Our World

"Bittersweet Future for Sugar Farmers"

"Few westerners think about the sugar in their food. But for many people in the developing world, sugar is a matter of life and death." According to this article, sugar farmers in developing countries are facing many difficulties. The sugar farmers from Latin America and Africa find themselves unable to compete with farmers in the U.S. or Europe. They seem to be on the disadvantaged side. This article states that the government guarentees high prices for large American/European sugar producers. Basically, they will pay these countries more to keep the businesses profitable. However, developing countries aren't given the same benefit. From Ch 1, I recalled that pro-globalizers feel that economic globalization creates healthy competition. However, I think that this situation is absolutely unfair. These developing countries depend on their sugar farms to feed their families. "Many in the developing world don't want handouts, but they do want the ability to compete fairly on the world market, something that Western governments do not currently allow."
I feel that if we're all about equal opportunities then we better recheck our actions. These poor countries simply ask for a fair shot. If we can't deliver the favor, then we obviously need to fix our greedy attitudes.
*Check out this interesting story
and statements from the sugar farmers themselves
Sugar Farming Problem

posted by Anonymous @ 2/11/2006 12:35:00 PM