this story at the bbc makes me glad i spend a little extra on decent coffee at a fair price for farmers.
I don't give much to oxfam or other international charities but I do try to buy ethically - organic and freetrade where affordable and possible.
I can never understand why people buy nescafe and shite like that - its not as nice flavoured as some of the fair trade coffees and hardly any cheaper - most of your money goes into executives and advertisers pockets.
While I agree that we should watch how we spend our money, I find it disturbing (and probably a big contributing factor of this problem) that a couple would decide to have a third child when they cannot provide for their first two.
Two of his children are underweight and chronically malnourished.
He and his wife Johana have just had their third child in the earthen brick roadside hut they built themselves.
Re:More to the issue...
TeeJay on 2003-02-11T13:55:08
Actually if the industry was more healthy then the children would bring in an extra income.its not like they are sending them to college or anything.
in any poverty situation, your children are your welfare, your sick cover and your nurses.
also they don't have access to contraception and are entitled to have children if they so wish - would you really wish forced abortions on them ?
If they have no means then an extra mouth makes little difference. Its not like they are going to spend money on disposable nappies or a nanny and then complain.
Its like telling homeless people that maybe if they didn't smoke or drink they wouldn't be homeless which is bullshit - if they didn't smoke or drink or fuck they would have no reason to live ! same applies to these people : hell you could afford a new car or holidays three times a year if you never checked your email or went out with friends or did anything fun ever!
Re:More to the issue...
Purdy on 2003-02-11T14:22:17
My point is that they made a choice to bring another child into the world, a child that will be subjected to worse conditions their first two children.
Contraceptions/abortions are besides the point (no, I wouldn't force abortions {if you couldn't tell, I'm pro-life}) - people should take serious time and thought into bringing a child into the world. I seriously doubt this couple did and as a result, their family unit will be more strained and it doesn't help the overall economic situation.
There's more to say, but this is a huge door that has been opened and I don't have the time to put forth all my thoughts. I guess my bottom line is that if you cannot provide for your child (and that can be interpreted very loosely or in different ways), then perhaps you should not have a child.
Jason
Re:Starbucks
ziggy on 2003-02-11T16:00:36
How can there be any doubt? It's Starbucks. It'll have that trademark overroasted taste.now I gotta see if it tastes good.;) :-) I don't know your palate, so you might prefer Starbucks to other coffee roasters. I tolerate Starbucks because they are a known quantity, and their coffee doesn't suck (although I'd prefer a twinge less roasting).
If you really want to make your dollars work for you with fair trade coffee, go elsewhere. Kudos to Starbucks for creating awareness, but their still a large US Corporation. True, they're a corporation that believes in fair trade coffee, offers benefits to part time staff and creates a lot of jobs. But they still need to spend money on advertising and things that don't make the coffee taste any better...
Other coffee roasters market free trade coffee as well. Green Mountain Coffee does, and their corporate mission is more in line with social and environmental responsibility. I've never tried them, so I can't say whether you'd prefer the taste of their roast.
