ASUCD Resolution 26 states ASUCD's support for the Coffee House and the UC Davis campus community to become more socially and environmentally responsible purchasers of goods. See also Fair Trade and Fair Trade Coffee.
Resolution 26
WHEREAS, many students are looking for more socially conscious and environmentally responsible ways to conduct their lives, ways which do not degrade people, animals or the environment; and
WHEREAS, many coffee farmers receive market payments for their coffee which are less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt; and
WHEREAS, intensive coffee farming also leads to environmental problems, such as pesticide pollution, deforestation and extinction of some bird species through habitat destruction; and
WHEREAS, Fair Trade works to correct these imbalances by guaranteeing a minimum wage for the small producers' harvest, as well as encouraging the cultivation of coffee without the use of pesticides; and
WHEREAS, with the profit generated from receiving a fair wage, coffee growers are able to invest in such areas as health, education, and environmental protection; and
WHEREAS, more than 500,000 farmers in 20 countries produce and sell more than 32 million pounds of coffee each year through the fair trade network; and
WHEREAS, the United States consumes a fifth of all coffee produced in the world, and as a whole consumes the greatest amount of goods and services in the world, invests the most capital, and thus wields tremendous influence in the global economy; and
WHEREAS, cooperatively owned companies are more socially responsible; and
WHEREAS, a current example of a cooperatively owned company, Equal Exchange, reinvests 80% of its profits in its fair trade mission of supporting small farmers and sustainable agriculture; and
WHEREAS, Equal Exchange is a full-service company which is competitive with the current ASUCD supplier and which has experience with larger institutions; and
WHEREAS, ASUCD, as a purchaser of goods and services, has a responsibility to ensure that funds are spent in a manner consistent with decent ethical and labor standards, including assuring that workers are paid a living wage, and purchasing goods made in the most fair manner when possible; and
WHEREAS, a change towards sustainable coffee will bear positively on the University and its students, by setting an example in the community and furthering education about responsible consumer choices;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, insofar as is judged practical and feasible by the Coffee House management, ASUCD will purchase coffee that is certified as Fair Trade, organic, and shade-grown by independent certifying agencies and that is from the most socially and environmentally responsible company available; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, ASUCD promote Fair Trade coffee to the greatest extent at the Coffee House and continue to investigate environmentally and socially responsible alternatives for its purchases; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, ASUCD encourage university and community leaders to adopt a similar policy of social and environmental responsibility; and
THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT, copies of this resolution be sent to Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef; Sharon Coulson and Alex Park of the Coffee House; Global Exchange; The California Aggie; The Davis Enterprise; The Sacramento Bee; KDVS; and La Palabra, Because People Matter, Java City, Starbucks, Café Roma, Delta of Venus, Mishka's, City of Davis Chamber of Commerce, Davis City Council, Davis City Manager, Retail Food Service Director of Sodexho -Marriott Services, CURB Chair, and Oakland City Council Member Nadel.
