Either / Or

I had an enjoyable and very useful meeting this afternoon as part of my quest to re-start Welshpool Fair Trade this year. At one point we found ourselves talking about the reasons people give for not supporting Fair Trade - one of which (I remember this one being presented at a diocesan meeting once) is, "Why should we be so concerned about supporting farmers and growers on the other side of the world, when our own farmers are getting such a raw deal?"

This is, of course, the old 'either/or' argument, that says "If you're supporting this, then you must be not supporting that". There is a blame argument that is similar, which goes, "It must be the fault of this lot, and therefore it isn't the fault of that lot." In reality, though, things are rarely the fault just of one party and not of the other; though to unthinkingly take sides in a simplistic way saves having to think about it - or, for that matter, saves having to admit that some of the blame may rest with you.

And this is an equally specious argument as regards Fair Trade. In reality, it is perfectly possible to support Fair Trade while also supporting (and perhaps very actively campaigning for the rights of) local farmers. The one does not cancel out the other, and indeed, there are some very good 'buy fairly, buy locally' ventures which seek to support both. As a rule of thumb, I should say, buy local produce where you can, thus cutting down on transport and storage costs and supporting local business . . . but where you can't buy local, then buy Fair Trade. Simple!

And even though things in reality rarely are as simple as we'd like them to be, living simply is certainly a worthy aim. "Live simply, that others may simply live" is the slogan I remember. Or perhaps our high call is to live locally focused lives as aware global citizens. In any case, for Welshpool to have a Fair Trade identity (to be, I'd like to hope, a Fair Trade Town) will not run counter to, and in fact should I believe enhance, its ability to provide good support and a lively market place for local growers and producers. Those who are truly seek justice will be working for justice for all, while those who make use of either/or arguments are just looking for an excuse not to bother.