The injustice of it all
My husband was telling me about a documentary he watched on SABC2 last night. "Black Gold" I think was the name, and it was about the coffee industry. We all know that Africa is being exploited but hell, this really shocked us. The coffee is being sold in Africa to huge multi-national first world companies at a ridiculously low price, and then sold again to wholesalers at about 1000 times the price. And while people are sipping away at their coffee in Starbucks, the people who actually farm and harvest the stuff are living in abject poverty (I knew there was a reason I stopped drinking coffee). I think they earn half a dollar a day. Africa contributes but one percent to the world's economy. If only that figure could be pushed up by another 1 percent, Africa's financial problems will be half solved.
A colleague and myself attended a Maskew Miller Longman book launch today. I couldn't believe the trouble they go to, just to try and increase their profits. We were treated like royalty with free drinks, free buffet finger lunch and free book samples. And as a parting gift we all got a huge box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates (At least R 70 at Pick n Pay).
On the way back I thought of the coffee farm workers. What I got for free today (all in the name of marketing) probably surmounts to 10 months of their salary. There is so much injustice in the world.
4 comments:
I presume you declined the gifts?
And Startbucks can save money by not presenting the coffee in interesting ways to entice the consumer. Then consumers will stop buying coffee from Starbucks and Starbucks will go bankrupt, causing even more unemployed. The poitn being - companies like Starbucks and Seattle created the coffee market in the USA - and the demand. Without that demand the 'exploited' workers wouldn;t have had any jobs in the first instance.
Of course I didn't decline the gifts. Who would have? You wouldn't have, the CEO of Starbucks wouldn't have, the coffee farm workers definitely wouldn't have... That's not the point I'm trying to make. I'm not saying Starbucks should stop serving interesting coffee either. But don't you understand? They are making 1000% profit from the coffee they buy from Africa. Let's just think about that. 1000% profit. How about 100% profit? Isn't that good enough? Then everyone would win! Aficans would have a better quality of life, Americans would still make a profit... But we always have to be so greedy.
I think I was merely commenting on how life is full of injustices; full of people who's basic human rights are not being respected or met. Unfortunately a lot of them are in Africa.
Hello gnome. You have provided some valid insights. I am fully in agreement with you. These big transnational corporations (TNC's)are more focused on profit making than taking into account the poor people in the countries in which they invest their money. TNC's simply access markets in countries where labour laws are weak and where the work force can be exploited. If they are unable to make huge profits, they simply invest in another country. The problem with Africa is that she has not been allowed fair access to the global economy. This is precisely the reason why so many people are protesting the G8 summit in Germany. I think in the case of Starbucks it would be important to maintain profit margins, but to allow African coffee farmers more access to the profit yield. Of course this is relevant for other markets as well. As it currently stands, African resources are used by TNC's, and thus other countries, to generate massive profits without allowing African countries access to these profits. This is unethical. No wonder Africa is the way it is! Of course the current state of this continent is a complex issue that needs a comprehensive sociological, economic, political, religious, cultural, etc analysis. But one cannot doubt the role that TNC's have played in pushing Africa further into debt and poverty. Thanks for taking note of this important issue gnome.
Glad you're on my side, Will :-)
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