Jason Abisch
Equinox Staff
Do you know where your food comes from? A majority of the food that goes through Keene State College is locally grown and imported from larger farming companies all throughout New England. However, not all the food at KSC comes from large farming companies, some of the products made available are “fair trade products.”
Kelsey Bumsted, sophomore at KSC and president of the fair trade club, started this group last fall. Her goal for this club is to get the student perspective on fair trade products.
“Fair trade is a certification for farmers and artisans to sell products they have made in a just way to get a price they deserve so they can live comfortably,” Bumsted said.
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Some of KSC’s own fair trade products include the Asperetto coffee in the Zorn Dining Commons, the Equal Exchange chocolate in Lloyd’s Marketplace, fair trade coffee at the Bean and Bagel, and fair trade t-shirts in the bookstore.
“Hopefully it will help get more people to buy more products through fair trade,” Bumsted said.
Bumsted hopes that students obtain a better understanding about what fair trade is and get the name of her group out around campus. Since it’s such a broad topic, a multitude of areas of study can apply this concept. Such majors include sociology, economics, nutrition, and communications.
The concept of fair trade is slowly progressing in the United States, while in other places such as Europe and the Caribbean, there is a higher percentage of foods that are fair trade.
One area in the Caribbean in particular that has taken up this concept is the Dominican Republic. Maria Isabel Balbuena, a representative from Cafe Femenino, one of the fair trade coffee companies, came to speak in an ITW class, “Women Who Speak Up,” taught by professor Tamara Stenn.
A majority of Maria’s goals were geared towards women. In her country, women produce at least 50 percent of the work and in her position she is fighting for more respect and to obtain the same opportunities as men. Women have a direct impact on improving the lives of families.
Another important group that is leading the U.S. in the fair trade movement is Fair Trade USA. Courtney Lang, the grassroots outreach manager, also attended the presentation. She was there to represent the U.S. side of fair trade and to inform people all over the country about fair trade and its importance. She makes appearances at fair trade towns and universities to talk about what fair trade is and offers different options for students to get more involved in this process, such as producer tours, immersion trips, and the national fair trade conference. Students from all over the country have a large impact on fair trade and equal opportunities for small business farmers alike and can change how food is grown and sold.
“Students are our future,” Lang said.
Lang hopes that students will become more enlightened and more aware of the importance of fair trade and that they control the outcome whether it will become the norm for our society.
Fair Trade USA as an organization emphasizes that Americans should become more aware about the state of the world and look for opportunities to use their power in the marketplace to make a difference. Amercians should also embrace and empower family farmers around the world and fulfill the lives of those who are poverty-stricken.
“We believe the rise of the conscious consumer will cause a fundamental shift in the way companies do business and create a historic opportunity to reward companies and embrace sustainability,” the Fair Trade USA website states.
On Nov. 5 at Antioch University New England, the Center for Tropical Ecology and Conservation are hosting the seventh annual symposium about fair trade and bringing sustainability to everyone. It will feature 100 percent fair trade vendors from around the region and across the country. It is open to everyone, and only $5 for KSC students.
A few professors and students will be speaking at the symposium including Stenn, Bumsted, and Peggy Walsh, a sociology professor at KSC.
Sustainability is all about being able to support oneself through hard work and feeling empowered to make choices that will lead to a better quality of life. Similar to Keene State, Fair Trade USA’s values include integrity, community, personal development, and impact.
All of these core values, whether it applies to a college campus or an entire country, have a similar mission: to enable all of its members an equal opportunity to succeed and encourage a sense of community and belonging.
Jason Abisch can be contacted at jabisch@ksc.mailcruiser.com