Tag Archives: Fair Trade

Fair Trade is a Path to Sustainability

May 8 is World Fair Trade Day, a celebration of a movement that responds to poverty, economic and global food crises, and climate change.

In today’s world, increasing numbers of people are beginning to agree with what Natural Life Magazine has been based on since 1976: that we are all connected and the world’s various problems are interconnected…and that there can be no sustainability without solving all of the issues. That means there can be no economic justice without solving climate problems, that our health is connected to the way we treat the environment and how businesses operate, and so on. The Fair Trade movement has been working for a couple of decades now on a solution to these problems. Its main principle is to create markets that value the people who make the food we eat and the goods we use. It combines social justice with an alternative business model and a system of global commerce, and is also a tool for international development.

Farmers, artisans, and other low income workers in over eighty countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America now make scores of products under contract with Fair Trade organizations and companies adhering to Fair Trade principles. The most common are coffee, sugar, cocoa, chocolate, bananas, tea, jewelry, clothing, and housewares. Others include cut flowers, toys, furniture, art, sports balls, wine, olive oil, rice, spices, and herbs. These Fair Trade producers benefit in many ways from favorable financing, long-term relationships with buyers, minimum prices, community investment, capacity building, and sustainable environmental standards. Participants often credit Fair Trade for helping them eat adequately, access health care, send kids to school, clean their water, care for orphans or disabled people, and manage sustainable businesses.

There are a number of definitions of Fair Trade, a number of certifiers, and no single, regulatory body. That means that, like the words “organic,” “natural,” and “eco,” the term “Fair Trade” is not always what it seems. You can find information about how to recognize genuine Fair Trade products at the website of the Fair Trade Resource Network.

An international coalition of Fair Trade organizations has agreed on this definition: “Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair Trade Organizations, backed by consumers, are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.”

On May 8 – and in this coming week leading up to Fair Trade Day – communities around the world will be hosting information sessions, conference, food tastings, Frisbee tournaments, fashion shows, trade fairs, markets, film screenings, book launches, and much more. So it’s a great time to learn more about this important step towards global sustainability.

Our Food Choices Can Change the World

People begin to examine their food choices for many different reasons. Among our concerns are economics, personal health – including food security after recalls for contamination by listeria and e-coli, environmental degradation due to pesticide use or pollution caused by long distance transport, and abuse of farm workers. But eventually, many of us realize that food is power and that our food choices can help change the world – for better or for worse. Hence, the growing organic, locavore, and Fair Trade movements.

But these are not simple problems and the solutions aren’t simple either. For instance, the WorldWatch Institute estimates that in the United States food typically travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from farm to plate, as much as 25 percent farther than in 1980. For some people, this modern long-distance food system offers unparalleled choice. But it often runs roughshod over local cuisines, varieties, and agriculture, while consuming staggering amounts of fuel, generating greenhouse gases, eroding the pleasures of face-to-face interactions around food, and compromising food security. And that sometimes has us trying to choose between imported organic food and food that is locally grown food with the use of pesticides. In fact, in the UK, researchers found local food (grown within a 12-mile/20-km radius) to be more “green” than even organic food.

Then there’s the issue of seafood. It’s a terrific source of omega-3 fatty acids,  which we are told are very important to the health of our eyes, brain and heart. On the other hand, seafood is often polluted with mercury, PCBs, and other toxins, and fish stocks around the world are being decimated and sometimes fished to extinction. The debate about veganism/vegetarianism versus meat eating has, of course, been going on for many years…but now there’s a sub-debate related to the source of meat, as seen in the recent popularity of grass-fed beef.

Much of our food is imported from countries that don’t have fair labor laws, and where farmers are exploited financially and harmed by farm chemicals that are no longer legal here. Fair Trade certification organizations have attempted to address those issues. In 2008, Fair Trade certified sales amounted to approximately US$4.08 billion, according to the international association of Fair Trade groups. But Fair Trade as a concept has critics on both ends of the political spectrum.

Helping you navigate these sometimes complicated issues has been the purpose of many Natural Life Magazine articles over the past 34 years. You can find some of them listed in our Healthy Living Index and our Organic Gardening Index. And, of course, each issue back to 2003 is available in full online to subscribers to the digital edition of Natural Life.