Is it a Fairtrade?

Question 10: What is Fairtrade, how does it strive to make a difference and is it effective in so doing?

While free trade focusses on international trade agreements and attempt to allow developing nations to compete with the developed world on an even footing, fairtrade has a more local and individual approach. While Fairtrade does care about the overall economy, their main focus is on “support[ing] farmers and workers” and those “who are amongst the most marginalised groups globally”. By working with individual companies, the Fairtrade organization attempts to ensure a level of quality among the products under their “mark”. They also want to increase the salary and better the living standards of all local workers involved in producing Fairtrade goods.

Through a system of partnerships, the Fairtrade Foundation helps set minimum price of goods which will cover all production of the said goods. This will enable maintain a sustainable system of production, in which all farmers and workers are protected by a “vital safety net”. According to the Fairtrade Foundation FLOCERT, the independent certification body of the global Fairtrade system conducts regular audits of all companies involved, and helps maintain and improve the system. Lastly there is the Fairtrade premium. This tool raises the price of the Fairtrade goods, and then places that amount into a communal slush fund. This slush fund is used for improving the social, economic and environmental conditions of the workers. Additionally, the workers are the only ones who can decide and regulate how to distribute the slush fund.

The question is, has the Fairtrade movement effort’s been successful? I believe that they have. It has seen large amounts of growth over the last few years. In the United Kingdom, the Fairtrade Foundation estimates that sales of certified goods equalled £1.32 billion in 2011. This equals an 11% increase from 2010. However, the most important achievement of the Fairtrade movement “has been to shine a light on the issue of trade justice and social development in the global South”.

Sources:

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk

http://shapingsustainablemarkets.iied.org/does-fairtrade-really-work#sthash.wkULK54g.dpuf

Images:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairtrade_certification#mediaviewer/File:Fairtrade.png

http://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/about-us/fair-trade-chocolate/

www.ardaghdiocese.org

Wendy, Wanda, Wine?

Question 9: a) Reflect on our Field Study to Kelleris and b) discuss the important ways in which wine has and continues to play a role in human society and culture.

I’ll just start off by saying that I really enjoyed the field study to Kelleris Vineyard. It was interesting to meet a man who is succeeding on producing high quality wine in an environment which is not necessarily conducive for growing grapes (i.e. climate, short growing season, and the dirt). Søren Jensen, the man behind this interesting venture, is one of the founding members of Denmarks commercial wine venture.  While he admitted that before 2000 he did not know a thing about growing grapes and making wine, Mr. Jensen was a wealth of knowledge. I learned a lot about viticulture, the crossbreeding grape vines, and the history of the fungi and beetles which afflict the plants.

It is hardly possible to understate the importance wine has held for the history of human society. Wine, and the grape, first cultivated in Mesopotamia and around the Caspian Sea between 6000 and 4000 BC quickly spread all across southern Europe, the Middle East, and most of the ancient world. From the Sumerian goddess Gestin to Renen-utet from egypt and Dionysus (Bacchus) from Greece/Rome It quickly took on religious importance, and most cultures had a deity representing this libatious drink.

Wine also served as an extremely valuable trading good. As evidenced by roman trading vessels discovered on the seabed of the mediterranean, ancient wine was being produced all around the ancient world, in mesopotamia, gaul, and italy. They also demonstrate the physical volume and economic value of the wine trade.

Today, wine holds a more social position. While no longer the property of the religious and social elite, wine has in the past 50 years become the common mans drink. It can be found in bottle (both plastic and glass) and in boxes (invented in 1965). It brings friends together and can be seen mixed in with the bottles of beer and various hard alcohol in bars and clubs.

Sources:

http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/kelleris-vineyard.html

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ewga/exhibition/temperance/index.html

Images:

http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/topbannere/ban_6.jpg

http://italianwinehub.com/news09/RomanShipwrecks.html

http://therelaxnation.com/2012/04/wine-party-101-how-to-throw-a-wine-tasting/#sthash.hj3T1IFY.dpbs

The Holy Trinity...

Question 8: Which are the ‘Top Three’ most important / influential plants of power today

With almost 400,000 plant species extant today, it is not surprising in the least that they have had influential effects on the lives of humans since even before we evolved from apes and came down out of the trees. There have been many lists made up of important plants organized by volume produced and economic value, but I believe the current “top three” influential plants rice, papers trees, and opium poppies are important for other reasons.

Rice is vital to humanity for one simple reason, it feeds the most people out of any plant ever. While corn has the highest production rate, it is used mainly for non-consumption (fuel and plastics). This makes rice the most consumed plant product. Interestingly there are over 40,000 varieties of rice growing all over the world. It became so important that it ingrained itself in various cultures. While it is mostly grown and eaten in Southeastern Asia (China, Japan, the Islands, etc…).  It provides nutritional and economic sustenance for producers and consumers across the globe.

The second of the “top three” would have to be trees. This is because, as we discussed in class, there are a myriad of uses  for trees from transportation to heating. However, what makes it most important today is the fact that paper is made wood. Paper makes the world flow, at least for the time being.

Lastly is the opium poppy. This is because it is financially supporting many terrorist organizations (e.g. Al-Qaeda) in the Middle East (primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan) which are currently fighting in the middle east and creating many global problems which are detrimental to World security. The production of this plant however rarely benefits the farmers, instead the billions in profit fund the illicit actions of terror organizations.

These three plants are the most influential because they shape current the political and cultural landscape.

Source

http://www.plantsandus.org.uk/top-10_economics.htm

Images

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Drugs-fuel-terror-campaign-Opium-trade-keeps-2872219.php

http://www.paper.org.uk/information/pages/papermaking_process.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8717378/Rice-a-cultural-symbol-for-modern-day-Japan.html

Food or Famine

Question 7:Discuss the current threats and possible solutions to food security.  Within your answer identify the problems associated with the possible solutions.

Food security, according to the WHO, is “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. The access to an adequate supply of food is vital for both the physical needs of the poor, and the advancement of human society by-in large. Currently there are three main threats to food security in both the developing and developed world, poverty natural disasters, and distribution issues.

While the impoverished spend between 50% and 80% of their income on food, the measures of poverty is impacted by where in the world they live. If the poor live in the developed world, they are able to (with relative ease) provide/procure enough food to feed themselves. This is because there is enough food, at a low enough cost, to feed the worlds population several times over. However, the developing world has been struck by countless manmade and natural disasters, which due to the weak nature of the pre-existing socio-political and economic structures, have magnified effects on the .

The main problem is that the food is not distributed equitably, even regionally and nationally. A problem evident in Ethiopia during the past two decades in which piles of domestically produced food and international food aid were seen rotting on the side of the road when hundreds of thousands of people were starving. This distribution problem has also exemplified by the fact that there has never been a famine in a country with democratically elected government and a free press. A phenomenon which can be seen in Ireland.

The problem of food security is highly debated and many of the worlds smartest minds are attempting to develop feasible solutions. I agree with several leading academics that the best way to solve food insecurity was increasing the amount of locally sourced, highly tied, humanitarian food aid.

Sources

http://www.ifad.org/hfs/facts.htm

http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/

Images

http://www.scidev.net/global/food-security/feature/food-security-facts-and-figures.html

http://www.economist.com/blogs/baobab/2011/09/famine-horn-africa-0 http://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/2014/06/food-aid-cause-conflict/

Plant Pirates V.S. DVD Pirates

Question 6: Define biopiracy.  Give two historic and one modern examples of this practice and briefly explain the impacts of the plant ‘transfers’.

Stronger nations and peoples have historically prayed on weaker, or supposedly more naïve peoples. This has been the way of the world for thousands of years, and has manifested itself in many forms: territorial conquest, political - social - economic oppression, and plant transfers (or biopiracy). While the influence and impact of these practices have changed over the years, their core concepts don’t change. Bio-piracy has been couched in cushy terms, such as plant transfers, and described as being beneficial to mankind as a whole. It remains however “the commercial development of naturally occurring biological materials, such as plant substances or genetic cell lines, by a technologically advanced country or organization without fair compensation to the peoples or nations in whose territory the materials were originally discovered”.

Many historic cases of biopiracy were carried out by the British, and the British East India Company. For example, they stole tea from China to grow in India, and rubber from Brazil to grow in Malaysia. While people think of explorers, large wooden sailing ships, and the age of exploration when discussing bio-piracy, it still occurs in the modern era. For example, the Ayahuasca plant of the indigenous amazonian peoples. This plant is used for shamanic rituals and healing by the locals, and has gained a large following among the international community as a drug and “hallucinogenic drink”. However, the US government granted its “discoverer” a patent.

The impact of these actions is deep and far-reaching. Its consequences are two-fold. It damages cultural values and also the economic livelihood of the indigenous peoples. While the Ayahuasca plant impacts the South American cultural values, the theft of tea and rubber impact the economic status indigenous peoples. It takes away the local ability to control the prices and reduces the financial possibilities of the people. Biopiracy is just another example of the total disregard of indigenous peoples by the so called “advanced” western powers.

sources

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/biopiracy

http://sites.duke.edu/amazonbiopiracy/case-studies-of-biopiracy-3/

Images

http://www.blackagendareport.com/category/political-economy/biopiracy

http://simbahayan.tripod.com/B5-biopiracy01.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ-I6y6gIgvR4aVDYhPzPM52656ItX9BPp_VVJJmvxtD-iJE-R8m9iTbx88ckOAxUWoHoFjEMtTUgPFzuCC9Uj7BfCrz4Bk921eVXPrD1gJ7TJ-Sbq6BgEb4yMAF_3YHqEr505kKhy7fo/s1600/piracy.png

What is Wood?

Question 5: Of those plants we have so far studied, which in your opinion has had the greatest impact on world history.  Justify and explain your answer.

From the mighty oak to the lowliest sapling, wood has wormed its way into our lives and become an integral part of human civilization. This can be seen in changes in transportation methods.

The first way that wood affected humanity was by aiding in transportation of goods and people. In the ancient world, wood was fashioned into wheels, rollers and, chariots. The wheels and rollers facilitated the movement of the giant blocks of stone used in construction projects like the great pyramids in egypt. Also the chariots, used by almost all ancient civil increased the mobility of larger armies and allowed for the formation and defense of empires on a scale hitherto unknown.

Wood’s effect on transportation didn’t stop there. The age of exploration was inexorably linked to this renewable natural resource. The dashing explorers, vicious pirates, and gallant naval officers all stood on decks of teak and sailed wooden ships across the vast oceans. These ships built of pine and oak from all across Europe and North America and the Levant dramatically increased the volume and speed trade. This trade caused the rise and fall of various nations.

Even when the venerable wooden ships bowed down to steel; wood had one last major hurrah, the railroad. While the railroads came to be known as the backbone of human civilization, it all rested on the lowly wooden rail ties. With an average of 3,249 ties per mile, 212,000 miles of tracks in America alone, there are around 689,974,000 wooden ties crisscrossing America. As the railroad expanded so did the transport of important ideas and events, both good and bad. From the deadly march to the nazi extermination camps to the transportation of goods to starving people in remote parts of the world.

While the import of all the plants we have discussed in class so far is flexible, wood has left the largest impact on human civilization.

Sources:

http://www.rta.org/faqs-main

Images:

http://blog.world-mysteries.com/mystic-places/the-great-pyramid-and-transport-of-heavy-stone-blocks/

http://www.cindyvallar.com/woodenships.html

http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/pm-mp/lhn-nhs/kickinghorse_e.asp

A Not So Galactic Empire

Question 4: Draw together and explain the roles of cotton, tea and opium in the business and success of the British East India Company

The British East India Company (BEIC) is one of the few non-state entities to ever rule a country, employ a standing army, and to cause vast suffering for hundreds of thousands of people all while producing and moving millions of pounds of goods all across the world. In a time before modern globalization had begun, the BEIC conducted business in at least 5 continents and encompassed all of the world's oceans all on the back of three natural products, tea, cotton, and opium.

Initially the BEIC gained financial power by trading in cotton. Through skillful financial and political maneuvering the BEIC gained complete control of the Indian subcontinent. With its own private army, the BEIC kept the traditional Indian rulers under control and maintained favorable trading conditions.

The profits from the cotton trade, allowed the BEIC to expand its operations into spices which brought the company to Chinese shores. While they did not find spices in China, they discovered tea. However, severe restrictions were placed on european traders by the Emperor of China. This sparked the BEIC's involvement in the opium trade.

Because the Chinese government required vast quantities of raw silver as payment for the tea, the BEIC was forced to procure silver in dubious ways. The major one being the production and sale of opium. In India, they had the perfect eco-system for growing poppies (and opium) which they sold both directly and indirectly to the Chinese. The increases in opium imported into China from 1775 to 1839 is simply staggering. The BEIC exports of Indian opium rose from 75 metric tons in 1975 to more than 2500 metric tons in 1839 (more than a 33 fold increase!).

After dealing with China’s extremely restrictive and xenophobic trade policies, and growing so much opium, the British engaged in a slight bit of biological piracy. The BEIC managed to bring tea plants to India. Because the cotton trade gave control of India the BEIC, they created huge plantations in which the indigenous Indians toiled in virtual slavery producing vast quantities of tea well into the 19 century. This circumvention of Chinese tea allowed the BEIC to reap huge financial gains.

Sources:

http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR2008_100years_drug_control_origins.pdf

Images:

http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr/WDR_2008/WDR2008_100years_drug_control_origins.pdf

http://www.jonathanlewy.com/american_opium_trade/

http://toanewdawn.blogspot.dk/2013/12/gorkhaland-movement-history-flaws.html