Here’s how you can support Fairtrade Fortnight

‘Before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world’. A famous quote from Martin Luther King, and an issue that is still just as (if not more so) relevant and prominent in our world today. You’ve probably never given it too much thought, but foods that we eat every single morning such as coffee, tea, cocoa and bananas usually – and ironically – are grown by those who barely have enough to eat themselves. Lack of food security is certainly one of the world’s most critical issues. A staggering 795 million people go to bed hungry each night and half of the world’s hungry people are estimated to live on small farms – precisely where a lot of our supermarket food comes from. Here’s how you can support Fairtrade Fortnight…

How can we make a change? February 29 to March 13 is Fairtrade Fortnight and it’s super easy to get involved. First and foremost, Fairtrade supports farmers and workers on the basis of ‘trade rather than aid’, working with 1.5 million farmers and workers in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin and Central America. When you buy a product with the Fairtrade mark, you’re supporting these farmers and workers, too. The label means that the ingredients in the product have been produced by small-scale farmer organisations or plantations that meet Fairtrade standards, both socially, economically and environmentally. Essentially this means fair wages and protection of workers’ rights and the environment. Furthermore, Fairtrade is 50 per cent owned by producers. Through Fairtrade Premium – an additional sum of money that goes into a communal fund for workers and farmers to use as they see fit – these producers are given back their independence to invest in what is important to them and their community – whether that be a new school, healthcare for their children, building a new road or improving their business.

What is Fairtrade Fortnight? It’s a celeb-fronted campaign that aims to highlight the lack of food security for farmers around the world and unite shoppers, campaigners and businesses to take action and make a change. With the theme of ‘breakfasts’, this year will feature the Big Fairtrade Breakfast to inspire the UK to sit down for the most important meal of the day in aid of the farmers who grow the food we consume every morning. Hundreds of breakfast events will be held up and down the country – find out where your nearest is here, or why not start your own?

Nilufar Verjee, Public Engagement Director for the Fairtrade Foundation said: ‘When people are paid a fair price, they can have more control over their lives when times are hard, and worry less about how they will feed their families. Whether it’s having the money to spend on food or being able to expand their farms to grow more food to eat, Fairtrade means many farmers and workers are able to do what we take for granted – put enough food on the table for the people they care about, all year round.’

He continued: ‘Farming is the backbone of the world. It’s simply wrong that while farmers work hard to produce what we eat, so many of them should go hungry themselves. This Fairtrade Fortnight, make your breakfast count with Fairtrade – use the power of your shopping to help ensure food security for the world’s most vulnerable famers and workers.’

So what are you waiting for? Visit fairtrade.org.uk/breakfast for more information and use the hashtag #YouEatTheyEat to spread the word on social media.