How Fair Trade Hurts Everyone
Keep your bleeding heart away from my food
Aditya Bindal and Charles Johnson
Last Updated: 3/24/08 Section: Opinion
Fair trade is everywhere on campus. Valentine's Day was no exception.
This year, Valentine's Day came with guilt-free, "ethical" chocolate. Yes, our sweet, chocolaty desires have fueled a civil war in the Ivory Coast. So fliers on campus advertised "conflict-free" chocolate. These Valentine's Day candies make trade "ethical."
At the Claremont Colleges, fair trade is nothing new. All of the dining halls boast their fair trade coffee and their local, organic produce. These dietary measures seek to solve all the world's problems at once: global warming, hunger, poverty, civil war-you name it. The buzz words "Locally Grown," "Organic," "Fresh" and of course 'Fair Trade' are bandied about promiscuously. But what exactly do they mean? Should we embrace Fair Trade?
To answer this question, we headed to the bastion of progressivism-the Motley. The Motley, run by Scripps students since 1974, promotes "an ongoing process of empowering change." But just what kind of change?
According to its mission statement, the Motley-an "alternative space," "open and welcoming to all,"-aims to serve its community. To achieve that goal, it supports "fair trade." Even a sticker from Oxfam on the refrigerator encourages customers to "make trade fair." But what's wrong with trade as it is?
Motley Manager Sophie Herron '08 starts by defining free trade for us: "free trade is based on free and unrestricted trade between countries with as low barriers, tariffs and overheads as possible. This means that in countries where the economy is not good, workers are not paid a reasonable wage."
Ms. Herron defends all of the efforts to buy locally grown produce because, well, in her eyes, the local is always better. But coffee and chocolate aren't typically grown in Southern California, so for that you need fair trade.
"Fair trade," Herron explains, "is when trade is fair because the people providing the goods are receiving wages that they can afford to live on and support their community."
This year, Valentine's Day came with guilt-free, "ethical" chocolate. Yes, our sweet, chocolaty desires have fueled a civil war in the Ivory Coast. So fliers on campus advertised "conflict-free" chocolate. These Valentine's Day candies make trade "ethical."
At the Claremont Colleges, fair trade is nothing new. All of the dining halls boast their fair trade coffee and their local, organic produce. These dietary measures seek to solve all the world's problems at once: global warming, hunger, poverty, civil war-you name it. The buzz words "Locally Grown," "Organic," "Fresh" and of course 'Fair Trade' are bandied about promiscuously. But what exactly do they mean? Should we embrace Fair Trade?
To answer this question, we headed to the bastion of progressivism-the Motley. The Motley, run by Scripps students since 1974, promotes "an ongoing process of empowering change." But just what kind of change?
According to its mission statement, the Motley-an "alternative space," "open and welcoming to all,"-aims to serve its community. To achieve that goal, it supports "fair trade." Even a sticker from Oxfam on the refrigerator encourages customers to "make trade fair." But what's wrong with trade as it is?
Motley Manager Sophie Herron '08 starts by defining free trade for us: "free trade is based on free and unrestricted trade between countries with as low barriers, tariffs and overheads as possible. This means that in countries where the economy is not good, workers are not paid a reasonable wage."
Ms. Herron defends all of the efforts to buy locally grown produce because, well, in her eyes, the local is always better. But coffee and chocolate aren't typically grown in Southern California, so for that you need fair trade.
"Fair trade," Herron explains, "is when trade is fair because the people providing the goods are receiving wages that they can afford to live on and support their community."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Sam Tresler
posted 6/03/08 @ 4:09 PM PST
This might be the most idiotic thing I've ever heard. Take an economics course, and try looking at actual statistics, maybe quote a number or two.
This tripe isn't even worth refuting. (Continued…)
chuckwalla
Charles Johnson
posted 6/04/08 @ 3:19 PM PST
Really? Where might these numbers be? Aditya and I certainly looked for them.
We found, to our horror, that foreign aid ends up destroying many formations of capital. (Continued…)
Post a Comment