I don't believe in getting political on blogs...
I simply don't. I try to keep my blog lighthearted, at least some of the time. I recently read a political rant on another blog and immediately took her off my favorites list and I will never read that blog again because of some stuff she posted. I hope that doesn't happen here today but I just have to get this out. It's been weighing on my mind for years now. Really. Years.
I've always wanted to be an activist. I've always wanted to fight for the rights of the rural people, which are being trampled more and more every day.
But I simply can't. I'm not well versed in the actual issues, I don't have time outside of school and work, and quite frankly, nobody gives a damn anyways.
Fiar trade seems to be all the rage these days. Fair trade coffee, tea, sugar, etc. A definition of fair trade: "Fair Trade is an alternative approach to international trade that seeks to ensure that small-scale farmers and plantation workers work under safe conditions and receive a fair price for their crops and labour."
I'm all for fair trade. It sounds great. But why is no one paying attention to the farmers in our own country? Why is it that Canadian farmers are getting paid the same prices they were getting paid in ... what year? Bigman, you know the answer to this. What year is it that our current grain prices match?
Our Canadian government has systematically ensured that Canadian farmers are not getting a fair price for the goods they produce through their little known cheap food policy. I've been saying this for years and I anticipate the day it happens: One day, all of our farmers will be out of business. All of our food will come from American factory farms, where animal rights and wlfare are ignored and production is key. Our food prices in Canada will soar and then, and only then, will regular everyday citizens be pissed off.
My city's newspaper did a three day run on the plight of the average local farmer last summer. I wrote in because no one even noticed that this run was the main part of the paper for three days. I wrote in about how if you mention a hockey lockout, you have pages of letters. Mention where someone's food comes from and no one seems to care. The superstore down the street seems to have an endless supply of food, no?
I guess it's the same with fair trade coffee. Fuck with someone's caffeine fix and you'll have a nation up in arms. The food supply and the people providing it don't seem to matter at all though.
Sorry for going political on you all. I just had to get this off my chest, and my blog seems like as good of a place as any to do it.
Peace,
Toonses
I've always wanted to be an activist. I've always wanted to fight for the rights of the rural people, which are being trampled more and more every day.
But I simply can't. I'm not well versed in the actual issues, I don't have time outside of school and work, and quite frankly, nobody gives a damn anyways.
Fiar trade seems to be all the rage these days. Fair trade coffee, tea, sugar, etc. A definition of fair trade: "Fair Trade is an alternative approach to international trade that seeks to ensure that small-scale farmers and plantation workers work under safe conditions and receive a fair price for their crops and labour."
I'm all for fair trade. It sounds great. But why is no one paying attention to the farmers in our own country? Why is it that Canadian farmers are getting paid the same prices they were getting paid in ... what year? Bigman, you know the answer to this. What year is it that our current grain prices match?
Our Canadian government has systematically ensured that Canadian farmers are not getting a fair price for the goods they produce through their little known cheap food policy. I've been saying this for years and I anticipate the day it happens: One day, all of our farmers will be out of business. All of our food will come from American factory farms, where animal rights and wlfare are ignored and production is key. Our food prices in Canada will soar and then, and only then, will regular everyday citizens be pissed off.
My city's newspaper did a three day run on the plight of the average local farmer last summer. I wrote in because no one even noticed that this run was the main part of the paper for three days. I wrote in about how if you mention a hockey lockout, you have pages of letters. Mention where someone's food comes from and no one seems to care. The superstore down the street seems to have an endless supply of food, no?
I guess it's the same with fair trade coffee. Fuck with someone's caffeine fix and you'll have a nation up in arms. The food supply and the people providing it don't seem to matter at all though.
Sorry for going political on you all. I just had to get this off my chest, and my blog seems like as good of a place as any to do it.
Peace,
Toonses
posted by Amanda at 15:10
3 Comments:
Damn the man! It's time for the revolution.
I don't know about grain prices, I was down with the price payed to farmers for milk being the same for the last 30 years though everything else increases in price.
:Þ
I've enraged her with all my fair trade talk! But, as we've discussed I definetly think a way to grab people's attention about the problems out local farmers face is to start selling things like farm strawberries with a sign that says FAIR TRADE. People are bound to enquire what the heck you mean since it's being sold on a farm. The idea is to get people asking questions and stop being so complaicent. Then imagine, commercials on tv with scrumptious fresh vegetables with a sign that simply reads "IS THIS FAIR" followed by a testimonial about hardships of farming....do you think i could sell that idea to some farming advocation group? Are there any??
Yes, there is a local group of rural landowners nearby. I plan on doing some work with them this July when I go home. My mom's friend's husband is a member, so he and I will be discussing some of the key issues with being advocates for this cause.
The main problem with agriculture in Canada is that we are forced by our government to go through the marketing boards; we are not allowed to make our own prices. Add that to the fact that Canada has a cheap food policy and that farmers have literally not gotten a 'raise' from these different marketing boards in over thirty years... It's a recipe for disaster. Which, actually, is what we have already.
The problem with advocacy in a lot of ways is that people can easily boycott something like clothing, coffee, etc. You can buy other running shoes than Nike, for example. You can't exactly boycott food; and in more than most cases, the public simply doesn't care. We are far removed from agriculture in this country (as in most developed nations) When the farmers went on a crusade when I was in the tenth grade, most people just grumbled, waited for it to be over, and forgot about us. When you work a job that requires your attention 24/7/365, you don't have time to be marching Parliament Hill every day until the point gets across. . Sigh.
Your ideas are great, Anastasia. I will definitely be calling on you when I get more involved in my 'activism' down the road. Thanks, City Girl.
Toonses
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