Nationwide Starbucks protest draws high school students to Nassau Street

A group of about 10 students from Montgomery High School gathered outside the Starbucks on Nassau Street Saturday to protest the store's use of genetically-engineered products in food and beverages.

The students also protested the coffee chain's refusal to brew Fair Trade coffee or provide a living wage for their coffee producers.

The students were part of a nationwide protest against Starbucks organized by the Organic Consumers Association — a group that promotes the selling of organic products — that ran from Sept. 21-28.

"I was really inspired by the idea of being able to impact the community and help something close to home," said Maria Peterson, a junior at Montgomery High School, a few miles north of Princeton. "This is an important cause, and we really want to improve community awareness of the issues."

The students spent the morning picketing Starbucks and handing out informational fliers to people entering the store.

"We hope that these fliers will help people understand the dangers of genetically-engineered products and milk from cows injected with rBGH [recombinant bovine growth hormone]," Peterson said.

Research cited in the pamphlets showed the milk from cows injected with rBGH contains more pus, antibiotic residue and bacteria than milk from cows not injected with the hormone. The hormone has been linked to an increased risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer in humans, according to the handouts.

The use of rBGH has been banned in every industrialized country in the world except for the United States, according to the fliers.

Starbucks managers declined to comment, and a corporate spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

Starbucks currently offers organic milk and soy milk but charges a $.40 surcharge for this option.

"We also want to see Starbucks begin to brew Fair Trade coffee as the coffee of the day at least once a week," said Jack Mahoney, another Montgomery student.

Fair Trade Coffee attempts to provide coffee farmers with a living wage by guaranteeing a minimum price per pound of $1.26 to those they buy from. Importers generally buy coffee at a rate of $.50 per pound, less than the $.80 per pound it costs the farmers to produce it.

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While Starbucks has begun selling Fair Trade coffee in bulk, it still refuses to brew it on a regular basis, according to the Organic Consumers Association.

In addition to petitioning, the students are pressuring Starbucks to brew Fair Trade coffee through calling and writing the company on a weekly basis.

"I think it's great that young people are being encouraged to speak their minds," said Sharyl Marshall, a Starbucks patron and a Princeton Theological Seminary student. "I would appreciate Fair Trade coffee [being brewed] since I buy Fair Trade coffee for my own home."

The students said they hope that their protest will raise awareness in the community of the economic and environmental impacts of Starbucks coffee.

"I just want people in the community to start caring about this situation," Peterson said. "They should start sending letters [to Starbucks] and requesting Fair Trade coffee."