Coffee Measure Tests Berkeley’s Taste for Fair Trade

By Mark Murrmann and Laila Weir
November 6, 2002 02:37 PM

BERKELEY -- Local coffee shops won out over small Central American farmers as
voters overwhelmingly rejected the closely watched Fair Trade coffee initiative. Measure O, would have required that all coffee served in Berkeley be organic or certified Fair Trade. Updated Nov. 6, 2:37 pm

With nearly two-thirds of the vote counted, the measure had won only 30 percent of the vote.

The measure was the first of its kind proposed in the country and would have represented a break through for a Fair Trade movement that began 10 years ago in the Netherlands. Its defeat in Berkeley signals the difficulty of selling liberal economic programs when the impact is local.

While opponents of Measure O usually support environmental and social justice movements, on this issue, they focused closer to home. Proponents wanted to protect small-business owners in the third world. Critics were concerned about small business in Berkeley.

The Berkeley Chamber of Commerce and nearly every café, diner and restaurant in town, not to mention gas stations and convenience stores, lined up behind Mayor Shirley Dean in opposition to the measure.

A man finishes off his coffee before resuming his busy day. Photo by Kimberlee Bortfeld.

Though Dean pushed for the city to serve only Fair Trade coffee, she was skeptical as to how Measure O would be enforced. With more than 300 establishments in Berkeley that sell coffee, she saw it as an undue burden on business inspectors and also couched her opposition in terms of free trade. Dean and other don't think coffee shops should be required to serve a specific kind of coffee.

"Nobody wants to be forced to carry a specific brand," says Daryl Ross, who owns a number of cafes throughout Berkeley, including one that serves only Fair Trade coffee.

Fair Trade coffee costs 10 percent more than other coffee. That translates to just pennies per cup, says Rick Young, sponsor of the measure. Coffee sellers argued they would have needed a bigger markup to cover their bulk costs.

Proponents of the measure say buying Fair Trade coffee would not have significantly hurt local business owners. However, buying coffee produced by underpaid workers on factory farms hurts the world, say proponents.

"There's a crisis happening now," says Young. "This affects more than just coffee drinkers. It affects rainforests, the environment and farm workers."

"Coffee brewed without the bitterness of injustice just tastes better," agrees Deborah Jones of Global Exchange, a nonprofits that has promoted Fair Trade coffee since 1999. Global Exchange joined onto the Fair Trade movement.

If the measure had passed, Berkeley would have been the first city in the country to require stores to sell Fair Trade coffee. Coffee retailers in 42 states, including Starbucks, Pete's and some Safeways, already offer Fair Trade coffee by choice or because of consumer pressure.

Measure O would have required all brewed coffee served in Berkeley to be certified organic, Fair Trade or shade-grown. The measure would not have affected the sales of ground or whole bean coffee.

Shade-grown coffee must be grown under a natural forest canopy, minimizing damage to soil and water.

Fair Trade certified coffee means farmers have been paid fairly. Only small farms qualify for Fair Trade certification. Coffee is certified as Fair Trade by a nonprofit called Transfair USA.

Since the initiative was first introduced early this summer, media from around the world have picked up on the issue. While most articles paint it as an "only in Berkeley" story, sponsor Young saw the attention differently.

Measure O gained international media attention since it was introduced early in the summer. Sponsor Young saw the attention as part of the expansion of the international movement, saying he was in contact with activists in other cities who hoped to push similar initiatives. He said he feared the measure's defeat would slow that momentum.