In an historic coming together farmers, farmworkers, traders, processors, marketers and food system advocates sat down as equals to bring fair trade home to the US. After 3 years of groundwork, the Domestic Fair Trade Association (DFTA) is ready to welcome new members. The second official annual meeting took place December 7 and 8 in the snowy hills of the Driftless Region at the headquarters of Organic Valley in LaFarge, Wisconsin.  The 35 founding members agreed to make it their mission to: “Promote and protect the integrity of Domestic Fair Trade principles through education, marketing, advocacy and endorsements.”

DFTA is a coalition of 35 businesses, including marketing and retail coops, farmer, farmworker and indigenous peoples associations, and civil society organizations devoted to organic agriculture and coop development. In addition to Organic Valley, DFTA counts among its members the Northeast Organic Farming Association, Equal Exchange, the White Earth Land Recovery Project, Centro Campesino, CATA, the Rural Advancement Foundation International, the Organic Consumers Association, the Farmer Direct Coop, and the National Cooperative Grocers Association. These diverse groups share a vision of a world where:

The food system functions like a healthy community where neighbors look after and support each other, everyone feels safe, and all contribute to a clean and harmonious environment. Family-scale and community-scale farms thrive.  All participants in the food system understand the realities, challenges, and effects of food production and distribution and choose to support fair trade every way they can.

If you are interested in applying for membership in the DFTA, please contact Kate Zaidan, www.dftassociation.com.