Punk Gardener

Today is blog action day 2008, a day for bloggers to address the problem of poverty in the world.
For more see here:

http://blogactionday.org

Since my blog centers around the issues of green living and localization, that is naturally what my thoughts turn to when the subject of how to fight poverty comes up.
I am not against globalization per se, but the current set of trade agreements & regulations and the organizations who set and enforce globalization policy are driving millions of us into poverty around the world.
The middle class income in the U.S. has suffered stagnation in the last 20 years and most people in this income bracket have only been able to address this issue thru an increasingly costly & dangerous debt load and the ability to buy cheap consumer goods made by people in other countries who live in dire conditions. Far from lifting people out of poverty, globalization has induced a race to the bottom suppression of worker wages nearly everywhere, including in the U.S.

While we need to force policy makers to address this issue, one thing we can do is to buy local and support our neighbors when we can, and when we can’t to buy fair trade products that offer their creators decent wage in exchange for labor.

Reinvigorating our local economy not only keeps *our* money flowing in our community, it fosters careers for artisans & entrepreneurs who, in turn, have more income to support their town- a ripple effect, if you will.
Eating locavorian helps ensure healthy fresh food is available in your area, not just for you, but for the schools and food donation programs for children and the needy.
Small actions add up, and while I believe that we absolutely have to address these issues via Washington and agencies like the IMF, eating and buying local is something we can all do today, right here to fight poverty in our own neighborhoods.

For more on the issue of local foods and the fight to bring healthy food to the food deserts in economically disadvantaged urban & rural areas, World Changing recently reposted a good short article: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008691.html