World Hunger Relief and Fair Trade

Sustainable farming is more than nutrition and practices for growing food, but a balance between making food affordable while also paying farmers enough to sustain a healthy standard of living. That is why World Hunger Relief is involved in trade policy and running a fair trade store at the farm.

When all trade regulation is stripped away under free trade, the only thing left to determine what we buy is quality of product and price. The companies who are more profitable are largely the companies that skimp on costs of production, making their product cheaper. Successful companies generally skimp on worker wages, raise work hours and disregard the environment. Employment is moving to places like China where there are less human rights. Correspondingly, deficits for developed counties with good labor laws are growing under free trade.

Legislatively, this is not to disregard a need for a market, but to suggest that, as countries, we need to regulate the market to ensure higher trade standards and balanced budgets. Just as rules in sports ensure healthy competitions, so can rules in trade offer competition around strong minimum wages, benefits, etc. It is your right to have a say in these rules as a citizen.

As individuals we need to consume fairly traded products. Fair trade is a socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable alternative. Fair trade might cost more, but for most of us getting enough is not the question, but rather enjoying what we have and acquiring what we consume in ways that bring justice and peace into our world.

So where do I go from here:

1. Support Local and National business.

2. Support Cooperatives and Union Made.

3. Support Fair Trade.

4. Support Micro-Credit as a way of developing small businesses rather than international corporations. Please visit Kiva - loans that change lives & The Grameen Foundation.

5. Sign our petition for fair trade bananas at HEB. Commit to pay up to 99 cents/lb for fair trade bananas in trying to encourage HEB to carry fair trade bananas.

6. Recognize that from banana wars to oil wars, things have not changed. Half your tax dollars are spent on the military. The US spends more than the rest of the world combined on the military. The best way to keep America safe is to stop fuelling hatred. The best way to support your troops is to bring them home.

7. Support fairer trade legislation and higher labor standards as an alternative to free trade with your vote. You can have the market while competing between agreed on living wages, environmental standards, etc.

8. Support International law and institutions with your vote and demand it of your Leaders. Part of being a democratic nation and supporting democracy worldwide is being a nation among other nations by respecting international democratic opinion and law.

9. Finally advocate for publicly funded elections. It would cost a dollar a person to have elections funded publicly. Right now they are funded by your corporations and so they answer to them, and not you. All it would take to have a President and Congress that answer to you is one dollar.

10. Talk to your neighbor about fair trade!!

Fair Trade in Waco

The Village Store at World Hunger Relief
- Coffee, Tea (loose leaf and bagged), chocolate, cocoa, almonds, cranberries, as well as a variety of kitchen and housewares, clothing, handmade artwork, bags, scarves, jewelry, and instruments, etc.
356 Spring Lake Rd, Waco, TX 76705
254-799-5611
Open 9-5 Mon-Fri, Sat 10-3

The World Cup Café
- Coffee, and a variety of kitchen and house wares, clothing, handmade artwork, bags, scarves, and jewelry
Corner of 15th and Colcord
254-757-1548
Open 7-5 Mon-Fri

HEB @ Wooded Acres
- Coffee, Tea (loose leaf and bagged), Dr Bronner’s Soap, Sugar, Molasses as well as some World of Good Handcrafts.

Drug Emporium
- Coffee, Tea (bagged and in liquid concentrate for Chai Latte’s), chocolate chips, Vanilla, Sugar, Dr Bronner’s Soap
5900 Bosque Blvd

Connor Health Foods Inc
- Dr Bronner’s Soap, Sugar, and Tea.
2625 W Waco Dr

Wal-Mart
- Coffee