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READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Perhaps it’s a symptom of getting old, but doesn’t time seem to speed by nowadays? It seems only yesterday that we were in the midst of Fairtrade Fortnight - and here it is, come around again. And what’s really encouraging is that it is an event that is firmly fixed in people’s consciousness now. We’re even finding the media coming to us to ask about it, without being nudged. The sign of a good awareness campaign, and one that everyone involved in it can be proud of.
There are lots of events happening around the County during the fortnight (which runs until 9th March). The key, though is to ensure that any changes you make during the two weeks stick. Treating people ethically should happen 52 weeks a year, not just two!
Two new books are hitting the shops to coincide with the fortnight, both of which can help you to stay ethical once the razzmatazz has died down.
The first is called The Fairtrade Everyday Cookbook, edited by leading food writer and TV chef Sophie Grigson. It’s a compilation of the nation’s best-loved Fairtrade recipes from chefs, celebrities and members of the public. With over 150 dishes from supporters including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Anthony Worrall Thompson, the book also includes recipes submitted by members of the public during a competition run by the publishers and the Fairtrade Foundation during last year’s Fairtrade Fortnight.
As well as showing readers how easy it is to eat Fairtrade foods every day and at every meal, the book introduces individual producers from around the world, giving an insight into how their communities have benefited from Fairtrade.
The second book, Fighting The Banana Wars And Other Fairtrade Battles by Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation, explores how Fairtrade has grown to become an important global movement that is revolutionising the way we shop.
Lamb relives the dramatic campaigns and victories that have brought Fairtrade to where it is today, and outlines the hurdles still to be overcome and shows what we can all do to help achieve global Fairtrade.
The cookbook is useful in an everyday sense to help you implement those ethical good intentions; the second book is inspiring in that it explains why fair trade is important.
Of course, the ultimate success for the campaign for ethical and fair trade will be when events like Fairtrade Fortnight are no longer necessary. But until that day dawns, we must each play our individual part in making the world a fairer place.
Article published in Eco Echo March 2008
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