Hunger is ravaging this planet’s populations, and all the intergovernmental agencies making predictions have come to conclusions that the world will experience severe food shortages in the near future if something is not done to change our agricultural production processes. To develop some solutions towards this scarcity, we must first define some key terms that will assist in providing solutions to the hunger crisis.
Fair Trade: Is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency, and respect, that seek greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers -- especially in the South. Fair Trade Organizations, backed by consumers, are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.
Organic Agriculture: Is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems, and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity, and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved.
Collective Bargaining: The process of negotiating the terms of employment between an employer and a group of workers. The terms of employment are likely to include items such as conditions of employment, working conditions, and other workplace rules, base pay, overtime pay, work hours, shift length, work holidays, sick leave, vacation time, retirement benefits, and health care benefits.
International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF): The ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide.
Now that we have defined some key terms that will assist in providing possible solutions to the hunger and free trade crises’ that are currently pressuring our species, we can discuss the different aspects further. A substantial impact on the hunger crisis is food waste and irresponsible agriculture practices, both of which contribute to millions of pounds of food waste each year. One simple solution to this atrocity is, when purchasing food to consume privately, consider the footprint of the food. This includes the production process, the ingredients used, and the transportation necessary to place the food on the shelf. With this in consideration I chose to review the food I consumed last night for dinner, and to find one ingredient that I was able to trace back through its production. I chose to trace the Earthbound Farm Organic salad mix, which I eat as a side to almost every meal. The results are unfortunate, but expected. Seeing that this specific brand is organic does not necessarily mean that its overall footprint is anywhere near the size necessary to reduce the environmental impacts.- The San Juan Bautista, CA-based fresh-cut produce company’s certified organic produce is grown on more than 24,000 acres in locations from California to New Zealand and it processes and packages more than 100 different varieties of organic salads, fruits and vegetables in state-of-the-art production facilities in San Juan Bautista and Yuma, AZ.
- The company’s forward distribution centers, located in West Cranbury, NJ, Atlanta, GA and Indianapolis, IN, are instrumental in moving product to more than 74 percent of supermarkets nationwide, as well as to a growing number of restaurant and foodservice customers.
- Earthbound Farm follows the eight GAP principles, based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA)
- 8 Principles of Good Agricultural Practices
- Principle 1:Prevention of microbial contamination of fresh produce is favored over reliance on corrective actions once contamination has occurred.
- Principle 2:To minimize microbial food safety hazards in fresh produce, growers or packers should use good agricultural practices in those areas over which they have some degree of control while not increasing other risks to the food supply or the environment.
- Principle 3:Anything that comes in contact with fresh produce has the potential of contaminating it. For most food borne pathogens associated with produce, the major source of contamination is associated with human or animal feces.
- Principle 4:Whenever water comes in contact with produce, its source and quality dictate the potential for contamination. Good agricultural and manufacturing practices must be considered to minimize the risk of contamination from water used for agricultural and processing purposes.
- Principle 5:Practices using manure should be closely managed to minimize the potential for contamination.
- Principle 6:Worker hygiene and sanitation practices along the production cycle play a critical role in minimizing the potential for microbial contamination of fresh produce.
- Principle 7:It is important to understand and follow all U.S. federal, state and local government regulations relative to established agricultural practices.
- Principal 8:Establish a system for accountability at all levels of your agricultural environment (farm, packing facility, distribution center and transport operation). A successful food safety program should include provisions for qualified personnel and effective monitoring and maintenance to ensure that all elements of the program are functioning correctly and to help track produce back through the distribution channels to the producer.
As long as consumers develop more awareness towards their purchasing power of food product, and more farms and agricultural business demand legislation to ban pesticides, and support fair trade and organic agriculture, then we may witness this global hunger crisis and fair trade debacle come to an end. But falter, and we are in for an experience that you would not wish on your worst enemy.
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Onward,
Hayden van Andel
