The Great Lakes Zephyr - Wind Energy & Hydrogen Journal

From ENN and the Rainforest Alliance, good news that I feel needs to be posted in full:

Kraft Foods Makes Unprecedented Commitment to Taking Sustainable Coffee Mainstream



From Rainforest Alliance
Tuesday, October 07, 2003

NEW YORK, NY, October 7, 2003 - The Rainforest Alliance today announced a unique partnership with Kraft Foods to promote sustainability and equity from the coffee farm to the consumers' cup. In an unprecedented multi-year arrangement, Kraft Foods has committed to purchase over 5 million pounds of coffee in the first year from farms in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Central America that have been certified as sustainably managed by the Rainforest Alliance. Ongoing monitoring and verification of compliance of these farms will be provided by Rainforest Alliance and members of the Sustainable Agriculture Network.

The new partnership, under development for more than a year, commits Kraft Foods to increasing purchases of certified coffee, paying more to farmers that employ sustainable farm management practices, and importantly, deepening the company's engagement with coffee producing communities.

"The Rainforest Alliance and Kraft Foods have been addressing social, economic and environmental issues in coffee production for many years. Given Kraft's global leadership in coffee sales, this partnership is the first indisputable evidence that the concept of sustainability, once limited to niche markets, is ready to enter the mainstream. This signals an institutional change," said Tensie Whelan, executive director of the Rainforest Alliance. She added, "With this unprecedented commitment from Kraft Foods, we will be able to demonstrate that coffee farming can be environmentally friendly, equitable and profitable."

In addition to purchasing certified coffee, Kraft Foods will support further development of the Sustainable Agriculture Network, including the training of local specialists to assist farmers achieve certification. In addition, the Rainforest Alliance will train local auditors and continue to build alliances among farmers, NGOs, coffee associations and agriculture research institutions.

"We have already demonstrated that certified farms can be havens for wildlife and good places to work, as well as economically viable and outstanding community citizens," said Juan Marco Alvarez, executive director of SalvaNATURA, a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Network. He added, "This partnership with Kraft Foods will allow us to greatly expand the reach of the program to help us bring the benefits of the certification to the hundreds of farms already in the pipeline throughout Latin America."

According to Simon Antonio Chavez, the manager of one of the co-operatives certified by SalvaNATURA, this new partnership offers great promise for farmers in the region. "This news motivates us. The certification program has helped us in protecting nature and makes life better for the families in the co-operative. We are glad to hear that a big company like Kraft is now buying certified coffee."

The Rainforest Alliance partnership is the latest initiative in Kraft's long-standing commitment to coffee farmers. "Kraft Foods has been promoting sustainability for more than a decade, most notably in Colombia, Peru and Vietnam. Our partnership with the Rainforest Alliance is another way for us to further strengthen sustainability in coffee production. Combining economic stability with environmental protection and decent social standards is an important way to ensure a long-term future for the world's coffee community," said Annemieke Wijn, Kraft Foods' Senior Director for Commodity Sustainability Programs.

--------

Contact:

Tensie Whelan
Rainforest Alliance
212 677 1900

Sabrina Vigilante
Rainforest Alliance
212 677 1900

Frank Hicks
Rainforest Alliance
506 234 8916 (Costa Rica)

Juan Marco Alvarez
SalvaNATURA
503 279 1515

Patricia Riso
Kraft Foods (North America)
914 335 6993

Jonathan Atwood
Kraft Foods (International)
914 335 1473

Joanna Scott
Kraft Foods (International)
44 1242 28 44 98

Notes for Editors

For 15 years, the Rainforest Alliance has been an international leader in verifying compliance with standards for ecofriendly and socially responsible farming and forestry. Coffee, like some other commodities, is subject to highly volatile trading cycles. Due to overproduction, coffee farmers are facing historically low prices for their crops, and the human and environmental impacts are reverberating throughout the coffee growing regions. The Rainforest Alliance believes that a long-term solution to the problems in the coffee producing areas will only be found in a strategy that embraces all three pillars of sustainability - economic, ecology and ethics. More information about the Rainforest Alliance is available on the organization's website at http://www.rainforest-alliance.org.

The Sustainable Agriculture Network standards are rigorous, comprehensive and verifiable. In order to gain certification, farmers must conserve forests and other natural ecosystems; protect wildlife; control pollution and agrochemical use; properly manage soil, waster and wastes; provide safe conditions, good basic services and fair pay to workers; and maintain good relations with the local community.

Kraft Foods Inc. is the largest branded food and beverage company headquartered in the United States and the second largest worldwide. Kraft Foods markets many of the world's leading food brands, including Kraft cheese, Jacobs and Maxwell House coffees, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Post cereals and Milka chocolates, in more than 150 countries.




For more information, contact:

Sabrina Vigilante
Marketing Coordinator, Agriculture Program
Rainforest Alliance
svigilante@ra.org