[Imc-newsroom] Starbucks Global Week of Action!! (fwd)

Fri Feb 22 17:51:50 CST 2002

hello,

i thought it'd be nice to do an interview with these folks about the fair
trade campaigns (maybe get audio from the protests?).

can someone show/tell me how to hook up the phone call recorder?

thanks.

molly

-- 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 11:27:33 -0800
From: Deborah James <deborah at globalexchange.org>
To: Post Fairtrade <Fairtradelist at globalexchange.org>
Subject: Starbucks Global Week of Action!!

Dear Fair Traders,

As you know, Global Exchange has been pressuring specialty coffee giant
Starbucks to increase their commitment to farmers by seriously promoting and
BREWING Fair Trade coffee at least once a week.  This year we join the
Organic Consumers Association in a week of action - next week!  We encourage
Fair Trade activists to contact OCA at Simon at organicconsumers.org or call
510-525-7054 to participate in the local nationwide actions, and click on
the link below to find out more.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Starbucks/starbucks.html

STARBUCKS GLOBAL WEEK OF ACTION FEBRUARY 23 - MARCH 2, 2002
GET INVOLVED!!!

Organic Consumers Association volunteers around the world are gearing up
for the biggest week of action to date in the Frankenbucks Campaign, in
which we will leaflet and demonstrate at 600 stores in 300 cities around
the world.  In the past year thousands of activists in the US, Canada,
New Zealand, Israel and England have protested and leafleted outside of
Starbucks cafes in what continues to be the largest grassroots campaign
of its kind focusing on genetic engineering and fair trade.  Our
volunteers have now handed out a quarter of a million leaflets to
Starbucks customers and we have educated many millions more through the
numerous media stories we have generated.

The upcoming week of action is crucial if we are to succeed in getting
Starbucks to meet our demands in this campaign.  On February 26, 2002
Starbucks will be holding their annual shareholders meeting in Seattle,
WA.  During the meeting Starbucks shareholders will present a resolution
asking the company to label or remove GE ingredients from their product
line.  We want Starbucks to live up to their self-proclaimed image of
being a socially responsible business.  As an industry leader Starbucks
has an obligation to provide safe food for their consumers and a living
wage to coffee growers.

HELP PRESSURE STARBUCKS TO REMOVE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS
FROM THEIR FOOD AND DAIRY PRODUCTS ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS, IMPROVE WORKING
CONDITIONS FOR COFFEE PLANTATION WORKERS, AND BREW AND SERIOUSLY PROMOTE
FAIR TRADE COFFEE IN ALL OF THEIR CAFES. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO MAKE
THIS WEEK OF ACTION SUCCESSFUL.  HELP US LEAFLET 300 CAFES AROUND THE
WORLD.

If you are willing to participate please contact
mailto: Simon at organicconsumers.org or call 510-525-7054
Please tell our staff the date, time and location of the Starbucks
outlets you will be leafleting, and we will be happy to send you an
organizing packet with all the information and materials you need to
organize a protest in your town. You can also read about the latest
campaign developments on the special Starbucks section on our website,
which is updated daily.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/Starbucks/starbucks.html

==========================================================
Starbucks braces for another round with eco-protests

By Chris Stetkiewicz

SEATTLE, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Facing mounting pressure from protest
groups, Starbucks Corp. SBUX.O on Wednesday affirmed its commitment to
environmentally friendly products and fair wages for coffee farmers.

Protesters will hand out fliers at Starbucks stores in six countries,
including the United States, late this month and amass outside
Starbucks' February 26 annual meeting for a second straight year to
demand hormone-free milk and a stronger commitment to farmers.

"Starbucks is a market leader. They are an icon associated with the
industry and if they start to change their practices it could have a
ripple effect," said Simon Harris, protest organizer for the Organic
Consumers Association (OCA).

Seattle-based Starbucks buys just one percent of the world's coffee
output but its 5,000-plus cafes make it an easy target for opponents of
genetically modified foods--which are not present in Starbucks coffee
and tea--and other activists.

Starbucks now offers organic cow's milk and soy milk in many cafes and
last November agreed to buy 1 million pounds (455,000 kg) of "fair
trade" coffee over 12 to 18 months, guaranteeing at least $1.26 per
pound to small farmers hammered by low prices and a worldwide coffee
glut.

Critics say that's a drop in the bucket, with some 165 million pounds
(75 million kg) of fair trade beans produced each year, and total world
coffee supply near 15 billion pounds (6.6 billion kg).

"We certainly commend them for taking the first step," Harris told
Reuters by telephone. "But there is a lot more room to produce fair
trade coffee, or to take steps to certify that suppliers are paying
farmers the fair price."

Starbucks has also committed to brewing fair trade coffee once a month
in many of its cafes, though some insiders quietly complain about the
uneven quality. Protesters want to see that brew once a week.

Starbucks Chief Executive Orin Smith shot back that the OCA was
spreading "inaccurate" and "grossly misleading" information that
minimized Starbucks' progress on these issues.

"They have also publicly stated that Starbucks is a socially responsible
company and have targeted us only to generate publicity," Smith said in
a statement released to Reuters.

Starbucks noted it buys more than half its beans directly from farms or
co-ops, eliminating markups by middlemen and thus maximizing payments to
farmers.

Organic milk is more difficult to buy and more expensive, Starbucks
said, and customers have shown little appetite for it. Still, the
company promised to keep offering milk without bovine growth hormones
for the foreseeable future.

"We estimate that about 20 percent of all the milk Starbucks purchases
in North America is from cows not treated with (hormones)," Starbucks
said. "As we identify additional qualified suppliers of milk that meet
these standards, we will convert to these sources as long as it is
financially feasible for Starbucks to do so."

The latest protests are the fourth in a series that began at last year's
Starbucks shareholders meeting in Seattle and OCA organizers, who claim
some 250,000 members, say they are growing in size.

Organizers also say they plan to pressure the much larger roasters of
coffee brands that blanket supermarket shelves, including Procter &
Gamble Co. PG.N, which owns Folgers Coffee Co. and Millstone Coffee,
Inc.

P&G last month announced plans to help small farmers in Latin America
produce better quality coffee worth more money and to develop economic
options besides coffee.

--
Deborah James, Fair Trade Director
Global Exchange
deborah at globalexchange.org
415.255.7296  x245
415.255.7498  fax
2017 Mission Street #303, San Francisco, CA 94110
http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/coffee

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