Fair Trade, Economics, and Local Goods

Now this is just a post I made in a discussion on VeganPorn in a discussion about an article in The Economist that claimed fair trade and organic farming were bad for the environment and people. Yes, a bit lazy just recycling something, I suppose.

@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@
Re: Responses

Posted by anarchistgrouch @ 2006-12-23 16:12:36 EST

Sod it. How's this, get rid of most trade. Oh noes, what an unholy idea in this grand day and age! No trade! Kill the crazy heretic!

What if everyone just grew their own food. Eat what's in your backyard (literal and figuratively). The poor suckers who can't grow anything because their back yards suck will have to just get give some extra stuff that others have. Oh, but that would be so boring and uncool...(And yeah, I'm going to have to move where the coconuts and molasses are since I will be eating turnip and taters if I stay in Newfoundland. No, I'm no stranger to agricultural labour. Pass the machete.)

The developed world is sitting there able to put anything they want in their mouths no matter how far away it come from. If you want it, you have to have it, you deserve it if your tongue and belly ask for it. The poor grow the coffee, the cocoa, all the high priced items and they end up eating a bit of rice at the end of the day.

Some guy sits in an office and manipulates some data and he's rolling in cash. Some other guy works like a ox, sweats and strains and bleeds, shortens his life span by heavy physical labour, and gets an amount so small it's insulting. And I'm sure there's enough of these people that, given a switch of circumstances, could be doing the other's job. It's not like we've evolved into the shining uber-class and a horde of squatty slaves yet....have we? Why don't so many people see there is something wrong with this picture? Is their only thought "Well, it's not me, thank my lucky stars, now pass my extra tall brand name mochachinattafrappcrappawhatever. I don't want to think sad thoughts."

My parents are here in Canada. They are quite well informed, have useful skills, not stupid, probably made some bad choices during their lives in this big useless game called capitalism. Their last immigrant ancestor got here over 100 years ago so we can't go and say "Well, things will get better for the next generation," like is usually done for the immigrant workers who get the grunt jobs in the economy. They're about to head into their 60's and will still be working physical labour jobs. It's so _nice_ to hear about them getting injured on the job and how they carry on because they need the money. There are people out there who would look down their noses at my parents, like lords of the manor gazing upon the unwashed peasants who sleep in the same hut as the sheep. If it's not sneering, it the patronisation, the assumption that they are stupid, uneducated, lower class, proles/peasants who should just fulfill their worker role in life. Or that the only reason they are in that spot is because they were lazy! Lazy, of all goddamn things. Now, I seriously don't appreciate that. Actually, it makes me so angry I want to crush the snotty little empty arrogant heads of people who think things like that.

I'm 28 years old. I went to university. I didn't make the right choice for what I took there. Now I'm working minimum wage. Is this my future? To run around serving people crappy food I wouldn't eat if someone paid me to?

I hate being forced to participate in a hierarchy.

@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@