook. 2002. Pesticide residues in conventional,
integrated pest management (IPM)-grown and organic
foods: insights from three US data sets.
5. Organic Food Benefits, Nutiva Corporation, http://
www.nutiva.com/nutrition/organic.php
6. Benefits of Organic Farming, Soil Association, http://
www.soilassociation.org/sa/saweb.nsf/Farming/
benefits.html
7. The Benefits of Organic Food, Positive Health
magazine, http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/
Articles/Organic%20and%20Vegetarian/frost47.htm
8. New USDA Standards a Boon for Consumers,
Environmental Defense, http://www.environmental
defense.org/article.cfm?contentid=2361
9. Lester R. Brown, Eco-Economy: Building an
Economy for the Earth, pp.63-65
10.Fair Trade Coffee Campaign, Global Exchange,
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee/
ORGANIC ORGANIC
ORGANIC ORGANIC ORGANIC
FOOD FOOD
FOOD FOOD FOOD
Frequently
Asked Questions

What is organic food?
Organic food is grown without the use of
synthetic chemicals, such as pesticides and
fertilizers. It is grown on land that has been
free of these chemicals for at least three years.
Also, organic food is not genetically
engineered.

Organic animal
products come
from animals that
have not been given
growth hormones or antibiotics. Currently, it is
estimated that 80% of antibiotics produced in
the United States are given to farm animals;
this practice is contributing to the evolution of
antibiotic resistant bacteria, a serious threat
to public health.
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How do I know if
something is
organic?

Many organizations independently
certify farms as being organic.
Recently, the United States Department
of Agriculture began an organic
certification program. Food with the
USDA Organic label is at least 95%
organic.
2
Is organic meat/eggs/dairy
better for the animals?

Yes.
One of the reasons
that animals on conventional
farms are fed so many antibiotics
is to compensate for the stress of their
environment. Organic farmers are not allowed
to feed antibiotics and growth hormones to
their animals, so they treat the animals
better. Their animals must be fed organic food
and must have access to the outdoors.
2
They
also are subjected to less trauma before
slaughter (cattle from conventional farms
routinely lose 9% of their body weight during
pre-slaughter transport due to dehydration
and stress
3
).

Is organic food healthier?
Generally speaking, yes. Organically grown
foods contain two-thirds less pesticide residues
than conventionally grown foods (the fact that
they contain such residues at all shows how
pervasi ve these chemi cal s are i n the
environment).
4
The Environmental Protection
Agency estimates that 60% of erbicides, 90%
of fungicides, and 30% of insecticides (none of
whi ch are used i n organi c foods) are
potenti al l y carci nogeni c.
5
Al though the
government has determined acceptable levels
for many of these chemicals, many studies have
found much higher residues occurring in food
samples than is allowed by law. Not only is
organic food healthier because of the much
lower levels of toxic chemicals, it also contains
higher amounts of positive nutrients, such as
minerals and vitamin C.
6
Its not surprising then
that scientific studies suggest that organic food
tastes better too!
5
Is organic food better for the en-
vironment?
Yes. Pesticide and fertilizer runoff from
non-organic farms pollutes local waterways
and kills wildlife (including beneficial insects
and micro-organisms). In fact, seventy-five
percent of the skylark population has
disappeared from the countryside
due to conventional farming
practices.
7s
It is estimated that up to
two-thirds of fertilizers used on farmland
eventually end up in our waterways.
7
Fertilizer run-off from farms in the Midwest
have contributed to an 8,000 square mile
dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico that has
killed thousands of fish.
Organic farming methods also improve soil
fertility and reduce soil erosion.
8
The US
currently loses about 2 billion tons of topsoil
per year, significantly reducing crop yields,
forcing abandonment of farmland, and
contributing to dust storms like the Dust
Bowl of the 1930s.
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What organic food does Dining
Services offer?
Currently, only organic granola
and Oat Os are regularly served
on campus. Occasionally,
Dining Services serves organic
mixed salad greens and bakes
bread with organic ingredients.