INTERVIEW: Craig Sams (part 6)

We have taken a break since the last installment but things are starting to get really interesting now and in this the sixth ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) of our Craig Sams interview series, we find out how Craig thinks we can get past what he sees as the biggest obstacle to attaining his vision i.e. a lack of transparency.

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CityHippy: Transparency is everything of course. Only those with something to hide have anything to fear. What do you think stops us from being more transparent and how do we get past this obstacle?

Craig Sams: The corruption in the US and EU agricultural lobbies mean that the struggle for trade justice will be long and hard. The price fixing of cotton, soybeans, corn and rice by the US costs the rest of the world trillions each year – just for a handful of overblown Texas cotton farmers who produce the most expensive cotton in the world but can undercut an efficient grower in Mali because he’s got the US taxpayer to cover his excessive costs.

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It does seem absurd that despite all our progress the potential for fair trade seems constantly hampered by those seeking Free Trade. How ironic that those who clamour for Free Trade actually deliver the opposite. Personally, perhaps controversially, I think Free Trade would work...in a world without selfish manipulative people. And as long as we live in that world where Free Trade remains an impossible dream (and Free Trade is black and white...it cannot be partial - a bird in a gilded cage is still a bird in a cage etc) then Fair Trade has a role to play in protecting those most likely to find themselves abused by bigger and badder folks.

Join us for part 7 when we find out what inspires Craig to be green. His answer resonates very closely with me.

Namaste

Al

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