Speaking of knowing where you food comes from, Fair Trade certification campaigns, as written up in today's New York Times, are a step in the right direction. The goal is to improve the lot of third-world farmers by offering "trade, not aid," on terms that send more of the profits back to the growers. Producers get more direct access to markets; consumers in rich countries get more information about their food, and can choose accordingly. Nobody is forced to buy, and nobody gets to dictate what "fair" is. (The terms are defined for each certification campaign, but you can choose whether you agree, and vote with your wallet.) The largest campaigns have targeted coffee and chocolate, but other types of produce such as bananas are pineapples are now becoming available.
This approach has the potential to actually boost trade rather than hinder it, and stands in stark contrast to the current wave of protests against the WTO, NAFTA, and globalization in general, which will benefit nobody. Without trade, poor countries will stay poor. As for the benefit that trade can bring to rich countries, anybody who ever drank what passed for coffee in the former Soviet bloc should not need further convincing.
Let me be the first to commend you for a great job you did on writing about food. Now I know that tortilas should be warmed up over open fame!
Good Job!
Posted by: Vadim | May 13, 2004 at 10:02 PM