ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 27, 2004

Lutherans Continue to 'Pour Justice to the Brim'
04-109-MR

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Lutherans across the country have
purchased more than 120,776 pounds, or 60.4 tons, of fairly
traded coffee since March.  Not only are they aware that coffee
-- one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world -- is
more than just a satisfying pick-me-up, Lutherans are learning
that their coffee-purchasing power affects lives.
     More than 20 million coffee farmers around the world
struggle to make a simple living and maintain adequate health
care and education for their children.  One way Lutherans are
supporting coffee farmers is by purchasing quality coffee
directly from farmers in a process called "fair trade."
     In October 2003 Women of the ELCA, Lutheran World Relief
(LWR) and Equal Exchange, a U.S. worker-owned fair-trade
organization, started "Pour Justice to the Brim:  The 90-Ton
Challenge" to encourage Lutherans to buy 90-tons of fair-trade
coffee, direct attention to the fair-trade process and help
farmers finance their coffee production.  Equal Exchange is
tracking coffee sales from October 2003 to September 2004.  LWR
is the overseas relief and development ministry of the ELCA and
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.  The challenge was first
announced in Lutheran Woman Today, the magazine of Women of the
ELCA -- the women's organization of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA).
     Now past the challenge's midpoint, Lutherans have ordered 78
percent more fair-trade coffee than prior to the start of the
campaign.
     From 2002 to 2003, Lutherans purchased 75,036 pounds, or
37.5 tons, of fairly traded coffee.  As of the challenge's
midpoint Lutherans have purchased 120,776 pounds, or 60.4 tons,
of fair-trade coffee.
     "Every person can have a part in positively impacting the
lives of coffee farmers by getting involved.  Every purchase of
100-percent fairly traded coffee is another cup of hope," said
Nancy J. Goldberger, editor, Lutheran Woman Today.
     Lutheran Woman Today is also tracking sales on its Web site
-- http://www.lutheranwomantoday.org/ .  Information about Pour
Justice to the Brim is available on the Web site; the magazine
will post the results of the challenge in October.
     While the challenge has yet to reach its 90-ton goal,
Goldberger said the campaign is already successful.  "We've made
more people aware" about fair trade, she said.  Lutheran women
have taken the lead in reaching out to coffee farmers around the
world, as well as providing information about fair trade.  "We're
saying fair trade is important to us, and we care what happens to
farmers and their families."
     Another purpose of the challenge is to encourage Lutherans
"to make a shift in their buying habits," said Goldberger.
     In a conventional coffee trade, coffee beans are passed from
the farmer to a "middleman," processor, U.S. broker, coffee
company, food distributor, store and then finally to the
consumer, Goldberger said.  "Everyone who has had a hand in the
coffee trade has affected the cost of that coffee, leaving very
little in return to help farmers cover their harvesting
expenses," she said.
     Goldberger said there are other environmental issues that go
along with the social justice aspect of fair trade, such as the
methods that are used to grow the coffee organically and sustain
the land.  "Little by little we're destroying our planet with
deforestation and other practices that use and abuse the land
that we count on, not just for today but for generations in the
years to come," she said.
     "In the larger picture our responsibility as stewards of
this land is to conserve natural resources.  The 90-Ton Challenge
is a sort of an attention-grabber, but our relationship with fair-
trade coffee and with other products that are grown organically
doesn't end there.  It's just the beginning," said Goldberger.
     Mary Ellen Kiesner, president of Women of the ELCA,
Menomonee Falls, Wis., will lead a group of women on a study
visit -- "On the Roof of Africa:  Women-to-Women Coffee Tour" --
Nov. 3-18 in Tanzania to learn about fair-trade coffee.  LWR is
planning the study trip specifically for Women of the ELCA.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news