You will research one of the commodities listed below
You will research one of the commodities listed below to uncover the issues of employee rights, discrimination, environmental impact, product safety and worker health and safety that may be involved when we consume products made from that commodity.
The deliverable is a 3-6 page paper which describes the justice issues involved in consuming that item. The questions below will help guide your thinking and research. Sources must be cited. Failure to do so is plagiarism and will result in a 0 for that paper. The second offense will be reported to the Provost and you will potentially fail the course. The rubric for the report is found in D2L.
Commodities:
- Bananas
- Coffee
- Chocolate
- Cotton
- Diamonds
- Farmed fish
- Gold
- Shrimp
Where is your commodity produced?
- Are laborers paid a fair wage?
- Are working conditions safe?
- Is child or slave labor used?
- What is the impact on the environment?
What is the supply chain like?
- Who controls the sale?
- How much do the producers make?
- How much do the middle-men take?
- What is the environmental impact of the supply chain?
- What kind of trade/tariffs are there?
Where is it sold?
- Who controls the sale to consumers?
- How much of the price goes to the producers?
- What is the environmental impact?
- What are the taxes/tariffs? Who benefits?
What should consumers know?
Are consumers aware of these issues?
What about ‘fair trade’?
Are their fair trade producers?