If you’re anything like me, coffee is not just one of life’s little pleasures, it’s also a lifestyle. That sweet smell in the morning makes my mind go into a frenzy and when it’s time for that first sip I can’t help but feel as though everything is right in the world. But then when reason seeps its way back into my brain I am reminded that even something as perfect as my morning cup of coffee can sometimes come at a cost. Now I am a student so admittedly, I am always looking for a way to cut costs and until recently, not knowing what Fair Trade meant fed right into my disinterest in paying more for what appeared to be the same product. I loosely understood Fair Trade = Good, social benefits, better working conditions, all things I had heard but somehow my consumption behaviour was still not affected. While on a recent trip I was fortunate enough to tour a coffee plantation. This experience put me face to face with the costs associated with coffee which previously slipped my min...

Well kids, we have finally done it. We are officially a Fair Trade Campus ! Some of you may be thinking that we already were a fair trade campus, you noticed the signs that appeared early this school year in the SFUO businesses and Chartwell food outlets, your coffee had a lingering aftertaste of something that could only be described as “dark roasted, earthy tones of justice for farmers”, or maybe you have just seen a girl wandering around taking photos of fair trade signage and awkwardly explaining to the café employees that she was given permission to photograph them (if you ever want to cause a ruckus, show up at a food outlet with a camera and a clipboard) but one way or another- we are now recognized as a fair trade campus by FairTrade Canada . This involved a lot of work over the past few years and I would like to give a well-deserved shout out to the Engineers Without Borders who have supported the movement the entire time, to Chartwells for being absolutely accommodatin...

The day is quickly arriving and it will be a race to the finish. The University of Ottawa is only weeks away from becoming a Fair Trade Certified Campus . That's right, thanks to the hard work of the students at the uOttawa Chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), and the commitment made by Food Services and Charwells, the University of Ottawa will meet the criteria for becoming a Fair Trade Campus hopefully before the holiday season. I really wanted to take a moment to acknowledge this monumental task. First, almost all the heavy lifting was done by one student, Ryan Ward-Davies. He took on the project as a member of the EWB and has worked tirelessly to get the campus certified. Second, I want to acknowledge the work done by Food Services and Chartwells. Getting the campus to become Fair Trade Certified is not as easy as flicking a switch. There were a lot of tough decisions to be taken and sacrifices to be made. So here is the breakdown of what a campus needs to...

In 2011 there were a lot of positive things going for the campus in terms of campus sustainability. Some setbacks for sure, but I would like to think more positives than negatives. Here is the whirlwind tour of what the office accomplished in 2011. CULTURE The year started on a high note with the Vision 2020 process, which included an entire pillar dedicated to becoming a more environmentally sustainable campus . Unfortunately by the end of the year the Destination 2020 plan (which was the implementation phase of the visioning exercise) had dropped campus sustainability as a priority. Another setback came with the Fair Trade Campus Certification. Brought forth by students with the uOttawa chapter of Engineers Without Borders, the certification is a program created by FairTrade Canada  to get campuses to offer more fair trade selection. The program started out very strong in the Spring but slowed down in the fall as issues related to the variety of coffees available as fai...

Many University of Ottawa students only make it through paper and exam season with a little help from their friend caffeine. However, at the other end of that caffeine addiction, is a coffee grower who often gets little pay for her hard work growing your coffee beans. Luckily, fair trade coffee has emerged over the years, cutting out middle men and often allowing these hardworking producers to work in better conditions and get paid prices closer to what they need to survive. While, as many international development students will tell you, fair trade is still far from the ideal and often presents a whole new set of barriers for producers, it generally ensures that a little more of your coffee dollar makes it to those who grew it. With the climate changing, the coffee equation is getting ever more complicated. Higher temperatures are affecting crops and making them flower prematurely, decreasing yield, and thus the amount of money that the producer makes. Growers are searching for creati...

Hopefully you know where to get fair trade goods on campus. Café Alt sells fair trade coffee exclusively, Chartwells locations have at least one choice that is fair trade. T-shirts purchased through the SFUO are fair trade...Not much else is offered on campus that’s fair trade. Have you ever heard of Fair Trade Towns? It’s a campaign that essentially creates standards for a town to go entirely fair trade. There are criteria that a town must achieve, like passing a resolution at city council in support, and to using only fair trade coffee and tea at meetings and in the office. It’s then up to the businesses to offer fair trade products, and if enough do, you’re closer to becoming a fair trade town. Attract some media coverage and strike a steering committee devoted to planning for the future, and you have yourself a fair trade town. We can replicate this model on university campuses. The student union and the administration passing motions and devoting themselves to fair trade products ...