Food is something dear to our hearts and makes such a difference to our health. Considering it from an ethically sourced viewpoint there is a win win win effect for the farmers and everyone throughout the supply chain including us, the end user.
When it comes to fair (or ethical) trading, it’s not just about bananas, chocolate & coffee. There are businesses who are giving us great options to support these products but sadly, the majority of the growers are still working for peanuts. Would any of us work harvesting bananas for 18 hours a day and be happy with a wage of 30 cents? Apparently that’s pretty much standard in the Philippines.
Plus when it comes to Fair Trade food items, bananas, chocolate, coffee and tea spring to mind as there are options at most food outlets with the actual Fairtrade Trademark giving us a quick and easy visual cue. All Good (bananas) are a “good” one to support.
A quick google search of one of our main supermarkets in NZ showed the only fair trade products as being just those 4 items.
As mentioned yesterday, when customers demand supply of certain things collectively, big companies sit up and take notice. For example, these Kit Kat bars in Europe have the FT logo on them. Whereas in other countries it’s not. The people spoke and were listened too!
Did you know you can get some Fairly Traded ice cream options too like Nice Blocks & Little Island?
You are welcome to share any other fairly traded food products you are aware of on our MAD Collective FB Group.
However, when it comes to the rest of our foods which don’t have this trademark, it can get a little confusing. Many can claim something is fair trade and it may well be eg Farmers Markets are more likely to be Fair Trade and organic too. Just strike up a conversation. It’s interesting to get to know the people and learn more about where our food has been grown. Got kids and/or grandkids – involve them in the process.
Keeping it simple, I think the answer lies in buying from people you trust.
Such questions can seem the privilege of the comfortably off, but while the right choice is sometimes the slightly more expensive one, that’s definitely not always the case. And, yes, it takes a bit more of an effort to change ingrained habits and set up new patterns initially, to eat and shop ethically, but ultimately the reward and bonus is better for our health and it tastes better too.
Leave A Comment