Interview: Editor of The Ecologist
Organic, Local Produce or Fairtrade: Which is Best?
Pat Thomas, editor of The Ecologist - the world's most respected environmental affairs magazine - gives her opinion.
Although organic and Fairtrade produce are more popular than ever, some consumers are starting to question the honesty of organic produce and worthiness of Fairtrade. The editor of leading green journal The Ecologist, shares her knowledge with Suite 101 readers.
Q: With some Fairtrade farmers receiving only 2p more than non-Fairtraders for some produce, do you think the trade really is fair?
A: Most surveys show that farmer do considerably better under Fairtrade schemes, though it can difficult for us in the developed world to determine or comprehend what is a fair wage in a local context. There is a big disparity between the "extra" they get for high-volume items like bananas and coffee and what they get for more specialised items. This is probably not so much a problem of the Fairtrade system as it is of the globalised food system in which it operates. End users like supermarkets will always try to squeeze from the top to get the best possible deal out of farmers for high volume products.
It is worth giving some thought to the whole issue of what you are buying when you are buying Fairtrade. Fairtrade allows us to care at a distance for some of the world’s poorest people while being able to continue to eat, guilt-free, the exotic goods such as coffee, chocolate and bananas, which we cannot grow for ourselves. But without other qualifications such as "organic" the label probably doesn’t go far enough to protect both people and planet. Although is not welcome advice, considering scaling down your purchases of exotic goods may be of more general use to the environment.
Likewise a Fairtrade mark does not guarantee fair trade throughout the supply chain. For instance a T-shirt could be made with Fairtrade cotton, but still sewn in a sweat-shop; Fairtrade chocolate could be highly processed and adulterated by the time it reaches the marketplace. Neither does it help consumers distinguish between companies that are entirely committed to fair trade and those, like Nestlé, that has simply added a Fairtrade product to their range. To help consumers, the International Federation for Alternative Trade (IFAT) launched the FTO Mark in 2004 which is given to organisations that operate according to fair trade principles as opposed to products.
Q: Where can consumers find out how much of their spending farmers receive?
A: Fairtrade depends on a high degree of transparency so you should be able to contact the individual companies to find out where the money goes.
Q: Rumours are rife that organic foods are mislabelled, with some containing the very pesticides organic buyers are trying to avoid. Plus, classification of organic varies from country to country so how can people be sure the food they’re buying in good faith is actually organic?
A: It is true that standards for organic vary from country to country. It is also true that occasionally, in order to keep prices down, supermarkets may buy organic produce from countries where standards are confused or lax. Again it is as much a problem of the system as anything. And also a consequence of the consumer expectation that food should be cheap and available all year round. It’s yet another good reason to buy your organic produce seasonally and locally.
Q: If you had to choose one, which one would it be – organic, Fairtrade or local?
A: Local – and seasonal – is always best. If you can buy straight from the farmer – for instance, by patronising a local farmer’s market, then so much the better because you will be participating in a much fairer form of trade and you will be getting food that is fresher, more nutritious, and if it is fresh produce it has travelled only 30 to 50 miles to get to you, thus cutting down on air miles. Many farmers who sell at farmer’s markets are also organic farmers so you can often get the best of both worlds.
