Fair Trade Quiz

How much do you know about fair trade? All the following questions come from articles in the December 2005 edition of Perspectives: "Fair Trade & Our Buying Choices." A link to the correct answers is below.

1) Today's fair trade industry traces its roots back about 40 years. Who is credited with launching the movement?
- church groups
- labor unions
- African farmers' cooperatives
- European corporations looking for a "niche" market

2) Which country sells the most fair trade products?
- Great Britain
- United States
- Canada
- Netherlands

3) According to Oxfam, by what percent would Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and Latin America have to increase their share of world exports in order to lift 128 million people out of poverty?
- 50 percent
- 20 percent
- 10 percent
- 1 percent

4) Many governments pay subsidies to their farmers to encourage the production of certain crops, which in turn allows them to sell their crops at artificially low prices around the world, undercutting farmers who don't receive the same support from their governments. How much did the U.S. government pay out in agricultural commodities subsidies in 2004?
- about $10 billion
- about $1 billion
- about $100 million
- nothing, the U.S. is committed to the principle of "free markets"

5) While many small companies are beginning to distribute fair trade chocolate to supermarkets, neighborhood groceries, and health food stores, the big guns�Mars, Hershey, and Nestle�still refuse to sell it, says Global Exchange. How much does the average cocoa farming worker earn?
- $2,600-$3,100 per year
- $805-$1050 per year
- $330-$600 per year
- $30-$108 per year

6) The proper technique for harvesting rice from a Thai paddy (according to Ellen Roggemann) is:
- hold, husk, hoist
- yank, cut, toss
- grab, wrap, cut
- wrap, slap, slice

To find all the correct answers, read the December 2005 edition of Perspectives, "Fair Trade & Our Buying Choices." For immediate gratification, click here for an answer sheet.