Public Address | Cafe | Island Life: And I just have to look away

Kerry Weston

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 09:55:29 +1200

ditto for the Guardian article. I heard some squawking on natradio yesterday about the Greens' notion to diversify away from mega-dairy. So, when the commodity price drops and transport cost rockets and Chinese dairy industry booms, where will we be?

I've got this terrible vision of a land dotted with…

stephen walker

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 06:14:14 +1200

thanks for the link to your namesake, George ;-)

i barely visit the Guardian Unlimited site anymore, unless someone points me to a specific article.

very topical indeed...

Stephen Judd

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:52:33 +1200

I think of it as being like free-range eggs. I bought them when they were very expensive indeed, as did a few other eccentrics. We were the market, we grew the market, the producers started to compete for our custom, and now there are a great many free range eggs…

George Darroch

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:38:29 +1200

Another reason why we might support fairtrade – small scale farming is more productive, and fairtrade usually targets small scale farmers. Yet more evidence that convinces me that we can do much better than "megadairy" in food production.

Sofie Bribiesca

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:29:19 +1200

anyway, i think it is a good idea to have a mutually positive relationship with the people who are producing your food.

Yes, and if everyone does that.....it's gotta be a good thing.

stephen walker

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:00:45 +1200

"beset by huge challenges"

yes.
but as "rich world" consumers, we have a choice about what we buy and from whom.
how we exercise that choice does affect people at the other end of the production chain, even if we don't want to acknowlege the fact.
so, I think the…

David Slack

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:34:52 +1200

primary production, David?
who needs food, clothing and shelter?

I don't deny the crucial role of primary production, but I feel pessimistic about prospects for the little guy. The documentary paints a picture of a Fairtrade model that proceeds on noble intentions, but seems beset by huge challenges.

3410

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:11:51 +1200

Black Gold

It's worth seeing for anyone interested in coffee and extreme economic exploitation. Will probably make you switch from Nescafe to Scarborough Fair.

Sofie Bribiesca

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:19:35 +1200

Learning about coffee production in the last few months, as I've done more and more reading, has really taken some of the enjoyment out of drinking it.

There is a selection at the supermarket that do advertise their fair trade beans and what I do is support those. It seems only…

Stephen Judd

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:59:31 +1200

The economics of coffee is a fascinating disaster. There is a terrible mix of factors:

1. It's very labour intensive to produce quality coffee, because the cherries ripen throughout the year, and require hand-picking to get the ripe ones. There is no mechanised way to do this that preserves quality.…

stephen walker

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:29:36 +1200

primary production, David?
who needs food, clothing and shelter?
nah, just live in a 24-hr mcDees. prob solved.

but really, what we need is everyone on the planet to emulate (self-identifying) middle class nz-ers or americans.

driving their suvs 80km/day and hanging out at st***ucks.
no need for fair trade…

Rich of Observationz

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:45 +1200

I saw the NZD250 (I guess) price tag for the iPhone. And then the NZD140 annual charge for MobileMe – which seems to be mostly functionality GMail has for free?

Does the "openness" of the iPhone allow Google, or opensource hackers, to create an alternative to MobileMe?

Public Address

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 11:15:45 +1200

Discussion from blog post.