This Guide is created in support of the recipes on Revolutionary Chef that call for “Fair Trade” ingredients. It will walk you through my research on what fair trade means, why it is important, and which foods to buy fair trade.
Background on Worker Exploitation
For many people, it can come as a surprise that in today’s world there are still systems of forced labor, slavery, and child labor from which we in high-income (or “developed”) nations benefit. It is hard to believe that in today’s global economy, there aren’t always safeguards to protect against these atrocities.
But these are the facts. According to the International Labour Organization, there are an estimated 40.3 million people in modern slavery today. This means these people are being forced under some kind of threat to work against their will.[i] In addition to this staggering number, there are approximately 152 million children between ages 5 and 17 that are victims of child labor, which is defined as work carried out to the detriment and endangerment of the child.[ii] That’s almost 10% of all children in the world.
These numbers do not even cover people working in sub-standard or exploitative working conditions, which are likely greater than we can fathom.
How is this Happening?
The reasons these systems are still alive and thriving are complicated and reflect some of humankind’s less savory qualities.
A for-profit corporation’s primary objective is to – you guessed it – maximize profits. There are several ways to do this. One of the simplest ways, without driving up the price, is to source materials and ingredients as cheaply as possible. By sourcing cheap materials, companies can keep their prices relatively low, which makes consumers happy, while also keeping their profits high, which makes shareholders and business executives happy.
Win, win – right?
Wrong! Sourcing materials as cheaply as possible often means we are going into low and middle-income (“developing”) countries for the materials we need. And we are taking advantage.
Why Certain Foods Are Important to Buy Fair Trade – Sugar as an Example
Sugar is a good example of how some of these systems started and why they can be difficult to change.
The sugar cane industry has some very bad, very deeply rooted, practices. Harvesting sugar cane has historically been extremely labor-intensive and dangerous. As such, for a long time, sugar was expensive – a luxury product that only the very wealthy could afford.
But then, sugar producers started realizing that if they could lower their costs, they could bring sugar to the masses and still make huge profits.
Enter: Slavery.
Sugar, known as “white gold,” was one of the major driving forces behind the introduction and perpetuation of slavery in the Americas.[iii] Between 1500 and the middle of the 1800s, more than 10 million Africans were forcibly abducted and brought across the ocean to work on sugar plantations run by European colonists in Brazil and the Caribbean.[iv]
By forcing these Africans into slavery, white colonists got rich, the European middle-class got addicted to sugar, and… well, here we are today.
Unfortunately, the situation with sugar today is still very bad. We still love sugar and still love getting it for cheap. As such, sugar is still one of the most likely agricultural commodities to have some kind of human exploitation in its supply chain.[v] There is no minimum price required for sugar cane (a fair trade practice for many commodities). As such, farmers are forced to lower their prices further and further to remain competitive.[vi]
In short, to get cheap sugar today means workers are being paid less and less money (if any), and children are being used for cheap labor.
What Can We Do?
So what can we do as consumers? We can do our research and make sure we aren’t purchasing foods and products that are hurting others.
I’ll be straight here. Right now, fair trade goods are usually more expensive than goods that are produced unfairly. Remember the example of how the consumer demand for cheap sweets led to slavery? The equation hasn’t changed much. If we insist on the lowest price, we are essentially asking companies to go look for cheap (or free) labor.
Personally, I am willing to pay that extra cost to know that my food didn’t harm or endanger someone’s life.
Plus, the way we buy shapes the marketplace. If enough of us start doing our research and buying the fair trade option on the Foods to Buy Fair Trade list, then more companies will shift to selling fairly traded goods to capture our money. The more companies that are competing in the fair trade space, the lower the prices go for us.
This is how we make capitalism and competition work for everyone.
So What Does Fair Trade Mean?
In the developed world, we often take fair labor standards for granted. Chances are, if you live in a high-income nation, there are strong laws to protect you from being forced to work against your will, or to work without pay, or to work in hazardous conditions without proper training and safety equipment.
In lower income countries, there are not always labor laws that effectively protect workers and farmers from exploitation.
Thus, the concept of “fair trade” began to ensure that when we import certain goods from developing countries, we aren’t taking advantage. Instead, fair trade is meant to build trading partnerships that focus on dialogue, transparency, and respect, ensuring that there are ethical and sustainability standards that are being followed.[vii]
Of course, there are some issues with fair trade labels. Some say the standards are too high, or the certification may not mean the entire product is fair trade (e.g., the cocoa in the chocolate bar is but the sugar is not), or the amount of money going back to workers is not always high enough.[viii]
But I believe that the more we educate ourselves and buy according to our principles, the better these systems will become to accommodate the growing demand.
Types of Fair Trade Certifications
These days, there are many different types of labels that have fair trade elements to them. There are pros and cons for each of these certification schemes, and it can be difficult to sort through them all. (See this Guide from Fair World Project if you really want to dive in).
While there is certainly room for improvement in these certification schemes, they are all focused on ensuring that there are ethical and sustainability standards being followed. If you see any of these labels, you can be confident that the certified fair trade ingredient went through a rigorous process to ensure fair working conditions.
Here are some of the main labels to look out for:
What About Foods Grown and Harvested in the USA (or Another “Developed” Country?)
Buying Local Foods Fair Trade
If you are buying food grown and harvested in your own country, then there won’t be a fair trade label because the food wasn’t traded between a developing nation and a developed nation. If you are in a country with strong labor laws and you are buying whole agricultural items that were grown and harvested there (e.g., apples, wheat flour, potatoes, almonds, corn), you can (mostly) rest assured that those companies complied with local labor laws and the workers were not exploited.
You may be surprised to learn that United States actually ranks quite poorly on workers’ rights issues.[viii] However, many individual states in the U.S. have much more protective laws than the federal government requires. States with the strongest labor laws include California, Washington DC, Washington, Massachusetts, Maine, Oregon.[xi] These state laws guarantee additional protections for workers.
Of course, even in states with poor legal protections, there are companies that treat their workers very well. And, on the flip side, even in places with strong labor laws, forced labor and unfair working conditions can still occur. For example, there are cases of farm owners in developed countries hiring undocumented migrant workers and then threatening to report the workers to the immigration authorities if the workers ask for fair pay or safer working conditions.
I suggest doing a little research on your favorite companies to determine what their labor practices really are. I also suggest going to your local farmer’s markets and talking to your farmers about their practices. You can even ask to visit their farms and meet their workers!
You should feel great about where your food is coming from and companies should be happy to answer these questions. If they aren’t, you should be wary.
Buying Packaged Foods from Companies Headquartered in the USA or Other High-Income Country
For packaged goods, we have to be even more careful. It’s possible (and likely) that a company includes a high-income country address on their label. However, it is also very likely that they are importing the ingredients from other nations. A Godiva chocolate bar is a great example.
This label clearly states that the chocolate is distributed by Godiva Chocolatier in New York and is a “Product of Germany.” However, Godiva sources its cocoa from “equatorial” nations[vii]. This likely means countries in Africa, South America, and parts of Asia where most of the world’s cocoa is grown. As a result, American and German legal protections do not apply to the cacao farmers and workers. So it is very important to drill down into those ingredient lists if you are buying packaged foods.
Foods to Buy Fair Trade
Ideally, if something was not grown and harvested in a country with strong labor laws, you should be looking for a fair trade option. The other great alternative is to look for an option that is grown/harvested locally by responsible farmers. Farmer’s markets can be a great place to meet your local farmers and ask them about their practices!
Many of us have heard about the “dirty dozen” of produce (the items you should aim to buy organically to minimize your exposure to pesticides). But there isn’t a ton of information about which foods are most vulnerable to unfair working conditions. So I decided to create a “dirty dozen” list of the foods to buy fair trade. For items on this list, we should be extra cautious before we bargain hunt the cheapest option.
This list is not exhaustive. If you see a Fair Trade option next to a non-Fair Trade option, you can assume there is good reason to buy the Fair Trade option.
- Coffee
- Tea
- Cocoa/Chocolate
- Tropical fruits and juices (e.g., bananas, mangoes, pineapples, avocados)
- Sugar and Other Sweeteners (e.g., cane sugar, honey, agave syrup, coconut sugar). Note: Maple syrup is often produced in countries with stronger labor protections (e.g., Canada), so this can be a good option if you find a good source.
- Coconuts (And all coconut products – e.g., coconut milk, coconut water, coconut oil, and coconut sugar)
- Rice and quinoa
- Cashews
- Herbs and Spices
- Wine. This is a great example of where you should look at where the wine is from. If the wine is made from grapes grown in California or Europe, you are likely fine to go without a Fair Trade label since these places have stronger labor laws. If it is from Chile, Argentina, or South Africa, look for a Fair Trade label.
- Shrimp and other seafood. Seafood from Southeast Asia in particular should be avoided or purchased Fair Trade.
- Cattle. For this one, if you choose to eat meat, you should make sure it is raised in a country with strong labor protections and in a manner that is humane for the animal.
Of course, this list doesn’t include every item that might be subject to unfair practices. The list focuses on foods to buy fair trade and excludes other highly vulnerable items like cotton and flowers. As such, this list is intended to be a starting point on your fair trade journey.
I hope this guide was helpful in explaining what fair trade means and why it is particularly important for certain foods.
Please leave your comments below and let’s discuss how we can all do better on this!
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