Filed under: Education, Environment, Service | Tags: Fair Trade, Fairtrade Foundation, global food crisis, small farmers
On Wednesday, February 25th, the BBC ran a story on one of the most important issues facing our world today: the plight of the small farmer and the decision to eat Fairtrade food. The story was called “Food Crisis Hits Developing World Farms,” and it was written by James Melik. I want to summarize its main points for you and to dive more into detail on some of the issues raised, as buying and eating Fairtrade food is one of THE best ways we can serve our world…
Food prices are rising all over the world. It is scary, yes, for everyone involved, but here’s the scariest truth: the small farmers don’t see one penny of the price increase…Which means that yes, we the consumers suffer at the till, but as we cut back on our spending, the farmers suffer even more from our collective cut-backs. Moreover, the farmers are also struggling as they deal with higher costs for farm necessities like fertilizer. In many cases farmers are forced to sacrifice what should never have to be sacrificed: healthcare, education for their children, even meals (which seems unbelievable, seeing as they are growing everyone else’s meals).
To put this suffering in perspective, a third of our global population lives on a small farm. That means that one-third of all the world’s people are suffering in this way. But there is a solution, and we can all be a part of it. The solution lies in Fairtrade.
Fairtrade works in a “fair” balance between the market and the farmer. First Fairtrade systems decide what products are in demand, such as fruit, coffee, vanilla, and spices. Then it works with the farmers, guaranteeing a steady income as long as the demand for that product is still in existence. Such a system prevents the chaos that accompanies unsteady markets, such as the markets we are seeing now with the global food crisis. As Ian Bretman of the Fairtrade Foundation summarizes:
Providing the demand is upheld, farmers are guaranteed an income regardless of volatile prices and that enables them to conduct their business by planning ahead.
Therefore, through buying Fairtrade food products, you are helping provide the producers of our sustenance a steady income. Moreover, something that often gets overlooked is that with Fairtrade, you are helping to ensure that everyone in the world eats, as we can’t eat if the farmers can’t afford to grow food.
Here is the great news: the word is spreading and Fairtrade is flourishing. Despite the global economic crisis and its preceding global food crisis, Fairtrade products are getting more and more popular! For instance, in the United Kingdom in the past year, consumer demand for Fairtrade prodcuts has jumped by a whopping 43%! Even more exciting is Fairtrade success in countries like South Africa where Fairtrade is beginning to be demanded by the lower class masses, which is driving the price of Fairtrade products down due to a higher volume of products sold (good news for producer & consumer!!). Another exciting twist is that many supermarkets are realizing that it is cheaper for them in some cases to stock only one line of an item, and many markets are choosing a Fairtrade line. What exciting stuff!!! There are now 4,500 items that are officially marked as Fairtrade, and they keep a-comin!
But it’s not just good news…We have to be inspired by the good news, but remember the sad news that not every farmer has the chance to be a Fairtrade partner. Those excluded from this movement are the ones selling their land and/or starving because of unfair trading practices. We the consumer have the power to demand Fairtrade products, to double the current 4,500 Fairtrade products available, and then double that again!! Our money is our vote, so let’s spend it wisely, and let’s buy Fairtrade from now on.
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Just passing by.Btw, your website have great content!
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Comment by Mike March 1, 2009 @ 2:51 pmMaking Money $150 An Hour
Hi Mike!! Thank you so much for your comments!! If you have suggestions or anything, just let me know!! I want my readers to have a big say in the content.
Comment by enchantingchallenge March 2, 2009 @ 2:56 pm[...] on now to empower the village, to empower the farmer. A week and a half ago, I blogged about Fairtrade, and how consuming Fairtrade goods empowers the small farmer more than we can imagine. So [...]
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