Comments on: Oxfam-USC on its way to make trade fair

By: Arya

Arya — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 18:17:31 +0000

US COTTON SUBSIDIES HAVE SIMPLY REPLACED AFRICAN SLAVES WORKING ON AMERICAN COTTON PLANTATIONS…

By: avs

avs — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Have you read Pietra Rivoli’s “The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy”? It is a nice intro to US cotton industry and the surrounding subsidies, including the Multi-Fibre Agreements. It also explains rather well the political rope-walking that US presidents have had to do. It stretches back more than WWII: even slave labour laws and later the sharecropping legislation were a non-monetary subsidy. The book taught me something about American history too (which, being an arrogant latte-sipping EU citizen, is not one of my strengths). A word of caution - Rivoli is a strong free-market advocate but then again are Oxfam too. Kind of.

There’s also another book. This one I haven’t yet read, but probably will. I have high hopes for “Fair Trade: Market-Driven Ethical Consumption” (Alex Nicholls, Charlotte Opal) as it promises to discuss the business aspects of switching to Fair Trade. I hope that the book will take its discussion beyound the usual “Fair Trade means $1.26 per pound of coffee” simplistic discourse and actually talk about the business persectives and entrepreneurial possibilities.

- avs

By: BlondebutBright

BlondebutBright — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Great background information. Just another example of the US government ignoring international law. So what exactly did you cover in the meeting?

By: Keith

Keith — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Great to see the apparently growing awareness and concern there. I’ve been in Burkina for 15 years, and this issue is a real heartache for me. We need to put pressure on during the months leading up to the WTO in Dec to see change happen. Hope the momentum continues to grow. Cheers.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Whoa… fifty people! Great news, fifty more who are aware just how obnoxious farm subsidies are. Cotton subsidies literally exist only for the sake of agribusiness. Some farm subsidies justify themselves on the grounds of market failure - something called an overproduction trap - or the preservation of rural ways of life. Not cotton farmers. And Keith, the real issue is who and how to pressure. I think we should be asking our congressional reps. what bills they have introduced lately to knock these subsidies down.

By: Siel

Siel — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

The meeting itself: Ouredraogo covered the basic info and recent history regarding cotton subsidies, and talked a little about the state of things in West Africa, then quickly opened up the discussion by taking questions. I think it’s both challenging but exciting when we get people with such differing levels of knowledge about these issues in one room — We had some who’d been actively campaigning against cotton subsidies, and others who asked, “What’s WTO?” In the Q&A section, we covered everything from the effects of terrorism on farming to the implications of GMO-cotton. Somewhat difficult to summarize and multi-faceted, but super-informative. More on this issue from Fletch here.

avs — Thanks for the book recommendations. I’m working on creating a froogle wish list — I have one on Amazon now, but am gonna get rid of it now that I know the company supports the Republican party. My birthday’s Nov. 1, btw :)

Keith — your site is fascinating! I have a very vexed relationship with religious “social work,” to use the terms often used by people who do missionary work — My parents were missionaries in Kenya for a long long time, but I am an atheist myself. It’s interesting addressing some of these conflicts I have again — Thanks for stopping by!

Fletch — I think there’s a bill in the works in California re: our cotton, but I’m not sure what’s been going on. Will have to research that.