Jay wrote:
> I think this is a personal call that you have to make for yourself. I do the
> same thing, all the time. For instance, I refuse to buy bananas, a nice
> vegan food, right?

Very nice food, period.

> Because of the inhumane conditions applied to the
> communities surrounding the plantations and the workers themselves,

What inhumane conditions are these? Have you ever visited a banana
plantation in person or do you get your information from petty activists
who turn everything into an ethical dilemma?

I can say that I *have* visited a banana plantation, and within the last
couple of weeks. I also rode past many more on vacation. What I found
was nothing like you describe. The workers were joyful and well-fed.
They also seemed grateful to have honest work. Their income was actually
higher than what's available for semi- and un-skilled work in more urban
areas. Maybe the propaganda you've read didn't give comparative pay
within the same nation(s); such insight would defeat the purposes of the
activists.

> I won't consider bananas to be an ethical food to eat until the
> growing practices become more ethical.

What's unethical about bananas or any other food, or growing practices?
What does your withdrawl from the free market mean for banana plantation
workers? Does it mean better conditions or worse? Does it mean they make
more or less money to raise their families?

Living conditions in the regions where bananas are grown commercially
are probably substandard to Western tastes. That goes for every aspect
of third world life -- not just banana plantations. Are you still
drinking coffee, eating chocolate, or consuming sugar in ANY form? Those
foods, too, affect quality of life issues in the same regions where
bananas are grown.

> As to your dillemna about sunflower seeds, I commend
> you for looking at the bigger picture of how your products are grown and
> taking that into account.

It's a futile exercise to withdraw from the market and expect it to
change. If you're concerned about the welfare of banana workers, eat
MORE bananas, not less, or find bananas raised in conditions that appeal
to your hypersensitivities. Your sense of morality is only leading to
worse working and economic conditions for banana workers. How do you
feel about that?

> I truly wish that more people did.

What you are doing is not an act of conscience or principle, but one of
ignorance of economics. What economic, moral, or noble purpose would
mass deprivation serve? (Answer: none.)