Written by adam on Mar 24, 2008
Austintine Wins Grant to Study Coffee in Brazil
I thought this was a pretty cool story, considering it involves a person from my part of the world here. Go Maroons! Loyal Forever.
CORAL GABLES, FLA, MARCH 17 – Aimee Finney, a teacher at Stephen F. Austin High School, has won a national study grant competition sponsored by warehouse retailer Sam's Club, non-profit TransFair USA and coffee roaster Café Bom Dia. Ms. Finney will spend a week in Brazil this summer, studying how Fair Trade Certified ™ standards improve environmental, economic and social conditions for coffee farmers and their families.
Fair Trade Certified ™ coffee is grown by family farmers who are paid a minimum, guaranteed harvest price in exchange for meeting strict standards on land, water and chemical use, as well as investing in community projects and prohibiting child labor. Sam's Club, TransFair USA and Café Bom Dia sponsored the national essay competition last October to expand awareness of how consumers can make a positive difference by choosing Fair Trade Certified coffee.
"Students get all kinds of messages about why a product or brand is cool, but there's very little linkage to the human or environmental impact of the purchases we make. Studying the Fair Trade Certified coffee model in Brazil gives me a rare opportunity to bring real world lessons on global issues into my classroom. I believe it's essential that we teach the next generation to be critical thinkers about the impact of our choices in our own communities and around the world," said Ms. Finney. During the weeklong Study Grant, Finney will meet farmers, staff at coffee cooperatives, local teachers and social service providers in southern Brazil who have personally experienced coffee farming before and after Fair Trade certification.
Sponsoring the Study Grant was a natural fit for Sam's Club, which has offered Fair Trade Certified coffee since 2006, when it joined Café Bom Dia in launching the gourmet Member's Mark by Marques de Paiva coffee. In 2007, Sam's Club converted its Member's Mark Premium Ground coffee to Fair Trade Certified. Greg Spragg, Executive Vice President of Merchandising at Sam's Club, explained how sponsoring the weeklong study grant fits with the retailer's priorities on sustainability. "The study grant creates a tangible moment to show how a simple switch, like changing the coffee in your home, at school or in your office, can make a measurable difference for family farmers and the environment."
TransFair USA is the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. "People begin to support Fair Trade Certified coffee when they learn how its standards preserve natural habitats, limit the use of chemicals, and give family farmers a fair price. But when someone visits the farms and meets the families, they go from simply being supportive to becoming personally invested in using their voice to make a difference," explained Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA.
Study Grant sponsor Café Bom Dia is a fourth-generation family-owned coffee company based in Brazil. "We source our Fair Trade Certified coffee from more than 3700 family farmers in Brazil, who we consider to be an extended part of our own family. We are proud to share their remarkable stories with the winning teachers and play our part to offer coffee that makes a positive difference for the environment and farming communities," offered Joe Alcantara, president of North American operations for Café Bom Dia.
In addition to sourcing ethically and environmentally-friendly coffee, Café Bom Dia has measured, reduced and offset emissions at its state of the art facility in Brazil to become the world's first CARBON NEUTRAL coffee roaster.
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Since winter of 2004, I have been exploring the world of cooking and helping out my fellow men in their quests to better themselves in the kitchen. My name is Adam Byrd, you can learn more about me and my mission on my