Video: “Fair Trade”

By WorldLink Staff | May 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment

How does food connect us to the global community? Author Anna Lappé and chef Bryant Terry discuss how choosing Fair Trade products helps farmers around the world. Celebrate World Fair Trade Day on May 14. Let us know how you support fair food on Facebook.

What Is Fair Trade?

From bananas to chocolate, many of the foods we enjoy are products of our global food system. In the distribution chain from farm to table, producers are often at the mercy of middlemen and fluctuations in the international marketplace. Small farmers may receive only a few cents of every food dollar.

Fair Trade certification helps ensure farmers fair prices and safe labor conditions, while strengthening connections between buyers and producers. As chef Bryant Terry says, Fair Trade “evokes a relationship with consumers and producers based on fairness, transparency, dialogue, and respect.”

Fair Trade farming practices mean that the food is safer for farmers, the planet, and you. Environmental standards prohibit the use of harmful pesticides and GMOs, and promote methods that increase soil fertility, protecting farmers’ health, land, and livelihoods for generations to come.

The goal of Fair Trade is to empower farmers and communities by providing skills and tools to combat poverty and accelerate economic development. Working through cooperatives, Fair Trade farmers are able to invest in local business, education, health care, and other projects that directly benefit their community.

Supporting Fair Food

Learn which foods generally rely on a global trade–coffee, tea, bananas, mangos, chocolate, sugar, vanilla, pepper, and rice, just to name a few–and look for the Fair Trade label. Request Fair Trade Certified products in your local stores, cafs, and restaurants. Discover more ways to vote with your fork in Shop Wisely.