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Selling certain types of coffee could soon be illegal in Berkeley. 

A petition-driven initiative that would ban the sale of nonfair trade, shade-grown or organic coffee in the city of Berkeley will likely be on the November ballot, city officials said. 

The author of the proposal, Rick Young, on Monday turned in more than 3,000 signatures, about 1,000 more than is required to qualify for the ballot. 

The issue has not brewed much controversy, likely because not many people know about it yet. Staff members at Cafe Elodie, Au Coquelet and Tully’s Coffee — three coffee shops in downtown Berkeley — were unaware of the proposal. 

Those interviewed yesterday agreed that if passed, the initiative would affect many Berkeleyans.  

And at least one city official said the proposal goes to far. 

“If we begin to regulate the many details of so many people’s lives we are either going to be a nanny government or big brother, I don’t know which,” said City Councilmember Miriam Hawley, District 5. 

The city has used boycotts in the past to influence the way businesses operate – legal precedence for the initiative, Hawley said. 

For example, the city once banned Styrofoam, which posed more of an immediate threat to Berkeley. During the Styrofoam ban the city was dealing specifically with one business, McDonalds.  

The current initiative would affect every person in Berkeley who drinks or sells coffee. 

Furthermore, the effects that coffee wholesalers and the coffee industry as a whole have on the environment and on the lives of farmers should be dealt with through education, not with mandates, Hawley said. 

“For instance, how do we balance the needs of low-income people against the needs of people who are working in the fields and growing the coffee?” Hawley said. “And why are we starting here and not closer to home?”  

Some of the issues facing coffee workers have worsened since the onset of globalization. In fact, the coffee market is believed to be at a record low, selling at roughly 40 cents a pound. Coffee has at times sold at $2.50 a pound. Fair trade demands that it be sold at $1.26 a pound. 

“People are being driven off their land because of the actions of corporate coffee companies like Starbucks,” said Simon Harris, the campaign director of the Organic Consumers Association, which supports of the initiative. “Coffee prices are coming in at 40 cents a pound, which is less than what it cost to produce it.” 

Harris went on to say that fair trade standards for people cultivating coffee beans allow them to make just enough money to pay for essentials such as clean water and education for their children. 

The Organic Consumers Association for months has directed a protest against Starbucks. 

“Without some sort of push from consumer-pressure or initiatives like this – it is obvious that these companies aren’t interested in these issues,” Harris added. 

Young said that the initiative would essentially deny people very little but would do a lot. 

“It’s good for the environment, good for coffee workers and when there’s an alternative available, people should be willing to accept it,” Young said. “(Consumers) are not giving up a whole lot other than their right to exploit the environment and their right to exploit coffee workers.” 

The difference between what consumers will pay for fair trade and coffee products like Folgers, ones typically sold at grocery stores, could be an issue. Young said that people pay only a few cents more a cup for gourmet coffees. 

But Sienna Nervo, the assistant manager at Tully’s, said that once the industry stamps its approval on products the prices will increase. 

Nervo said there is a drastic difference in price between coffee beans that follow fair trade guidelines and those that are “certified.” Coffee companies should offer the option to their consumers, Nervo said, adding that voters ought to know that the coffee customer will ultimately pay the price. 

Councilmember Polly Armstrong, District 8, brought up another reason to oppose the initiative: coffee police? 

“This would take money out of the city’s budget to enforce, and I certainly don’t think it’s how I want to spend the taxpayer’s money regulating coffee drinkers,” Armstrong said. “It’s a matter of how much of your budget you want to spend on issues that are not vital to the health and lives of people who live in Berkeley. 

“But it’s a great big, bawdy democracy and we will see what happens,” she added.