My Marathon Shoes

As my sore quads can attest, I finished the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday! Although my friend Kathy E. McKee and I were a bit slower than expected due to a comedy (or calamity!) of errors, I finished strong and met my other goals such as improving my overall fitness level. In addition to six months of physical training, I also used a lot of mental techniques to help me through. Along with a bunch of mantras, I framed the marathon miles into roughly four chunks.

The first set of miles I focused on the support I was receiving from family, friends and colleagues who believed in me and were impressed by my determination. The second set involved cataloging past accomplishments and the resources I have to draw from to take on such a challenge. The third chunk I refer to as the “stop your bitching” as I reflected on the fact that I was choosing this challenge, while literally billions of other people have daily realities that involve pain and deprivation without the financial, physical and cultural/political resources I have access to. Don’t confuse this segment of the race with pity miles, though, as I was reminded by a Marine who had his right leg partially amputated. He cheered me and Kathy on (calling us “The Obama Girls” due to the bumper stickers on our backs) as he, another Marine, and his prosthetic device whizzed on by! The final set was "Memorial Miles" as I dedicated the toughest miles to the memory of friends, family and colleagues who were unable to run due to their early deaths: Angela Campos, an AmeriCorps leader murdered by her ex-boyfriend; Ivan Klein, a Quaker friend who died in a freak hiking accident; Christopher Mastrangelo, my 40 year cousin who died after a 6 month struggle with brain cancer; and Kennan Garvey, another Quaker Friend and leader whose heart attack ended his life just a few weeks after announcing his retirement.

The last 1.2 mile was just the “whatever gets you over the line” and that included singing songs, walking A LOT, and chatting with fellow finishers.

As this is a professional blog, you are probably wondering what all this has to do with Fair Trade. Well, during all the training, I got pretty curious about runner gear, especially my shoes. In a recent issue of Running World an article traced the journey a pair of Asics running shoes in an effort to build runner awareness of the environmental impacts of their most important piece of equipment. Although I wish the article had also considered the workers in each step of the value chain of these shoes, because environmental sustainability is a key principle of Fair Trade I thought I would share the path of an Asics pair to highlight what it takes to bring a consumer good to market AND what role we can play in reducing our carbon footprint (pun intended!)

Here is the shoe journey described by Runners World:

1) Asics has a factory in Shandong Providence in China whose workers put together dozens of components from other factories to sew, glue and assemble the shoes.

2) A container of shoes takes a 12 day voyage by sea to the Port of Long Beach in California

3) After clearing customs the shoes are shipped to a warehouse in Southaven, Mississippi

4) The warehouse mails them to a running store. My local favorite is Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan, Washington, District of Columbia.

5) Once I wear my purchased shoes for 350 miles, it is up to me to either donate them to a program for the homeless or have them recycled. Nike (yes, Nike) has a network of recycling centers that cut shoes into rubber, foam and fabric pieces.

6) These materials are sent to places such as athletic-surface manufactures, which grind up the rubber for tracks and use the foam for basketball courses or running tracks.

Sounds like a nice virtuous cycle but the Runner's World article estimated that a pair for a runner from New Jersey (my home state) would travel 12,986 miles to make all this green activity happen. And I thought the 26.2 miles of a marathon was long!

Here I am at the finish line!

Support from Equal Exchange for Small Farmers and the Planet

I just posted a press release from Whole Foods, and now as I keep working my way through my in-box, I see my friends at Equal Exchange also have some news to share! It is very inspiring to see this Fair Trade pioneer sharing details of their efforts to bring justice to the food system, as well as health to the planet.

EQUAL EXCHANGE LAUNCHES NEW CAMPAIGN TO CREATE A GREEN AND MORE JUST FOOD SYSTEM

“The best way to protect jobs and livelihoods, ensure people’s food security and health, and protect the environment is to keep food production in the hands of small-scale farmers.” - Via Campesina, an international farmers’ organization

September 26, 2009 − Equal Exchange’s new campaign, Small farmers. Big Change: Creating a Green and More Just Food System represents a path to bringing justice to the food system and health to the planet. This co-operative business long recognized for being a pioneer in Fair Trade is now creating additional ways consumers and producers can join together to reduce our environmental footprints, conserve natural resources, and demand agriculture and trade policies that actually benefit small-scale farmers and consumers, instead of large corporations. The positive impact of these actions would indeed represent a powerful change.

Why should consumers care about small farmers? While 25 – 30% of the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming are estimated to come from the industrial agriculture sector, the sustainable farming practices of small-scale producers actually help cool the planet, protect the environment, and restore local eco-systems. Organic farming, reforestation, soil and watershed protection, and the use of stoves that convert organic waste into methane gas are just some of the ways in which small-scale farmers are keeping our food, our bodies, and our eco-systems healthy. By supporting small-scale farmers, we can bring justice to the food system and help reduce the effects of our changing climate. It’s a win-win solution that benefits us all.

However, small-scale farmers face tremendous challenges. Many of our agriculture and trade policies are designed to favor large agricultural corporations. The subsidies, credits, and tax incentives the government awards to agribusiness dramatically undermine the ability of small farmers to compete in the marketplace. Additionally, global warming causes changes in weather patterns which affect crops and crop cycles. Unusual storms have become more frequent and severe, causing a loss of lives, homes, crops and livelihoods.

Equal Exchange’s new campaign involves education, environmental and food security partnerships, and political action. Our new blog: www. SmallFarmersBigChange.coop offers articles and opinions on agricultural, trade, and environmental issues that affect small farmers and consumers. Through the blog, we will also keep consumers informed of key legislative areas and other opportunities for political action in which we can influence trade and agricultural policies that benefit producers, consumers, local communities and our planet.

Equal Exchange is also inviting consumers to directly support the environmental protection and food security projects that small-scale farming co-operatives are implementing in their communities. Toward this end, we have created the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund. Some of the exciting projects the fund will support this year are:

• Climate change adaptation project, South Africa.

The Heiveld Co-operative and Wupperthal Tea Association are comprised of 220 small-scale farming families located in the Northern and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa. These indigenous communities descend from native Khoi and San populations that have inhabited the region and cultivated rooibos for centuries. Due to extreme climatic conditions in the southern Kalahari, global climate change affects these farmers disproportionately. Their land, livelihood and culture are in peril. Equal Exchange has committed to raising $20,000 to support their efforts to adapt to this rapid climate change. The project will include initiatives to: enhance bio-diversity; promote water conservation; develop windbreaks using native plant materials to enhance soil carbon and reduce soil degradation; and, recapture the indigenous strategies of natural resource management used by their ancestors.

• Food security, organic farming, and environmental preservation, Colombia.

“Everything I grow is organic. Why? You see my hands; they’re covered in dirt. But they’re no longer burnt from using chemicals. And my land? Well, it’s time to give back to the land a part of what the land has given to me.” Doña Ana Lucia Bañol, “La Montaña” Reserve, Riosucio, Caldas

In the outskirts of Riosucio, Caldas, 3,300 Embara Chambi farmers have formed the ASPROCAFE Ingrumá coffee co-operative to improve their members’ quality of life, preserve their culture and communities, and protect the area’s natural resources. In Caldas, many of the coffee trees are old, density per acre is low, and soils are depleted. Deforestation and poor land use management have caused additional problems: soil erosion, land and mudslides, water contamination, and changes in the local weather.

Many farmers in Colombia today lack interest in organic farming because it is difficult and costly. Yet, the indigenous farmers in ASPROCAFE are deeply committed to the environment and to deepening their organic practices. In the past two years, Equal Exchange and its partner, Lutheran World Relief, provided over $65,000 to support their integrated food security, environmental preservation and reforestation project which includes: planting of organic coffee and fruit trees; soil and water conservation trainings and practices; organic gardening and the fabrication of natural pesticides, fertilizers, and methane cooking gas; and a loan fund for women to buy farm animals to make organic fertilizer to diversify their diets and income. This year, Equal Exchange is committing to raise an additional $15,000 to ASPROCAFE for this project. The co-operative plans to build an organic fertilizer plant to increase production and offer the excess to neighboring communities.

• Reforestation, food security, environmental protection, Nicaragua.

“Look how green it is here. It’s hard to believe, but it actually rains more here than in other areas of Boaco. Wherever you look and see green, lush farms - those belong to members of the co-operative.” -Maria Theresa Mendoza Martinez

The Boaco region, where the farmers of the Tierra Nueva (New Earth) Union of Co-operatives have their farms, is cattle country. The landscape is dry and deforested as most of the hills have been cleared to grow pasture for the cattle. But several communities stand out – green and lush, these coffee farms are shaded with varieties of fruit and timber trees and it rains often.

The members of Tierra Nueva are fanatics in their concern to protect these last patches of green. Last year, Equal Exchange, and its partner, Presbyterian USA, funded an environmental protection and food security project in which members planted 200,000 coffee trees, 5,000 fruit trees, and constructed 16 fuel efficient stoves for their members. This year, Equal Exchange has committed an additional $10,000 to continue the project. The co-operative plans to reforest an additional 50 hectares, construct 22 more fuel efficient stoves and begin an organic fertilizer project using worm composting.

• Food security and income generation, Mexico.

CESMACH was founded in 1995 to help the farmers in the Sierra Madre region of Chiapas to market their coffee at higher prices, access affordable credit and receive technical assistance, while at the same time protect the important resources of the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, a U.N. designated World Heritage Site. The organization groups 270 families of small coffee producers in 14 communities, located in the buffer zones of the Reserve. Within the nucleus of the biosphere, agricultural activities are not permitted as the area contains many endangered and protected species. Organic farming is allowed in the buffer zone, which separates the biosphere from the surrounding region, as long as it is done in accordance with a strict set of standards designed to protect the fragile environment of the rain and cloud forest. For thousands of farmers living in this area, coffee is the principal agricultural activity and their only source of income.

Consequently, CESMACH has decided not only to become the supplier of the highest quality, organic coffee in the region, but to create and implement a variety of social development and environmental projects which will benefit its members and the fragile Biosphere in which they live. Three years ago, the co-operative began to actively work with the women members and the wives of members to support their efforts to provide a more healthy and diversified diet to their families, as well as generate additional income. Earlier this year, Equal Exchange and its partner, the Uniterian Universalist Service Committee, provided $15,000 to support a women’s leadership development and capacity building project. Now Equal Exchange is committing to raise an additional $20,000 to support an integrated environmental protection and food security project which will establish 50 organic gardens, 180 mixed fruit-tree gardens (2000 plants of different species), 40 rustic family plant nurseries to encourage the recovery of native crops found in the Biosphere, and 30 collective chicken coops in which they will raise 2400 chickens for consumption and sale into the local market.

How can consumers help?

• Purchase Equal Exchange’s Organic Love Buzz coffee. For every 12 oz. package sold, Equal Exchange will donate 20 cents to our Small Farmers Green Planet Fund. 100% of these funds will go to support the green projects of our farmer partners.
• Food co-operative members and consumers can purchase Equal Exchange’s Organic Co-op Blend. For every pound purchased, Equal Exchange will donate 25 cents to the Small Farmers Green Planet Fund.
• Make a tax-deductible donation to Grassroots International and send it to Equal Exchange, 50 United Drive, West Bridgewater, MA 02379. Write Small Farmers Green Planet Fund on the check.
• Visit www.SmallFarmersBigChange.coop to read about these projects and our campaign, as well as to offer your thoughts and opinions. Sign up to receive Action Alerts on key legislative and other political actions.
• Support domestic small-scale farmers by purchasing produce from local farmers, and Fairly Traded coffee, tea, and chocolate from small-scale farmer co-operatives abroad.

About Equal Exchange:

A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate and healthy snacks to retailers and food service establishments. Major customers include Shaw’s, Whole Foods, Hannaford, Ten Thousand Villages, hundreds of natural food stores, restaurants, and thousands of places of worship nationwide. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 18 countries around the world.

For more information, contact:
Phyllis Robinson
EQUAL EXCHANGE
West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Tel 774 776 7390
probinson@equalexchange.coop

Wnole Foods, Farmworkers and Domestic Fair Trade?

It is perhaps a bit lazy to just cut and paste a press release. But because I try to support farmworkers I wanted to share this news. It is a month old, but I hope by now there may be some response from Fair Traders about its implications regarding the Whole Trade guarantee for US farmers and farmworkers?

Whole Foods Market Signs Agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to Support "Penny-per-Pound" Tomato Program in Florida
Company Also Exploring Program to Help Guarantee Ethical Sourcing and Production in the U.S.
Contact:
libba.letton@wholefoods.com (512) 542-3031
julia@ciw-online.org (239) 657-8311

AUSTIN, TX (September 9, 2008) – Whole Foods Market, the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), the Florida-based farm worker organization spearheading the growing Campaign for Fair Food, announced today that the two will work in partnership to help improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers.

According to an agreement signed this week, Whole Foods Market will support the CIW’s “penny-per-pound” approach for tomatoes purchased from Florida, with the goal of passing these additional funds on to the harvesters.

“With this agreement, the Campaign for Fair Food has again broken new ground,” said Gerardo Reyes of the CIW. “This is not only our first agreement in the supermarket industry but, in working with Whole Foods Market, we have the opportunity to really raise the bar to establish and ensure modern day labor standards and conditions in Florida.”

“We commend the CIW for their advocacy on behalf of these workers,” said Karen Christensen, Global Produce Coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “After carefully evaluating the situation in Florida, we felt that an agreement of this nature was in line with our core values and was in the best interest of the workers.”

Additionally, Whole Foods Market is exploring the creation of a domestic purchasing program to help guarantee transparent, ethical and responsible sourcing and production, using the company’s existing Whole Trade Guarantee program as a model. Whole Trade Guarantee, a third-party verified program, ensures that producers and laborers in developing countries get an equitable price for their goods in a safe and healthy working environment. The goal is to purchase Florida tomatoes from growers that will implement a similar program. “We are especially excited about working with the CIW to develop this domestic ‘Whole Trade-type’ program,” said Christensen.

About the Coalition of Immokalee Workers
The CIW (www.ciw-online.org) is a community-based farmworker organization headquartered in Immokalee, Florida, with over 4,000 members. The CIW seeks modern working conditions for farmworkers and promotes their fair treatment in accordance with national and international labor standards. Among its accomplishments, the CIW has aided in the prosecution by the Department of Justice of six slavery operations and the liberation of well over 1,000 workers. The CIW uses creative methods to educate consumers about human rights abuses in the U.S. agriculture industry, the need for corporate social responsibility, and how consumers can help workers realize their social change goals. The CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food has won unprecedented support for fundamental farm labor reforms from retail food industry leaders, with the goal of enlisting the market power of those companies to demand more humane labor standards from their Florida tomato suppliers.

About Whole Foods Market®
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com) is the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first national certified organic grocer. In fiscal year 2007, the company had sales of $6.6 billion and currently has more than 270 stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Whole Foods Market motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”™ captures the company’s mission to find success in customer satisfaction and wellness, employee excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Whole Foods Market, Fresh & WildTM, and Harry’s Farmers Market® are trademarks owned by Whole Foods Market IP, LP. Wild Oats® and Capers Community MarketTM are trademarks owned by Wild Marks, Inc. Whole Foods Market employs more than 53,000 Team Members and has been ranked for 11 consecutive years as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine.

Fair Trade Playing it Forward in the Midwest

First off, happy Fair Trade month to all here in the United States! Last weekend, I was gearing up for the big month with a few speaking engagements in Michigan. It was a great chance to celebrate an Fair Trade retailer, Kirabo, as well as talk with consumers, including several students who volunteer at the store as well as turned out for the talk and a coffee cupping. I heard that Michigan State University was the first school to go 100% Fair Trade with coffee in their dining-halls, which I confess surprised me a bit (I had thought it was Cornell). Anybody out there in blogland who can confirm?

In any case, it was great to be with the people of Michigan, including Jody and Chris Tretter, who run the amazing Higher Grounds coffee house and roastry in Traverse City. If you want to experience fully committed Fair Traders in action, check out their operations. They embrace the Fair Trade model as much as possible, for example paying living wages and health care to their employees, and protecting the environment by not using "to go" cups (customers donate mugs which others can borrow or keep!). Environmental sustainability was the topic of my talk, and when I got home the theme continued to be at the fore-front of my mind.

Going through my mail when I returned to my apartment, I saw my royalty statement from my book publisher, Oneworld. I confess I was pretty pleased to learn that more than 5,200 copies of the book had been sold since its debut in May 2007. But the news just kept getting better. A colleague of mine, Laura Strickland (see photo below courtesy of CRS], sent me a story about how she has been using the book for education and saving a few trees in the process!

At the end of our [CRS Fair Trade training] in Seattle we were invited to take extras of what was on the table. I chose to take an extra copy of your book. When I returned home I wanted to share the book with others so I decided to put a note in the book. It was a very simple note. 'When finished reading this book please sign it and pass it on to someone else you think would be interested in reading about Fair Trade.' I signed it Laura Strickland, CRS Fair Trade Ambassador, and I also put in my phone number. I did this in June 08 as soon as I returned from Seattle....I recently had a message left on my phone form a gentleman in Wisconsin. The message was telling me he was now reading Fair Trade: A Beginners Guide. He also told me that he was the 16th person to sign the book and that it has been in 6 states. It has traveled a good distance from Kitty Hawk NC to Wisconsin.

I really appreciate Laura sharing that story! Although I can't proclaim that my book is published on post-consumer recycled paper using planet-friendly inks, it does my conscience good to know that others are reusing my book as a way to decrease consumption during Fair Trade month and all year long.