Fair trade, really, is it?

[ericmark]

So some small farmer is paid over the odds for his produce, so he can compete with the larger farmer, who can use more cost-effective methods, with sugar fair trade means in real terms paying so farmer in some far off land, over the odds so he can grow sugar cane to compete with our local farmer growing sugar beet, so we are destroying the planet to give these far off farmers' money, rather than support our own local farmers, this seems crazy where to use the local church hall (Methodist) we have to agree to buy food from abroad.

How can that be considered fair trade?

 

[Notch7]

I think fair trade can help in such things as cocoa beans and coffee.

in term of sugar the UK dropped the tariff rate and increased the TRQ for sugar beet.........which greatly benefitted Tate and Lyle who import it, whilst British sugar who use British sugar beet lost business and British farmers esp around East Anglia suffered



personally I think a local church hall should support local really