French/EU farming subsidies are at expense of third world, as this article shows.
G8 'harming Africa', charity says ActionAid is calling on the G8 nations to support fair trade The G8 group of industrialised nations has harmed Africa, a charity has said. ActionAid, part of the Make Poverty History coalition, said the G8 had pushed poor countries into pursuing policies not in their interests. The criticism comes as the charity launches its manifesto for change, Don't Make Poverty, ahead of the G8 summit in Scotland beginning on 6 July. ActionAid is calling for subsidies to farmers in G8 countries to end, a cancellation of debt, and more aid. "The G8 have made grand statements on Africa for 10 years now," said Steve Tibbett, head of policy at ActionAid UK. "In that time, they have continued to frogmarch African countries into policies that have harmed them. "They have cancelled only a fraction of poor countries' debts and have given less and lower quality aid. "It is time for the G8 to show some remorse and take positive action." ActionAid urged the G8 to build on the successes in Africa, particularly its economic growth and the increasing strength of the African Union. The charity is also calling on the nations to support fair trade and tackle Aids and climate change. The call came as Christian Aid published The Economics of Failure: The Real Cost of 'Free' Trade, a study which said free trade had left Africa £149bn poorer over the past 20 years. The report goes against the theory behind debt relief by arguing that struggling countries in sub-Saharan Africa have lost billions of pounds worth of revenue by opening their economic markets up to foreign imports in return for aid donations. "Whole countries would be much richer today if they had not been forced to open their markets," said Dr Claire Melamed, from Christian Aid. "In the past 20 years, trade liberalisation has cost Africa the same amount as it received in aid," she added. The Christian Aid reports has urged that any money given to the poorest countries should not involve trade. "If new aid and debt relief comes with strings attached that require countries to liberalise trade, it may well do more harm than good," said Dr Melamed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4108848.stm --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >wrote: > How addressed? > > Yes, there are government subsidies in France. But the > thinking behind them is interesting. It's to preserve > one's 'patromonie,' or tradition. So if not all the > French farmers can afford to stay in business, they > occasionally subsidize them to enable them *to* stay > in business. This preserves jobs, but more importantly, > preserves what the French see as valuable, a way of life, > the link to their past, so that this link is not lost. > > One sees the same phenomenon here in may other ways. > Why are there so many bookstores in Paris, basically > one on every block? Well, duh...to understand this one > all you have to do is check the prices in each of them, > and then in the larger chain bookstores. No difference. > Discounting of books is illegal. Therefore, without any > need for subsidies, the small bookstores can stay open, > and not be forced out of business, as has happened to > something like 70% of small bookstores in America since > the advent of Borders and Barnes and Noble and the other > big chains. > > Another interesting French way of handling things can be > seen in the delayed, but inevitable, arrival of super- > markets. If you know French culture, you realize that > *nothing* could be more antithetical to that culture and > tradition than the notion of "one stop shopping." One > goes to the boulangerie for one's bread, to the boucherie > for one's meat, to the poissonerie for one's fish, etc. > And you have *relationships* with all of these shop owners. > They know you by name. They ask how your kids and old Aunt > Alice are doing. They know your preferences. "Your people > have been doing business with "their people" for decades, > possibly longer. > > Well, the French looked at the idea of supermarkets, and > then they looked at the reality in America and in other > countries where they were allowed to pop up anywhere the > owners wanted them to. The statistics were quite convincing. > Within two years of a major supermarket chain moving to a > town, 80-90% of the small food businesses had closed, unable > to compete. This is simply not acceptable in France. > > So they came up with a system that allows the supermarches > to flourish, while subsidizing to some extent the smaller > grocers so that they can stay in business. The bottom line? > Everybody has a *choice*. If the supermarkets had been > allowed to flourish in a "free market" the way they have in > America, the consumers would no longer *have* that choice, > because there would be no small, independent grocers any more. > > So it's a tradeoff in France, between slightly higher costs > and the desire to preserve one's traditions. The article > that was posted got a little of that. In my book it's a > good thing, and many countries would be saner if they'd > adopted it long ago. > > > When visiting friends in France, Belgium or Austria the > > phrase "Bon Apetit" or "Guten Apetite" is often heard before a > > meal. I have been asked "What is the English wish given before > > a meal?" I have to say that we have no such readily given > > expression. For a laugh I sometimes say that in the UK we say > > "Bon Chance" > > :-) > > Unc To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! 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