No one denies that trade is a
good thing. The simple fact that each region of the world has products
that other regions of the world would like to have makes trade almost a
necessity. Variations in the economic activities of production and the
marketplace were originally based on geographical differences,
primarily climate and resource availability. These regional differences
encouraged specialization, and to make a long story short, while we
could erect giant greenhouses and grow bananas in Manitoba, we're
better off buying our bananas from Central America.
That said, we're pretty good at growing straberries (and a whole lot of other things) in Manitoba. And if we notice fresh strawberries from some other part of the world at our supermarket, and they are cheaper than our locally grown product, we need to ask ourselves two things:
1. Just how fresh are they, and what was done to them to keep them LOOKING fresh?
2. What was the environmental cost of bringing them here and are we in fact already paying for that cost in a variety of ways such as infrastructure (roads) and in terms of environmental damage?
I just could be that the local product is cheaper in the long run. And although you might not at first glance be able to verify that the local product is better, tastier, healthier, the closer the producer or grower is to you geograpically, the better your odds of finding out.
Michael Pollan, in his books "The Omnivore's Dilema" and "In Defence of Food" encourages us to "know our farmer" and marvels at the fact that we place value on building relationships of trust with car salesmen, real estate brokers, and plumbers, while not caring too much about who grew our food.
Yes, trade based on a mutual exchange of speicalized good and services is a good thing. I don't want locally grown coffee and if I want a quality guitar it seems that the best ones are made in the United States. But too much of today's trade is both environmentally and ethically unsound. The availabilty of cheap foriegn goods is too often based on cheap transportation (in many cases subsidized and based in turn on an unsustainable cheap oil policy), and on the exploitation of local workers.
So, by all means we should continue to buy foriegn products. We'd be crazy not to. But we should also take a realistic look at both local alternatives and "Fair Trade" options.
This site is just my way of making that a little easier.
Ken Storie
2009
That said, we're pretty good at growing straberries (and a whole lot of other things) in Manitoba. And if we notice fresh strawberries from some other part of the world at our supermarket, and they are cheaper than our locally grown product, we need to ask ourselves two things:
1. Just how fresh are they, and what was done to them to keep them LOOKING fresh?
2. What was the environmental cost of bringing them here and are we in fact already paying for that cost in a variety of ways such as infrastructure (roads) and in terms of environmental damage?
I just could be that the local product is cheaper in the long run. And although you might not at first glance be able to verify that the local product is better, tastier, healthier, the closer the producer or grower is to you geograpically, the better your odds of finding out.
Michael Pollan, in his books "The Omnivore's Dilema" and "In Defence of Food" encourages us to "know our farmer" and marvels at the fact that we place value on building relationships of trust with car salesmen, real estate brokers, and plumbers, while not caring too much about who grew our food.
Yes, trade based on a mutual exchange of speicalized good and services is a good thing. I don't want locally grown coffee and if I want a quality guitar it seems that the best ones are made in the United States. But too much of today's trade is both environmentally and ethically unsound. The availabilty of cheap foriegn goods is too often based on cheap transportation (in many cases subsidized and based in turn on an unsustainable cheap oil policy), and on the exploitation of local workers.
So, by all means we should continue to buy foriegn products. We'd be crazy not to. But we should also take a realistic look at both local alternatives and "Fair Trade" options.
This site is just my way of making that a little easier.
Ken Storie
2009
Contact Us (Help Us!).
