Whitney on fair trade

This week a Building Better Community event was held on campus by the Wofford College Go Green initiative about the Fair Trade system. The speaker, P’Nok, a Thai community organizer, traveled and researched the Fair Trade system worldwide. P’Nok began her research as a representative for the villagers and farmers of Thailand who were not bringing in the proper amount of income due to the poor Fair Trading system. Thailand used to export a variety of produce however, since the Green Revolution, which was similar to the U.S.’s Industrial Revolution, Thailand was forced to shift to monoculture and began producing only rice. They also had to resort to adding chemicals to their produce. Their government was convinced that this strategy would help them earn a higher income. Instead it backfired due to the high cost of the chemicals. Also multi-national corporations, like Wal-Mart, gained control of the market systems and influenced the cycle of food production, causing grocery stores to earn more money and farmers to earn less money. These issues led to a cycle of debt for the farmers and many families had to send their children to other places to help earn more money. However, not only did these issues affect farmers, they also affected consumers. Most consumers do not know where their food comes from or what chemicals or hormones may have been added to them, which can also affect health. To keep these issues from getting worse, charities such as OXFAM (United States) work to improve the Fair Trade system. P’Nok spoke about Fair Market Capitalism, which helps to eliminate the middle man during the trading process in order to help small producers. She also mentioned attempts to maintain the Organic Certification System to meet USDA standards. Farmers in Thailand are now trying to produce a variety of crops by their culture’s traditional farming. By using these strategies, farmers can work to build a more sustainable agriculture and better security in the food system.

Hearing P’Nok address these issues raised my awareness of what I choose to consume. Many students and young adults are so busy getting fast food or buying low priced food from multi-national corporations that they do not think twice about what they may be eating or where it may come from. I think that more young adults should be more aware of these issues also because, not only will it affect them, but it may also affect later generations (their children). Since we have alternatives, such as organic food and food brands that support fair trade, the main concern now is whether or not we’ll choose to use them.