Berkeley to vote on mandating coffee with a conscience

By Mercury News Wire Services
Associated Press

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - In a city where the politics and the coffee come strong and hot, a November ballot initiative requiring cafes to sell only environmentally and socially correct brews is drawing mixed reaction.

``It ranges from 'Great idea! I love it!' to ... 'Get a life!''' said Rick Young, the recent University of California, Berkeley law school grad behind the measure.

The new law would make it a crime punishable by up to six months in jail and a $100 fine to sell brewed coffee that isn't certified as Fair Trade, organic or shade-grown. It would not apply to dry whole or ground beans.

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