Cracked.com: 4 Reasons Why Fair Trade Coffee Is a Scam
My friend Victor Claar wrote a great monograph two years ago, Fair Trade? Its Prospects as a Poverty Solution. It costs $3.00 in Kindle format. You can read my review posted here at Kruse Kronicle. Some aspects of fair trade initiatives may be helpful. But while fair trade coffee sounds noble on the service, it does not help intended targets and may, in fact, harm them (and I expect this is true with most fair trade agricultural commodities.) The linked article highlights some of the same problems Claar does. It is interesting to see the points made by an outlet that I expect does not identify as an economic conservative. ;-) He is a little more polemic than I like, but you'll get the point.
Coffee is the second most valuable resource exported from poor and/or developing countries (Angelina Jolie's children being the first). Thus the Fair Trade model was established, which is supposed to pay coffee growers a set "fair trade" price if they meet labor and production standards. The idea was to prevent them from being exploited, but the reality is that in practice, Fair Trade just makes exploitation easier.
#4. Growers Are Paid Very Little for Fair Trade Coffee ...
#3. Consumers Are Charged Much More for Fair Trade Coffee ...
#2. Fair Trade Is Essentially a Marketing Organization ...
#1. Growers Receive a Higher Percentage from Non-Fair Trade Coffee Sales ...
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