HOLLY CULP
News Writer

Browsers may start to look very different in the next year.

Plans to change Browsers to a primarily fair trade coffee shop have been set in motion in recent weeks. Spearheaded by USSU Vice President Operations and Finance Scott Hitchings, the goal to remove Starbucks coffee from the establishment has been suggested.

“Every few weeks we have Louis’/Browsers planning meetings, so I briefly brought that up at the last meeting and it went well,” said Hitchings.

Although the plans to make the switch are fairly ambitious, Hitchings is convinced it will be a slow, gradual change.

“I was advised that we wouldn’t be able to make drastic changes overnight,” said Hitchings. “We wouldn’t be able to just kick Starbucks out and bring in all fair trade. We need to find out if Browsers would still be making money if it switched, which I can’t see why it wouldn’t. I think that students are pretty environmentally conscious and like fair trade better than Starbucks.”

When it comes to ending whatever deal Browsers has with Starbucks coffee, dropping the Starbucks label shouldn’t be terribly difficult.

“We’re not in a contract with them; we just kind of have a deal with them that we serve their coffee. If the decision came down from the executive and from council to get rid of Starbucks altogether it would have to be done.”

Another aspect of the proposed change is to switch all food items to entirely organic and locally grown foods.

“I would like to have more fair trade stuff up there,” continued Hitchings. “I would also like to see more Earthbound Bakery stuff and local organic food up there, just to get Browsers to be more environmentally conscious and socially responsible.”

In regards to whether the switch to organic foods is to appease a trend or whether it is actually a move that the USSU believes will remain important to students in the long run, Hitchings took the environmental stance.

“If it’s not healthier for the people it will at least be healthier for the environment,” he said.

The inevitable result of this switch would be a price increase across the board for all coffee and food items at Browsers.

“If we did decide to go completely fair trade the prices would go up significantly. Well, significantly in comparison to the price of a cup of coffee. It would be like 10 cents, 20 cents, maybe. So that’s a lot for a cup of coffee, but really it’s 20 cents for an ethical option.”

Hitchings said that the issue is officially being looked into and worked on and he hopes to accomplish the goal by the time his term is up in 2011.

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photo: Robby Davis