The Economist Poo-Poos Conscious Consumption

More or less....here's the argument in a nutshell:

"The standard economic argument against Fairtrade goes like this: the low price of commodities such as coffee is due to overproduction, and ought to be a signal to producers to switch to growing other crops. Paying a guaranteed Fairtrade premium—in effect, a subsidy—both prevents this signal from getting through and, by raising the average price paid for coffee, encourages more producers to enter the market. This then drives down the price of non-Fairtrade coffee even further, making non-Fairtrade farmers poorer."

I will agree that subsidies interfere with the mechanics of a free market, but I'd rather see them go to farmers than to defense contractors.

Read the entire article here.

Via Conscious Consuming.