WP, pg1: Wal-Mart Looks at Fair Trade Link with Brazilian Coffee Farmer

[DeepModem Mom]

For Wal-Mart, Fair Trade May Be More Than a Hill of Beans
Retail Giant Looks at Link With Coffee Farmer
By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, June 12, 2006; Page A01

....Wal-Mart is in the midst of overhauling its tightfisted image to win over shoppers searching for more than low prices. That effort has taken the company that built an empire on the principle of high volume and low costs into previously uncharted territory, into the realm of trendy apparel and organic food.

Now, with the help of (Brazilian Rosevaldo Jose Pereira), it is embarking on one of its most radical undertakings to date: fair trade.

Pereira, 40, is part of a small cooperative of growers living here in the heart of coffee country, where the rolling mountains are lush with trees. The late afternoon sun is strong. Pereira wipes the sweat from his brow with his forearm as he works his six acres. Dirt is jammed deep underneath his fingernails. He has been picking coffee cherries since 5 a.m., stripping them off the branches with his bare hands. They will be dried, and eventually only the pit will be left -- the coffee bean.

Pereira gets a premium for his harvest. His co-op is one of only seven in the country that is fair-trade certified, charging above-market price for beans because it meets certain social and environmental standards.

Wal-Mart is considering bringing Pereira's beans into its namesake stores. It would be a novel arrangement for a company infamous for squeezing pennies out of its suppliers -- and a test of how deep its makeover will really go....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/11/AR2006061100813.html?sub=AR

[Rose Siding]

1. Everyone can drink righteous coffee while they worry over doctor bills

Now, about that coffee maker.....

(If the deal falls through, will the WP put that on the front page, too?)

[Javaman]

2. They know oil is running out....

They now want to start playing nice, otherwise they will get screwed.

Bottom line: china-mart doesn't give a flying fuck about you, me or any other country. They care about bottom line.

This is all about them securing various sources of products and produce.

They are forced to play nice. Bullying companies to provide china-mart is one thing, bullying whole nations is another. Expect them to start playing nice more often.

Also why on earth do you think they are now starting to provide a sort of real health care plan for their employees?

Because they know as right as rain that during the next election cycle the Dems will be in power and won't look to kindly upon them.

They are preparing for the ground swell of resentment.