February 22nd 2021. Fairtrade Fortnight – a highlight in the Quattro Foods calendar. In a bid to shift focus from the ravages of the pandemic, we are delighted to start paying attention to other truly critical matters, including the growing challenges that climate change brings to farmers around the world.
One thing that Covid-19 has taught us is that we are globally interconnected and we have a duty of care to everyone, however far removed from us, geographically and culturally. The last two weeks of February every year see thousands of people from across the UK coming together as a community to discuss and plan innovative ways of supporting the people who grow our food and the cotton in our clothes. These people who toil to keep us fed, watered and clothed and are so often exploited and underpaid.
The Fairtrade movement is asking for your help to allow these farmers’ voices to be heard to ensure they are paid adequately for their crops and their hard work. ‘Choose the World You Want’ is this year’s theme and everyone is invited to join the Fairtrade family in an online festival of events featuring speakers, journalists, politicians, business leaders and the farmers themselves.
At Quattro Foods, the Fairtrade message is our mantra and we aim to drive awareness of what we eat and where it comes from. We know what our role is, and we are aware of our power to drive long-term change. We take our responsibility seriously and we work tirelessly to encourage our customers and the British public to support this message with their shopping choices.
This year Fairtrade Fortnight is highlighting the plight of farmers and agricultural workers in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Honduras. Their contribution to climate change has been minimal, yet they are unduly affected by it. They sell their crops at unmanageably low prices; they do not earn enough to meet the everyday needs of their communities and they are suffering the devastating effects of floods, heatwaves, droughts, crop disease and shrinking harvests. It paints a bleak, yet sadly accurate, picture.
It sounds like a cliché but we can all help, or at least play a useful part. Fairtrade is about social, economic and environmental justice. If food businesses in the developed world can build these values into their standards and practices, meaningful change can happen.
Choosing Fairtrade creates a collective strength by protecting minimum price and ensuring farmers earn enough to cover their basic human rights, from healthcare, to education and nutritious food.
Want to change the world? At Quattro Foods we do. We are always thinking of new ways we can support the emergence of resilient and healthy food systems, in the UK and beyond. How can we work towards ensuring that everyone producing food can afford to eat a nutritious diet, educate their children and have access to a decent standard of healthcare? All ideas welcome! Food for thought…
Why not take the everyday activism route by buying ethical food and drink and joining us in supporting a sustainable community this Fairtrade Fortnight?