Fukk off Craig.... I suppose they should be "indebted" and "grateful" also for Slavery and Colonialism..... And I suppose they should be absolutely cock-a-hoop about the Conflict Diamond trade as well, eh.....? <_<

 

These are the FACTS mate - African farmers are at a total disadvantage when it comes to trade, by contrast, European, American and UK farmers have protections under law....... There is no way in hell you'd get away with pulling a stunt on EU or US farmers that regularly gets pulled on farmers from Africa and Latin America..... It is a totally one-sided, unfair system which favours the West, end of.....

 

if the civilised world suddenly decided to boycott Africa and not buy any produce from there to sell then much of Africa would collapse overnight and the economic crisis of zimbabwe would be repeated across huge swathes of Africa, they need us more than we need them basically

 

Africans are better off being expolited than being left on their own devices to starve to death through hyper inflation

Africans and the third world should be GRATEFUL to us though for buying their produce even if it is on our commercial terms though

 

If it was not for the west and the rest of the civilised world those countries would be in even more mess economically than they are, many of those nations rely their entire GDP on selling produce to the west, am not personally bothered about fair trade with Africa really, I want cheap prices in supermarkets if I am perfectly honest but every banana, grain of coffee, pineapple we buy that has been imported from Africa is helping their economy, is stopping people from starving as they are working in the fields to pick the stuff to sell to us so I have nothing to feel guilty about in terms of Africa, they should be indebted and grateful to use that we are buying their produce

 

we shouldnt be ripping them off... the farmers/workers should get a fair wage, the level of which WE would expect for working the land. plus its only the top layer of landowners and businessmen who are getting the money whilst the peasants starve. sorry, but it aint right that people are starving in those countries whilst their lands are being used to grow us cheap food....most of which we dont need. sugar, tobacco, tea, coffee,.... we can live without those, or pay the REAL price they cost to produce.

we shouldnt be ripping them off... the farmers/workers should get a fair wage, the level of which WE would expect for working the land. plus its only the top layer of landowners and businessmen who are getting the money whilst the peasants starve. sorry, but it aint right that people are starving in those countries whilst their lands are being used to grow us cheap food....most of which we dont need. sugar, tobacco, tea, coffee,.... we can live without those, or pay the REAL price they cost to produce.

 

Yeah in an ideal world they should get more than they do but if that happened then prices would rise and inflation would rise in this country or Tesco's and so on would source their fruit and coffee etc in more competitive places in the world price wise than Africa so that would result in Africans sufering even more, better to give the Africans something even if it is not as much as should get in an ideal world than give them nothing

 

If prices went up in Africa through "fair trade" then I am also not convinced that the ordinary African would benefit, the farmer would pocket the money himself in profit and little or none would filter through to the average African

Yeah in an ideal world they should get more than they do but if that happened then prices would rise and inflation would rise in this country or Tesco's and so on would source their fruit and coffee etc in more competitive places in the world price wise than Africa so that would result in Africans sufering even more, better to give the Africans something even if it is not as much as should get in an ideal world than give them nothing

 

If prices went up in Africa through "fair trade" then I am also not convinced that the ordinary African would benefit, the farmer would pocket the money himself in profit and little or none would filter through to the average African

 

the fair price would apply worldwide not just africa.

 

thats what is already happening craig, the farmers/landowners get the money and he workers get nowt.

if the civilised world suddenly decided to boycott Africa and not buy any produce from there to sell then much of Africa would collapse overnight and the economic crisis of zimbabwe would be repeated across huge swathes of Africa, they need us more than we need them basically

 

Africans are better off being expolited than being left on their own devices to starve to death through hyper inflation

That's the sort of cack-handed argument that was used against the minimum wage. Why do people think it's right for someone to work (and that often means vry long hours in African countries) and still end up living in abject poverty?

That's the sort of cack-handed argument that was used against the minimum wage. Why do people think it's right for someone to work (and that often means vry long hours in African countries) and still end up living in abject poverty?

 

I am in favour of the minimum wage but you can't compare the cost of living in the UK with the cost of living in Africa

 

An African working for a farmer can get by on a couple of bowls of rice a day an Englishman has a much higher cost of living so flawed comparison

 

Is the African system right or fair ? maybe not and I would support situations where the WORKERS get more money if we pay higher prices for produce to Africa but it won't happen, even if say the price of bananas from an African country doubled or trebled would the workers get a pay rise ? would they f***, that's why I don't support the principle of paying more to Africa for produce, were the extra money going to the worker I would be in support of it but it wouldn't happen

Edited July 10, 200915 yr by B.A Baracus

I am in favour of the minimum wage but you can't compare the cost of living in the UK with the cost of living in Africa

 

An African working for a farmer can get by on a couple of bowls of rice a day an Englishman has a much higher cost of living so flawed comparison

 

Is the African system right or fair ? maybe not and I would support situations where the WORKERS get more money if we pay higher prices for produce to Africa but it won't happen, even if say the price of bananas from an African country doubled or trebled would the workers get a pay rise ? would they f***, that's why I don't support the principle of paying more to Africa for produce, were the extra money going to the worker I would be in support of it but it wouldn't happen

I'm not suggesting that African workers should be paid the same as UK workers. BUT, as I said, anyone with a full-time job should have a right to live at level above abject poverty - and that means more than being able to buy a couple bowls of rice per day. Don't you think that it's that patronising attitude ("Oh, just bung them a few grains of rice and they'll be happy") that makes people want to come to Europe and earn enough to have a more varied diet? They might even aspire to buy the very food they're helping to produce for our benefit.

 

The whole point of the Fairtrade movement is to try to ensure that the extra money we pay for the products goes to the right people. Of course it won't always work the way it's meant to work but then nothing ever does.

the point was to give the worker a comparable wage, after all if the workers have more money to spend wouldnt that boost trade in their economy rather then keeping the rich cnuts in luxury?

the point was to give the worker a comparable wage, after all if the workers have more money to spend wouldnt that boost trade in their economy rather then keeping the rich cnuts in luxury?

 

Spot on... It's the only way these countries will ever develop properly to a comparable level with EU or US someday... The whole problem I have is that trade deals with African and Latin American countries very deliberately keeps those countries poor and totally reliant on the West, I mean how the fukk can it be that you have America and Canada rich, and yet Mexico is incredibly poor, when they're all, geographically speaking, in the same place...? It's because the US pretty much keeps Mexico (and Latin America as a whole) poor and reliant upon them... It's nothing more than back-door Imperialism in a lot of ways, it's just done rather more subtly than in the past....

 

If we deliberately keep these people poor, then it really shouldn't come as a surprise to us that so many of them want to get out and try to make a better life for themselves... At the end of the day, it's OUR fault for keeping them poor.....

 

Don't you think that it's that patronising attitude ("Oh, just bung them a few grains of rice and they'll be happy")

 

It's a VERY patronising attitude Suede. you're right.....

 

Shame on you Craig, people actually deserve better than that mate..... <_< Your suggestion is frankly little better than fukkin' slavery....

 

It's a VERY patronising attitude Suede. you're right.....

 

Shame on you Craig, people actually deserve better than that mate..... <_< Your suggestion is frankly little better than fukkin' slavery....

 

It was a tongue in cheek remark comparing the lifestyles out there for farm workers and the lifestyles here, of course I was not advocating that that is what they should be paid I meant it in a tongue in cheek way, further backed up by comments I made that I would willingly pay more for produce if the revenue would be shared with the workers