Movement 102

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Ethicat shopping is easier said than done. We have no control over the long line of
production: can we trust supermarkets ctaims? Miriam Renner visited Thaitand in
order to investigate how the foods are sourced.
What's behln
the label?
tr*l=tkiliilff$:.
English and travelling. This time I would be
collecting data for my Masters' thesis'
However, the question runningthrough my
mind was what research subject would keep
me motivated for two years, but also be
useful? I had always been interested in
development, and suddenly I remembered
my days at Newcastle, visiting the Traidcraft
shop and Out of This World to buy their fair
trade goods. What effects does fair trade
have on the artisans and farmers involved?
This was a challenging question I had been
asked by a member of the Third World First
Group I had helped run, and maybe I could
try to focus my research on this question.
Obviously, fair trade groups already assess
the effects they have on producers, but I
hoped my research could Provide an
academic assessment, which is currently
not readily available.
Months later, after coursework,
proposals and my sister's wedding I was on
a plane, with lots of messy notes, an old
and heavy laPtoP and a mind full of
questions. On arrival, Thailand seemed so
ON THE HOME FRONT...
The latest from Chtistian Aid's till receipts
campaign. lt wants supermarkets to adopt codes
of conduct to guarantee better conditions for
overseas suppliers:
"Many supermarkets have ioined the Ethical
Tradin!, Initiative (Efl), a llK government-backed
group of businesses, trade unions and
campaigning organisations set up to find a
common solution to the problem' At the ETI's
meeting in December 7998, three supermarkets
- Sainsbury's, Co'oP
and Somerfield -
joined. At a second
meetinEin FebruarY
7999, Asda and Tesco
have signed up." The
next step is to ensure
fhat it is independently monitored.
familiar. All those foods I had missed, some
of the smells I hadn't, were coming back to
me, and it was like returning to a second
home. However, this feeling didn't last long'
culture shock and loneliness started to
make me question whether I was doing the
right thing. But after a phone conversation
with my Mum - and a sensible perspective
- as only mothers know how, I was
persuaded that I had gone too far to turn
back now.
So after a week of meeting old friends
and making new ones in chaotic, congested
Bangkok, it was time to fly north, to the city
of Chiang Mai, and then on to Maejo
University ("the home of cowboys"?!) which
was to be my base for the next four months.
My arrival was such a change from
Bangkok: the flat I would be sharing was
clean, comfortable and most of all it was
quiet on campus.
I was blessed with a wonderful Thai
supervisor, Varaporn, who had studied for
her Ph.D. in Canada, and therefore had
perfect English, and an understanding of
the Canadian graduate system from which I
had come. We quickly set about visiting
possible research sites, and eventually
decided to compare conventional farmers,
alternative farmers and mixed farmers (that
is, those with both conventional and
alternative plots on their farms). The
conventional farmers use intensive, modern
agriculture techniques and sell their
products through conventional channels,
while the alternative agriculturalists are
more organic in their approach and sell their
products through fair trade means. I hoped
that by comparing these different
approaches I would be able to assess the
effects that fair trade and alternative
agriculture have on farmers. As I am a
farmer's daughter, who has gone on to
study Agricultural Economics, the prospect
of researching Thai farming (which I had
never really been possible on my last visit)'
really appealed to me.
Fair trade and alternative agriculture
both aim to help producers to develop
economically, socially and environmentally.
movement 14
So I needed a multi-disciplinary survey to
see if this was happening. My survey design
combined development measures, (Gross
National Product, the Human Development
lndicator, and quality of life variables - the
most multi-disciplinary and encompassing
development measure) with the social
auditing approach of organisations including
the New Economics Foundation. Along with
some open-ended questions to broaden my
understanding.
Finally, after numerous survey drafts,
and a pre-test, data collection in the field
(literally!) began. The photo (bottom right)
shows a Thai student, Pok, interviewing a
farmer with his conventional flower crop
behind them. These data collecting trips
were fascinating. And after reading lots
about fair trade and alternative agriculture it
was great to finally be talking to people who
were actually practicing these approaches'
and others who had chosen the
conventional path. I always learnt and
experienced many other things on these
trips, including the fact that chewing pickled
tobacco and salt is not advisablel
After over eighty interviews with farmers,
and nearly twenty more oPen-ended
interviews with extension workers, fair trade
workers, government officials and
academics, it was time to leave. But not
without a certain sadness, at the thought of
leaving behind many friends, the freedom of
data collection and my favourite Thai
desserts.
On thejourney back to Canada, I had a
stopover in Sofia. The difference between
this 'second World' country, where the
question of "How long will we be delayed?"
was answered sharply with, "l cannot
release that confidential information". Was
in such sharp contrast to the technologically
advanced and customer friendly 'Third
World' capital of Bangkok, which I had just
left behind. Then on to England for
Christmas with my family, where the overindulgence,
and unfounded moans seemed
to grate. Finally back in Canada, it was time
to start analysing my data and writing up my
thesis.