In This Issue…

News Round-Up
The Debut of the Local Fair Trade Label!
Co-ops Weigh In On Domestic Fair Trade
Farmworker Conference for Fair Trade a Success
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The Debut of the Local Fair Trade Label!
by Erik Esse

    The Local Fair Trade Network (LFTN) and the Agricultural Justice Project (AJP) were proud to celebrate the debut of the Local Fair Trade food label pilot project with events in Minneapolis and Winona, Minnesota, July 22-25. We were pleased with the enthusiastic response we received in both communities, with many people telling us they were glad that principles of fair trade were now being applied to local food.

Over the last year, LFTN and AJP have been working with Seward Co-op in Minneapolis and Bluff Country Co-op in Winona as well as four local organic farms (Riverbend Farm in Delano, MN, Featherstone Fruit and Vegetables in Rushford, MN and Keewaydin Farms and Avalanche Organics in Viola, WI) on implementing a practical certification process based on the AJP standards. We are grateful for their patience and willingness to learn with us as we go about the difficult task of certifying fairness in trade and employer-employee relationships.    In May, audits were conducted by Marty Mesh of Quality Certification Service and Richard Mandelbaum of CATA/Farmworker Support Committee. In order to prepare for the transition to local certification, staff from Centro Campesino and Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA) observed some audit visits as well. These audits examined both the conditions of farmworkers and the relationships between retailers and farmers. In addition, Bluff Country Co-op participated in a pilot certification of their relationship with their workers, based on a draft retail standard.
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Co-ops Weigh In On Domestic Fair Trade
by Joe Riemann

On April 18th, 2007 LFTN steering committee members met with marketing and management staff from regional food cooperatives to discuss the Local Fair Trade Label pilot program that LFTN has been working on with our partners, the Agricultural Justice Project(see above article for more information). Staff from Whole Foods Co-op (Duluth), Lakewinds Co-op (Minnetonka, Chanhassen and Anoka), Bluff Country Co-op (Winona), The Wedge Co-op, Linden Hills Co- op, Seward Co-op and North Country Co-op (all Minneapolis) discussed how the program would fit into the needs and expectations of co-op shoppers. While there have been ongoing discussions within the co-op network about the emerging domestic fair trade movement, this discussion created a unique opportunity to cultivate opinions and advice from co- op retailers, the ones who know how to deliver complex messaging and abstract concepts to shoppers hungry for healthy, sustainable, and socially just foods.    In general, co-ops affirmed that they have been pioneers of the fair trade and buy local movements, so domestic fair trade is a very small leap of faith for many co-op shoppers to make. Everyone agreed that customers would be receptive if the appropriate marketing was used. To this accord, many of the co- op representatives suggested that the messaging has to be straightforward and simple, utilizing words already familiar to co-op shoppers and staff (like Local Fair Trade).
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Farmworker Conference for Fair Trade a Success
by Erik Esse

In late April, LFTN co-sponsored the Farmworker Conference for Fair Trade.  At this historic event, farmworkers and farmworker groups from across the country met to learn more about the Domestic Fair Trade movement, to discuss their involvement in it, and to come to consensus on a common vision for a justice in agriculture.    The participants agreed on the enormous potential of the Domestic Fair Trade concept, committed to participating in the movement and called upon those creating Domestic Fair Trade products to fully involve farmworkers in both the creation of standards and the implementation of projects.  Read their public statement here. For more details, read this article by Chela Vazquez of the Pesticide Action Network North America. 
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News Round-Up

SUPPORT LOCAL FAIR TRADE IN OUR WALK FOR JUSTICE!

LFTN staff and steering committee members are participating in the Headwaters Foundation Walk for Justice on Sunday, Sept. 16. The walk helps community based nonprofits raise money outside the grant process. Please support us and help farmers and farmworkers get the fair shake they deserve! Donate

Corporate Ag Tries to Ban Local Labeling
By Hilary Johnson

Last year, corporate agribusinesses lobbied for the so-called “National Uniformity for Food Act.”  This legislation would have pre-empted hundreds of state and local laws governing food safety and labeling in favor of the federal government’s standards.  Significant among these would have been California’s Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which required companies to label clearly any products that contained carcinogens or reproductive toxins. Read more   

Bill Seeks to Cap Subsidies for Mega-Farms
By Hilary Johnson

In a separate, bi-partisan bill, the U.S. system of commodity payments faces a reform that could help small family farmers here and abroad.  The Rural America Preservation Act of 2007 (S. 1468) would close loopholes that currently allow big corporate farms to receive bigger subsidies than small family farms, and tighten rules designed to ensure payments go to actual farmers doing actual work on actual farms. Read more…

Us vs. Stem: Workers on Organic Farms are Treated as Poorly as their Conventional Counterparts
From GRIST

When Elena Ortiz found a job on an organic raspberry farm after working for nine years in conventionally farmed fields, she was glad for the change. The best part about her new job was that she no longer had to work just feet away from tractors spraying chemical herbicides and pesticides. An added bonus was the fruit itself — “prettier,” she said, and firmer, which made it easier to pick. But when it came to how Ortiz was treated by her employers, little was different. Read more…

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