“Do you know that a zoo in Alaska just spent 150 000 dollars to build a tread mill for their male elephant to exercise on?” J--, asked as he approached the table, a coffee in hand and newspaper tucked under his arm.
“That So?” offered one of the regulars sitting there.
“Absolutely,” answered J-- as he sat down, “and you know how many times he uses it?”
“Nope,” answered the second regular sitting there, “how many times?”
“He’s yet to use it,” replied J-- laughing, “the poor thing has yet to set foot on the silly thing.”
“Sounds like tax dollars hard at work if you ask me,” offered the first regular.
“Not only that, but I also read that since the year 2000 the US government has given out over 1.3 BILLION dollars in farm subsidies,” J—said, “and NOT a dime of it has gone to people who actually farm?”
“You serious,” gasped an incredulous regular, “1.3 Billion.”
“With a B,” asked the second regular, "Billion with a B."
“With a B,” replied J--, nodding in agreement, “1.3 BILLION US dollars. That’s over 2.5 Billion Canadian dollars.”
“And not a dime to a real farmer?” continued the wowed first regular.
“Not a dime,” observed J--.
“No wonder the Canadian farmers are having such a hard time,” observed the second regular with a low whisper, “with the low commodity prices and the subsidies it’s a wonder that there are farmers any more at all.”
“That and the big corporations putting the screws to the farmers too,” observed the first regular, “they can’t get what the stuff is worth, and all the profits just go to the big corporations any way …”
“Hi Guys, what’s up?” said Ross as he approached the table and sat down at the empty seat with them.
“Oh we’re just having a conversation about the evil super corporations that control the distribution of food,” said J--, “and he was just about to share his opinions about these companies and how they’re oppressing the farm families across Canada.”
“Oh really,” said Ross, an uneasy smile crossing his face.
“Oh yeah,” replied J—smiling.
The first regular wounded up continued unabated, “These big companies continue to impoverish our producers by paying less and less, while expecting the quality to remain exceptionally high. Meanwhile, as the profits end up in the hands of the corporations, the other countries continue to pour huge subsidies into the pockets of their farmers …”
“Gee, would you look at the time,” Ross covered the corporate logo on his shirt with his right hand as he glanced at his watch on his left wrist, “I gotta go.”
As Ross stood and tried to scurry back behind the counter, J—laughed, Ross paused.
“Nice one,” J—smirked, “you DO know who Ross works for don’t you?”
“Hey it was nothing personal,” observed the first regular as he picked up his coffee and smiled before continuing his rant, “Besides that, the big issue I have around here is ‘why there isn’t more Fair Trade product available here?’ or ‘Why isn’t there a Fair Trade selection on the menu? And ‘Why don’t you have more Fair Trade stuff for sale around here?’”
“That’s Bonnie’s department,” said Ross with a smirk, “take it up with her.”
“And don’t forget The Rev,” observed J--, “he’s into all things Fair Trade and Justice oriented.”
“Yeah, take it up with either of them,” stated Ross as he lifted his mug to sip his coffee.
“Or talk to the hand,” said J--, holding his hand up in front of him.
The four of them began to laugh.
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