This week's documentary Banana Land: Blood, Bullets and Poison that focused on the banana industry really resonated with me. I wasn't the first time I have heard of the issue, as my father works in agriculture and is pretty up to speed on what is going on. He also has made a point in educating my family on where our food comes from, and how it was acquired. My mother is an animal science major so she also pride herself in educating my brother and I were we get our meats and the life cycles of animals. Over all, I had a pretty fascinating childhood. Plenty of visits to farms and fields, but there is still many things that are kept in the dark about our food and the unethical ways we obtain it. This isn't the first time ethics have been questioned in the food industry.
Fair trade is something that has been mentioned numerous times throughout the quarter in this class and I think it is a more imperative practice than ever. Massive corporations shouldn't continue to suck and drain away and unfairly compensate, as well as take advantage of developing countries and its inhabitants. The profits earned should help them turn into a developed country, not drain their resources further. No man should be rendered sterile from the abuse of pesticide regulations on banana plantations. No family should have their child's health and their own be at risk from these chemicals as well. The abuses need to end and human life needs to always be prioritized over the greed of corporations. I will now go out of my way to avoid Dole products as well as Chiquita bananas. I saw both of their products in Fred Meyer this weekend and I got a little bit sick to my stomach remembering the documentary. I have made a vow with myself to try and look for fair trade items more closely. It is easy to purchase commonplace, multi-billion dollar industry products out of the sake of time, money and convenience, but it is really important to remind yourself that every item has a story. Even something as seemingly cheap and meaningless as a common banana.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Children, Not Brides
This week we have discussed what defines childhood and what a child needs in order to have a fulfilling and ethical experience. In particular, we started the documentary Girl Rising. All three girls whose stories have been shared so far break my heart, but none more than young Yasmin from Cairo, Egypt. Yasmin was violently attacked by an older man and she had to fight for her life. She calls herself a superhero, and I'm inclined to agree. It would've been far easier for her to give up, but instead this young woman fought for her life, making choices the no one that young should ever have to consider.
The thing that struck me was that Yasmin, who was 13 years old when she was last contacted, was engaged and to be married. According to the official website of Girl Rising, "...despite our partner organization’s efforts to enroll Yasmin in literacy classes, her mother considered a marriage proposal to be a more secure investment in her daughter’s future."
According to http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/ 15 million girls are married before the age of 18 years old. When we discussed what defined a healthy childhood, we stated things like proper health care, food, shelter, being able to play and be a child and education. While child brides may be getting food and shelter, they are deprived of their childhood, their basic human rights and their safety is put at risk. These little girls are not only deprived of a proper education, but they are forced into a marriage and then more often than not pregnancy soon follows afterwards, which that and childbirth are the leading cause of death in low and middle income countries.
Yasmin is a superhero, one who is worth an education and not to be a child brides. They need time to be children, and not be forced to become a wife and mother far before they should. These girls deserve an education, and to discover their self-worth. They deserve to find love and marry who they love, not just because they are obligated to marry as soon as possible because of their gender. These girls also shouldn't have to go through with pregnancy before they are ready or face the overwhelming fear of death from complications.
Child brides are what their name implies; children. I write this post with angry and frustrated tears in my eyes and my heart aches for the girls who don't have the voice to say no and became or will become child brides. If there is no reduction in child marriage, 1.2 billion more girls will be married by 2050. 1.2 billion more girls deprived of a proper education, who won't be able to play and enjoy their youth, and instead be thrust into the role of a wife and mother that puts their safety at risk. Let children be children instead of trying to mold them into nothing more than a shell of and obedient wife, married too young and was stripped of her youth and independence.
The thing that struck me was that Yasmin, who was 13 years old when she was last contacted, was engaged and to be married. According to the official website of Girl Rising, "...despite our partner organization’s efforts to enroll Yasmin in literacy classes, her mother considered a marriage proposal to be a more secure investment in her daughter’s future."
According to http://www.girlsnotbrides.org/ 15 million girls are married before the age of 18 years old. When we discussed what defined a healthy childhood, we stated things like proper health care, food, shelter, being able to play and be a child and education. While child brides may be getting food and shelter, they are deprived of their childhood, their basic human rights and their safety is put at risk. These little girls are not only deprived of a proper education, but they are forced into a marriage and then more often than not pregnancy soon follows afterwards, which that and childbirth are the leading cause of death in low and middle income countries.
Yasmin is a superhero, one who is worth an education and not to be a child brides. They need time to be children, and not be forced to become a wife and mother far before they should. These girls deserve an education, and to discover their self-worth. They deserve to find love and marry who they love, not just because they are obligated to marry as soon as possible because of their gender. These girls also shouldn't have to go through with pregnancy before they are ready or face the overwhelming fear of death from complications.
Child brides are what their name implies; children. I write this post with angry and frustrated tears in my eyes and my heart aches for the girls who don't have the voice to say no and became or will become child brides. If there is no reduction in child marriage, 1.2 billion more girls will be married by 2050. 1.2 billion more girls deprived of a proper education, who won't be able to play and enjoy their youth, and instead be thrust into the role of a wife and mother that puts their safety at risk. Let children be children instead of trying to mold them into nothing more than a shell of and obedient wife, married too young and was stripped of her youth and independence.
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