Disappointingly, Britain was revealed as Europe’s “fat capital” last week. More people are dying in Britain from being overweight or obese than anywhere else in Europe.
According to researchers from the University of Madrid’s School of Medicine, around half of British adults are overweight, and 17%of men and 21%of women are obese. Other studies have shown that the percentage of overweight children in Britain has virtually doubled in the last decade.
Timely findings, considering current ongoing debates regarding sugar consumption in the UK and the prospect of cheap sugar flooding the market following EU trade regulation changes due in 2017.
For more than 30 years, under the EU sugar regime, cane producers from the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries (ACP) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) were able to sell cane to the EU market via quotas with guaranteed high payments, equal to those paid to EU beet producers.
But this is all set to change in 2017, when changes to the EU Common Agricultural Policy means that this preferential treatment will end, potentially closing the EU as a market for cane sugar from ACP countries. In the light of these policy changes and the likelihood of cheaper beet sugar flooding the European market, cane farmers from ACP countries face an uncertain future.
Research (pdf) commissioned by the very same government now being challenged on its policy position regarding sugar imports, confirms concerns raised by Fairtrade and other organisations campaigning for the rights of farmers.
The study’s findings show that farmers in the developing world that have been supplying British families with sugar for generations, are likely to be pushed into poverty, an estimated 200,000 of them.
While UK sugar beet farmers will often have other crops, these sugar cane farmers in the developing world usually rely on sugar cane for their livelihood and in many cases have few other options. Unlike farmers in the UK, the farmers we represent cannot necessarily complain to supermarkets or processors, lobby their MPs or enjoy protection of farmers’ unions.
There are millions of farmers and workers not enjoying the benefits of a fair trade system. Less than 1%of cane sugar sold worldwide, is Fairtrade. Sugar farmers in the developing world we do work with, however, would like to sell even more Fairtrade sugar.
It is promising to see that despite the harsh realities imposed by trade regulations, more companies continue to commit to sourcing their sugar sustainably. They’re looking for ways to use it across their business, in all kinds of sweet treats and beverages. The Fairtrade Sugar Program enables sugar producers to work with these companies and access these great new opportunities.
Politics and politicians have already failed these sugar cane growers. But that doesn’t mean that we as citizens or shoppers should. Nor businesses for that matter.
Buying a bag of sugar that costs a penny or two less has the potential to push a farmer and her/his family into poverty. Let’s not stand by and watch as hundreds of thousands of sugar cane farmers who have supplied the UK for generations lose their livelihoods.
Like those campaigning for healthier lifestyles, Fairtrade believes that sugar should be consumed in moderation, as part of a healthy balanced diet. When UK shoppers and businesses do buy sugar, however, we would encourage them to choose cane sugar, and Fairtrade where possible, because of the difference (pdf) that it can make to the lives of some of the world’s poorest farmers and workers.
Let us therefore continue to enjoy the sweetness of sugar as part of healthy balanced diets, but not at the expense of farmers and workers.
Join Homemade with Fairtrade on a journey of the surprisingly large range of Fairtrade sugars from around the world with a particular focus on Mauritius, Belize and Malawi. As well as recipes, tips and cheats, Fairtrade sugar farmers will be giving us a window into their kitchens and home life.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Fairtrade Foundation, sponsor of the spotlight on commodities series
