It seems I
am one of the few people who care about what they eat and drink. Not just what
things taste like, but what they contain, how they have been made and where
they come from. On the one hand I am a bit obsessed about my health and
wellbeing. At the same time I have become increasingly concerned with the
ethical and environmental impact of all that I consume in life. You could say I
have been an easy mark for the growing fair trade movement, especially with my
love of chocolate and coffee! And until recently I have thought the increase in
availability of fairtrade products nothing but a good thing.
Let’s look
at this critically. According to it’s own website (fairtrade.org.uk) the Fairtrade Foundation has certified over 3000
products in the UK- yet this is a relatively tiny segment of the retail market.
The sad fact implicit in this is that all other retail trade is, or could be,
un-fair. As a nation of consumers then we must make one of two assumptions.
Either we all assume that businesses are operating in a just and fair manner
throughout the supply chain, or we accept that un-fair trade is necessary for
us to get what we want at the price we want. I’m not sure which I find worse-
ignorance or complicity. And I fear we are all guilty of both.
In all
fairness, the Fairtrade Foundation and its certification was established with
the sole purpose of improving trading standards and increasing the available
resources in developing countries. Yet on its website it recognises ‘that many
farmers in the UK face similar issues’ and therefore need similar assistance
and standards. Admirable as fair trade may be, it serves to starkly highlight
how little regard we seem to have for producers and farmers in the developed
world, who often need the same ethical and monetary treatment. For me the
principles of fair trade should and need to apply equally and globally, within
both the developed and developing world.
We all know
that UK farming and production has suffered. Supermarkets may tout ‘British’ as
a byword for quality and excellence but this is no guarantee of being traded
fairly. Milk, the cornerstone of most of the nation’s diet, is 100% British in
all the major supermarkets- it’s cheap, and deliberately kept cheap. For years
stores have payed as little as they can for it, putting many dairy farmers out
of business, and concentrating production in the hands of fewer ‘super-farms’.
To satisfy demand, both in price charged and quantity available, animal welfare
is secondary and the quality of milk has declined. It is possible to buy milk
for less than some bottled water, and those who regularly buy bottled water
often don’t ‘trust’ the water from taps. I wonder, and doubt, if those same
people avoid milk for the same reason.
I fully
support the spirit and principle of fair trade, and applaud those companies who
seek to pursue its lofty ambition. I worry however that it may have been
hijacked by profiteering global businesses and used to blind us to the unfair
practices that are far more prevalent throughout international trade and
production. Let us not be convinced by a small range of Fairtrade goods that
all is well.
