Capstone #3: My interveiw
May 29, 2016
I had my interview with Elizabeth A. Bennett. She works at the Fair Trade Institute. This is her web page: CLICK HERE. We talked on the phone and I had 11 questions. It took alot I thought that it was really helpful. I got a lot of information. These are my interview questions and what I learned from it:
- What are you working on related to Fair Trade?
- I an Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the Director of the Political Economy Program at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. I am also a Research Associate at the Center for Fair and Alternative Trade (CFAT) at Colorado State University.
- What are the major advantages of Fair Trade cocoa?
- Some major advantages of Fair Trade are that it makes sure that nobody gets exploited. Farmers get paid a fair amount and kids go to school instead of working. Some other benefits of fair trade are that it helps educate on how to store material and how to use equipment safely.
- Why do some people oppose Fair Trade and why don’t all companies move to Fair Trade? (Why don’t they do it as soon as possible?)
- Some people oppose Fair Trade because they think that the field workers should get a different job instead of having this horrible life. Also, I’m not 100% sure, but I think that it has something to do with money or else they would have moved to fair trades sooner.
- What counts for chocolate companies to be 100% certified?
- There are different types of certification. Two examples are the Fair Trade Label. It’s green and blue with a black dot in the middle. It means that the ingredients are 100% certified, such as cocoa, sugar and caramel and nuts. WXPO, on the other hand, certify companies, so it’s not really 100% certified. The cocoa, sugar and caramel and nuts are not certified.
- What are the pros and cons of cocoa production?
- The pros are that the outcome is a delicious chocolate bar and it is easy on the environment. The cons are that it doesn’t pay much and not everyone gets paid the same.
- How does Fair Trade improve the labor conditions for cocoa field workers?
- Someone will make sure that all the requirements are met. The field workers are also paid a minimum price. There isn’t child labor.
- How do people get away with child labor and child slaves?
- People get away with child labor and slave because it is really common and the police does not enforce the law. The system is really corrupt. Even if the police sees you trafficking some kids, then you will be able to bribe them.
- What is the difference in the treatment of people in the cocoa field with Fair Trade and without Fair Trade? (Do people really get killed over cocoa production?)
- Children are used as slaves without Fair Trade, but with Fair Trade they don’t skip school. People die because of accidents in the field, and because of murders. You can get murdered by the field owner because people threatened to tell the police that the field workers are using slaves.
- How can public awareness be raised about Fair Trade?
- School and church are two places that you can learn about Fair Trade.
- How do Fair trade chocolate and non Fair Trade chocolate sales compare?
- I don’t know for sure, but it is around 3% of the people buy Fair Trade chocolate in the world.
- What can I do to help?
- Keep educating yourself! Watch films, read books and buy Fair Trade chocolate.
- Keep educating yourself! Watch films, read books and buy Fair Trade chocolate.
I found out a lot of things that I felt were important. This was really helpful!
