10. Fairtrade

1.

               Fairtrade is a global nonprofit organization that aims to improve the working conditions and wages of farmers and workers, especially in developing communities, with an emphasis on sustainability and protecting the environment. Any product bearing the International Fairtrade Certification Mark has been produced by a small-scale farm or organization that meets a set of social, economic, and environmental standards designated by Fairtrade. The products endorsed by Fairtrade include fruits and vegetables, honey, cocoa, coffee, cotton, quinoa, spices, sugar, rice, tea, and wine, to name a few. The movement offers stable prices, a Fairtrade premium, and it empowers farmers and workers.

2.

The ISEAL Alliance officially recognized Fairtrade International for having reached the highest standards for defining ethical trade in 2007. This is the same year that global trade increased by 47%, and producers became co-owners of the organization. By 2013, the organization’s total sales revenue was over € 1.4 trillion, and more than 1.4 million farmers and workers worldwide were involved in Fairtrade in 70 countries. These families were able to benefit from the Fairtrade program, and many communities also received a number health, social, and monetary benefits.

3.

          Despite its worthy intentions, Fairtrade International has its fair share of critics as well. Many of the criticisms are that there isn’t a strict enough inspection procedure, or that the right people may not be benefitting. For example, despite the company’s standards and screenings, there may still be some farms that break the codes without getting caught. There are also criticisms that Fairtrade’s often mentioned premiums may not go directly to the farmers. Additionally, there are worries that Fairtrade may not have a realistic way to sustain long-term effects, such as how to deal with price inflation and oversupply.

Regardless of these flaws in its model, there is no denying that Fairtrade has helped improve the lives of many small farmers and workers.

Relevant Sites:

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/en

http://valuesandframes.org/casestudy/fairtrade-foundation/

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_problem_with_fair_trade_coffee

Photo Citations:

1. http://www.specialfruit.com/images/FairtradeLogo.JPG

2. http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/cc/27/00/cc27005c4bc26f27eb54c0ade3f2182a.jpg

3. http://www.haverford.edu/generated/organizations/fairtradeinitiative_logo.jpg

9. Wine

1.

                When you think of the cold and sometimes harsh Scandinavian weather, it may not seem like an overwhelming hospitable climate for a vineyard. And it is true, historically, that the warmer climates are better known for wine-making while the cooler climates are typically known for producing beer. At the Kelleris vineyard, however, plant modifications and biotechnological developments have made grape cultivation possible outside of their usual region. It was interesting to see all the work that goes into adapting the process of wine-making for a cooler environment like Denmark. The fact that vineyards like this even exist shows not only the amazing agricultural advancements that have been made, but the vast importance of wine in society and culture.

2.

                Wine has been an important aspect of many cultures for thousands of years. There is archaeological evidence of wine production as early as 6,000 B.C. in Georgia, although it is also possible that fermented grapes, rice, and honey were used to make wine about 9,000 years ago in China. Since then, wine has been played an important role in many cultures in Greece, Rome, Egypt, and many other parts of the world. Wine became part of recorded history in Egypt, and it has been a central theme depicted in many forms of art, which has continued into modern times.

               

3.

                Wine has also played a significant role in the religions of many cultures. First of all, there have been pagan gods and goddesses in the Sumerian, Babylonia, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations. The beverage has played an important role in many religious ceremonies. It has made many appearances in Christianity and the Bible; for example, Noah is mentioned to have planted a vineyard, and Jesus performs the miracle of turning water into wine. Wine is blessed in some Jewish ceremonies, and it is drunk ritualistically during Christian masses along with bread, which represent the body and the blood of Christ. Apart from religious rituals, wine also is involved in the social aspects of many cultures. Both historically and today, wine has been a huge part of human culture and society.

4.

Relevant Sites:

http://archaeology.about.com/od/wterms/qt/wine.htm

http://www.sirc.org/publik/drinking6.html

http://www.wineinmoderation.eu/en/content/History-Tradition-of-Wine.4/

Photo Citations:

1. http://www.kellerisvingaard.dk/fileadmin/user_upload/galleri/marken/marken01.jpg

2. http://www.ancientartpodcast.org/media/episode52.jpg

3. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Communion_Table.jpg

4. http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Wine-Glass-and-Bottle.jpg

8. The Top Three

                So far, we have focused primarily on the influence plants have had throughout history. However, many plants continue to be incredibly important today. In my opinion, the top three current plants of power are wheat, corn, and rice.

1.

               Wheat was one of the first crops to be domesticated, and it continues to be the most important food grain source for humans. Wheat is grown on more than 240 million hectares, which is more land area than any other commercial crop; this resilient plant can be grown from the Arctic Circle to near the equator, and from near sea level to higher elevations. Over 689 thousand tons of wheat were produced in 2008. This cereal crop is an important source of carbohydrates and vegetable proteins, and provides more nourishment to humans than any other food source. Wheat is an adaptable plant that is easy to store and simple to convert into flour and food, making it a major diet component. 

2.

               Corn, like wheat, is a common staple food for much of the world. It provides carbohydrates, protein, and iron, along with a number of vitamins and minerals. Corn is the most produced grain in the world, at over 822 thousand tons a year. In the U.S., the corn crop is valued at $61.3 billion, and nearly 37 billion bushels are consumed worldwide each year. Corn finds its way into many of our foods in the form of high fructose corn syrup. In addition to being a food source, corn is used in many industrial items, such as chemicals, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, dyes and paints, fabrics, and much more. Corn is also used in bioethanol, which is very prevalent in our current world. Ethanol is made from only the corn starch, so one bushel of corn can produce 2.8 gallons of ethanol, in addition to a number of food or industrial by-products.

3.

                Rice may be the most powerful plant today. This is mainly because of the sheer number of people it feeds; it is a staple food for half of the world’s population. 477.5 million metric tons of rice are consumed worldwide every year, and nearly 720 million tons of rice are produced annually from 106 million hectares. India has the largest area of land where it is harvested, while China is the world’s leading rice producer. Less than 1% of China’s rice is exported, and they are responsible for at least 35% of the total world rice production.

4.

Relevant Sites:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4011e/y4011e04.htm

http://www.ncga.com/worldofcorn

http://www.statista.com/topics/1443/rice/ 

Photo Citations:

1. http://kimberlysnyder.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/wheat-procurement.jpg

2.http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/host.madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/35/23592d68-137a-11e1-afaa-001cc4c03286/4ec8fe270476c.preview-300.jpg

3. http://www.goldenrice.org/image/photos_worldbowl.jpg

4. http://ipolitics_assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PHAN110-1024x825.jpg

7. Food Security

                Food security means having reliable and consistent access to a sufficient amount of affordable, safe, and healthy nourishment. As you can imagine, obtaining food security is incredibly important, and affects the lives and well-being of people worldwide. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues threatening this security, and many people and areas do not have enough or consistent food in our current society. Worldwide, 852 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while another 2 billion lack food security due to poverty.

1.

                One of the most obvious and pressing threats facing food security is the rapidly growing population of Earth. The population is expected to pass 9 billion by 2050, up from the 7 billion population of today. As this increases the demand, crop production must be intensified. However, the yield of major cereals is declining, and the negative effects of intense cropping are impacting the land. The Green Revolution of the 1960s increased food production, but left fertile land degraded, provoked pest upsurges, and polluted the air soil, and water.

2.

There is not enough quality, fertile land to produce crops to meet the high demand and competition. Prices rose drastically during the world food crisis of 2008. As a response to this problem, large companies and governments began the “land grab,” the large-scale acquisition of land and water resources for crop production. From 2008-2011, over 200 million acres of land were “grabbed.”

3.

The changing environment is another threat to food production and security. Climate change affects the sustainability of agriculture, and disrupts the production process. Heat waves, droughts, and flooding induced by global warming could become a global food security emergency. Contaminated water, atmosphere, and soil threaten crop production.

4.

In order to increase crop production despite these environmental challenges, farmers must learn to use sustainable and environmentally safe practices. A diverse variety of resilient crops must be farmed in healthy soil. Technology must improve irrigation techniques to conserve water, and protect the plants from the resistant pests. But in order for any of this to happen, there must be significant policy changes to encourage these practices.

Relevant Sites:

http://www.foodsecurity.ac.uk/issue/global.html

http://www.actionagainsthunger.org.uk/what-we-do/programme-areas/food-security/

http://www.climatechange-foodsecurity.org/

Photo Citations:

1. http://kiecocenterorg.ipage.com/demo22/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Food_Security_Infographic_CFBSA_web.jpg

2. http://www.natural-habitats.com/content/blg/i_067/foodsecurity.jpg

3.http://www.actionaidusa.org/sites/files/actionaid/imagecache/637x425px/image/land_grab_polyp_cartoon_-_no_border.jpg

4. http://www.foodsecuritynews.com/images/Food_System_Diagram.png

6. Biopiracy

                We have seen the vast range of influences plants have had on our world; however, the exchange of this knowledge was not always conducted ethically. The discovery of new biological information is referred to as bioprospecting. Biopiracy is a type of bioprospecting, where this biological knowledge is exploited, without appropriate compensation to those originally familiar with the plant. Also referred to as ‘plant transfers,’ biopiracy has been an issue with biological progress, both historically and in modern times.

1.

                In the early 1800s, China had a monopoly on tea, as it was the sole exporter of the plant and restricted trade. The demand was growing in Europe, however, and the British East India Company wanted their own access to the plant. In 1848, the company sent Robert Fortune, a plant hunter, to China to collect and retrieve tea. Fortune traveled to China in disguise, where he collected plants and seeds, and learned about growing methods, which were much simpler than the Westerners had believed. Fortune brought more than twenty thousand tea plants to India, which by 1890, supplied 90% of Britain’s tea.

2.

                Another historical example of biopiracy involves the transfer of quinine. Quinine was the first effective treatment for malaria, and is derived from the bark of the cinchona tree, which is indigenous to South America. The demand for quinine was so high that the cinchona tree nearly became extinct. Then, in 1860, Clements Markham successfully smuggled cinchona seeds to Britain, which were then cultivated in India and the West Indies.

3.

                This crime is an issue in the ancient world as well as the modern world. In 1997, an American company was granted a patent on Basmati rice, even though this rice had been grown for thousands of years by Indian and Pakistani growers. This meant that the growers and exporters would have to pay royalties to the company if they used the familiar Basmati name that they had used for years. This patent was rescinded after protests, but it is still an example of how biopiracy helps developed countries exploit foreign farmers and growers.

4.

                Biopiracy has a culturally and biologically negative impact. First of all, this practice is harmful to the interests of the indigenous people who have the knowledge of the plant and how to use it effectively. These people receive no compensation for their information, which is a form of exploitation. Additionally, biopiracy threatens biodiversity.

Relevant Sites:

http://www.lepassagemoganshan.com/index.php/plant-hunters/tea-thieves-plant-hunters

http://www.amazonlink.org/biopiracy/biopiracy_history.htm

http://www.infobarrel.com/Biopiracy_and_Brazil

https://www.downtoearth.org/environment/genetic-engineering/ancient-rice-modern-world-biopiracy-and-bioengineering

Photo Citations:

1. http://sites.duke.edu/amazonbiopiracy/files/2013/12/Biopiracy2.jpg

2. http://www.roninfilms.com.au/images/large/466.jpg

3.­ http://portlandfoodanddrink.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/quinine-bark.jpg

4. http://simbahayan.tripod.com/images/biopiracy.gif

5. The Importance of Cotton

                As we have learned in this class, plants have had a huge impact on ancient cultures, historical events, and current customs. Of all the plants we’ve talked about so far, I believe that cotton has had the greatest influence on our world (besides wood).

1.

                First of all, cotton was a crop that was traded worldwide, therefore affecting many countries and people along the way. Originally found in India as early as 5 B.C., cotton was brought west to Europe by the Moors. Although Britain was one of the last countries to receive the plant in the 16^th century, cotton became an essential import for the country’s economy. Cotton constituted 66% of the British East India Company’s imports by the 1680s; the profits from trading cotton allowed the company to expand their business and obtain much more power worldwide.

2.

                As trade increased, cotton grew in popularity, and the demand for cotton goods rose in Europe. Cheap slave labor was required to produce enough raw materials on plantations in the American colonies. Cotton became an essential part of the triangle trade, and therefore was involved in the slave trade. Although the demand for cotton and the supply of raw cotton were both present, there was a lack of skilled labor to process the plant and produce cotton cloth. This absence inspired technological advances in Britain to make the process faster and more efficient, and this led to the Industrial Revolution. Although these practices were originally developed for cotton, soon the production of many other goods was mechanized.

3.

                 Although cotton has made a huge impact throughout history, it continues to be incredibly relevant today. This is apparent in how many products cotton is a part of, from food to clothing to currency, to name a few. Furthermore, the production and export of cotton is a huge industry today, which helps the economies of many countries. For example, the United States, one of the largest exporters of cotton, makes $25 million a year from the cotton industry. Cotton’s existing prevalence in society proves its importance throughout history.

4.

Relevant Sites:

https://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/story/importance.cfm

http://www.cottonguide.org/cotton-guide/the-world-cotton-market/the-importance-of-cotton-in-world-trade/?menuID=3502

Photo Citations:

1. http://www.loeser.us/flags/images/revolution/british_east_indies_varient_1801.gif

2.­ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Detailed_Triangle_Trade.jpg

3.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/Interior_of_Magnolia_Cotton_Mills_spinning_room._See_the_little_ones_scattered_through_the_mill._All_work._Magnolia..._-_NARA_-_523307.jpg

4. http://www.altenergy.org/oldgrowth/images/20bucks.jpg

The British East India Company

1.

                The British East India Company was a politically and economically powerful organization that made its profit from trading goods worldwide. It was founded in 1600 to partake in the spice trade with East India, and expanded over the years to trade a wide variety of goods from many different countries. Cotton, tea, and opium were three of the plants that had a huge impact on the business and success of the company.

2.

                Cotton was one of the first large markets that the BEIC got involved in, becoming over 60% of the company’s trade by the 1680s. It was the growing demand for cotton in Europe that gave the BEIC the profits it needed to expand its business, which brought them to China, where they got involved in trading tea. Tea had become a very popular drink in Europe; however, China had control over the trade, as it was one of the few places tea was known to grow. China would only accept silver as payment, so the BEIC put a high tax on tea being sold back in Europe. These taxes helped the company maintain their power

3.

                Acquiring large amounts of silver had become quite expensive for the BEIC, so they began to look for other forms of payments to the Chinese. The company had access to a lot of opium, so they began trading it for silver, where it was then smuggled into China. Chinese opposition to these illegal opium exports eventually led to the Opium Wars in 1839-1842. The British victory in these wars allowed the East India Company to gain power and expand their operations even further.

Relevant Sites:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/176643/East-India-Company

http://web.utk.edu/~gerard/romanticpolitics/britisheastindia.html

Photo Citations:

1. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/india/eastindia.jpg

2.­ http://www.commoditytrademantra.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/silver-2.jpg

3. http://philebersole.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/the-opium-war.jpg