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Pastimes : THE SLIGHTLY MODERATED BOXING RING -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (17067)	7/9/2002 2:41:13 PM
From: Solon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

I was about an inch short. But it has made me a more compassionate person...

To: jlallen who wrote (17067)	7/11/2002 9:51:01 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21057

Thought you might find this amusing. Tucson, Arizona Thursday, 11 July 2002 Berkeley brew As usual, something is brewing in Berkeley, California. A university town known for its radical sensitivities, Berkeley citizens may soon vote to impose restrictions on the kind of coffee it allows to be sold within its borders. In Berkeley, it appears, coffee has become the center of a philosophical and ideological debate over how the world should be. Some say it's an issue that could only happen in Berkeley, a city where you never leave home without first putting on your social conscience. Ever since the 1960's, Berkeley has been regarded as not only a place but also as a state of mind. Rick Young is a good reflection of that state of mind. According to a New York Times story, Young is a new lawyer who believes that Berkeley cafes should be selling only organically grown coffee. That means no pesticides. Not only that, the coffee should also be "Fair Trade certified," meaning that the small scale farmers who grow it in Third World countries are guaranteed a living wage. Finally, it should be shade-grown, meaning that a chunk of rain forest was not flattened to create the plantation where the coffee was cultivated. Young has gathered enough signatures to place an initiative on the ballot that would make Berkeley the only city in the United States with an official coffee policy. The initiative is consistent with the state of mind many associate with Berkeley. Some see the Berkeley consciousness as a heightened sensitivity to ethical living, and some see it as an amusing crusade to create the quintessential politically correct utopia. Kenya Lewis, the public relations manager for Transfair USA, the only fair trade certifying organization in the country, was quoted in the Times as saying, "We are very excited that the ballot initiative is gaining so much momentum." And why is that? Because, she said, "Fair Trade is such an easy way for any coffee drinker to effect change on critical global issues such as immigration, starvation, drug trade and the environment. It really offers a simple way to make a real and measurable difference in the lives of farmers." Not everyone in Berkeley is thrilled about this idea. In a city where 300 coffeehouses and other establishments would be affected, some owners are outraged at the prospect of being told what coffees they can serve their customers. "The proposal seems fascist," said Darryl Ross, using a good Berkeley type word. Ross owns several cafes. One of them, across the street from the University of California-Berkeley Law School, only sells fair trade certified coffee. Young, when he was a law school student, had threatened to organize a boycott of Ross' cafe if he did not switch to selling only fair trade certified coffee. Ross buckled at that one cafe but he's feisty about the prospect of a law requiring that every one of his cafes sell the same brew. Anyway, Ross says, he doesn't think there's widespread support for Young's initiative "except among professional Fair Trade lovers or the card-carrying radicals and Berkeley liberals." Well, not entirely. The city's mayor, Shirley Dean, said people are conflicted. "They like the idea of drinking an environmentally safe and socially responsible coffee. But there are questions over the restraint of trade." It's just awful, isn't it? All you wanted was a cup of coffee and now you have to memorize the charter of the United Nations in order to get it. This is far too much stress. If you can get a case of jangled nerves just from from thinking about all the political, economic and environmental consequences of drinking the coffee, why bother drinking the coffee at all? In Berkeley, this could be the next step. Outlaw coffee entirely and replace it with green tea or algae smoothies. Unfortunately, that makes us just as nervous as the prospect of giving up our Italian roast espresso - until we wake with a jolt and suddenly remember that we live in Tucson where coffee is a drink, not a policy.