Vert-à-Go

“Women produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries and are responsible for half of the world’s food production, yet their key role as food producers and providers and their critical contribution to household food security is only now becoming recognized.”

–Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the social, political, and economic achievements of women. One of the big headlines today was how the recession is hitting women in developing countries. As the article states, “Seventy per cent of the poorest people on the planet are women and girls, and even in a wealthy country like Canada they are the majority of the poor.” Jobs in the traditionally female employment sectors (retail, restaurants, cleaning) are rapidly vanishing because of the economic downturn, and because women earn less than men even in good times (a 16% overall wage gap globally), they have fewer resources when things turn bad. This makes them (and their children) extremely vulnerable to rises in food prices and much more likely to fall victim to poverty, malnutrition, and starvation (not to mention abuse as they are forced to do whatever is necessary in order to earn money to buy food to survive).

The International Food Policy Research Institute has issued a number of fascinating reports (Women: the Key to Food Security, Helping Women Respond to the Global Food Price Crisis) outlining the special problems facing women as they deal with issues of food security and hunger. Here are a few of its findings:

1. Agricultural productivity increases dramatically when women get the same amount of inputs (such as educational, labour, fertiliser) that men get: one single year of primary school education caused women farmers to increase their maize production by 24%.
2. Women’s education and status within the household contribute more than 50 percent to the reduction of child malnutrition: an educated and respected woman has a much greater likelihood of raising a healthy child.
3. Good care practices can mitigate the effects of poverty and low maternal schooling on children’s nutrition: teaching uneducated women about how to feed and care for their children helped their children to achieve the same height and weight as those of more highly-educated mothers.
4. Women are at a disadvantage when food and nutrients are distributed within a household: women feed their children first and themselves second, which means they often go hungry and lack proper adult nutrients.

The IPRI recommended that a number of steps be taken to improve the situation: reform and monitor legal, social, and cultural institutions to improve the status of women, be innovative in the design of agricultural, food, and nutrition programs, and design projects to be more sensitive to the livelihoods of both men and women.

One brilliant example of what can be done: the international women’s human rights organisation MADRE runs a program for women farmers in the Sudan , who “face a triple crisis of poverty, environmental degradation, and armed conflict.” Their project provides these farmers with seeds and supplies, including donkeys and plows, as well as resources and technical assistance. You can donate to MADRE here.

“At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time….We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.”

–Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Today, December 26th, is Boxing Day in much of the English-speaking world. The tradition of Boxing Day most likely emerged during the English Middle Ages, when alms were given to the needy and servants were given gifts and the day off by their employers in lieu of Christmas. It is not, historically (as a person-on-the-street on CBC Radio this morning blithely declared), “a capitalist holiday”–although it certainly seems to have become one in the past couple of decades in Canada.

After a day when so many of us have been so richly blessed, it really seems more appropriate to spend it sharing some of our good fortune with others who need it so badly. Most if not all of these charities will issue tax receipts (check for a Canadian tax receipt number), so make sure you make your donation before the 31st of December to make it count on your 2008 tax return.

Here is a small sampling of organisations and programs that have a particular emphasis on feeding and providing food security for disadvantaged people–both near at home or half a world away. Most of them have secure online donation facilities, which makes it as easy as shopping online–and a lot more satisfying.

• UNICEF (Buy 25 sachets of a therapeutic high-protein nutty spread that makes the difference between life and death for severely malnourished children, or high energy biscuits which provide immediate emergency nutrition for girls and boys, amongst other Gifts of Magic) $13-30-–other gifts $10 and up
• 10,000 Villages Gift of Seeds (Provide 10 families in needy areas with vegetable seeds and fruit seedlings) $25 (other Living Gifts also available)
  
• Heifer International (Buy animals that can provide food and livelihood for needy families) US$10 and up
• Red Cross Food Security Crisis Appeal (They are stepping up food security programs in 15 African countries) any amount greatly appreciated

Don’t forget closer to home, too:

• The Saskatoon Food Bank serves 12,000 visitors each month and its goal is to close its doors. When I phoned them before Christmas they said they needed ‘everything’. Its most wanted items list suggests canned beans, canned meat, canned soup, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, whole grain cereals, baby formula, and baby food are always highly welcomed. Food bank donation bins are available at most, if not all, grocery stores as well as the Saskatoon Farmers’ Market, so it is very easy to donate. You can also make a cash donation.
• The Saskatoon Friendship Inn serves 500 meals a day to Saskatoon men, women and children. They are grateful for both staple food and money donations (you can call to see if there is anything in particular that they need–for Christmas, for example, they were looking for turkeys, vegetables, coffee, and so on)
• CHEP–the Child Hunger Education Project–works with children, families, and communities to improve access to good food and promote food security. They run the (sadly, much-needed) children’s nutrition program, which provides breakfast, lunch, snacks, and supper to hungry kids in the city, as well as a wide range of other fabulous hands-on educational programs and community services.
• Station 20 West, with the help of the generous people of Saskatoon, is working towards breaking ground for the Good Food Junction–a locally owned grocery store cooperative–in May 2009. This grocery store will vastly improve access to good quality, affordable food for people living in Saskatoon’s core neighbourhoods, who have been without a proper grocery store within reasonable walking distance for a decade.

I wish you and your families a happy, safe, well-fed, and contented holiday season!

For more information: CHEP web site

The Chinese melamine poisoning scandal caused a lot of people to take a closer look at their Halloween candy this year. I suspect that a lot of candy labelled ‘Made in China’ was simply thrown away by nervous parents after their kids brought it home. I know that I culled a fair amount of my kids’ treats–some because it was made in China and didn’t have any ingredients listed, some because it was overwhelmingly composed of corn syrup and modified palm oil. Other stuff got axed because it was just too ridiculously sugary for little kids (such as…tubes of powdered sugar). I didn’t really fancy dealing with a squishy-style bender, and preschoolers aren’t known for the thoroughness of their toothbrushing technique (besides, I just really fancied those Twizzlers).

But health considerations aside, there are other reasons that we need to look twice at that mound of brightly-wrapped chocolate. Most cocoa beans (from which chocolate is made) are grown by farmers and plantation workers who live in dire poverty and often suffer appalling working conditions. Over 100,000 of those workers are children–and most of them are working against their will.

The US Department of State has estimated that more than 109,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry work under “the worst forms of child labor,” and that some 10,000 or more are victims of human trafficking or enslavement. These child workers labor for long, punishing hours, using dangerous tools and facing frequent exposure to dangerous pesticides as they travel great distances in the grueling heat. Those who labor as slaves must also suffer frequent beatings and other cruel treatment.

–“The Cocoa Protocol: Success or Failure?”, June 2008, International Labour Rights Forum

Although the cocoa industry agreed to abolish child labour seven years ago, little or no improvement has been made. Cocoa companies promised to make their cocoa “child labour-free” by 2005, and when they completely missed that target, promised to

make 50% of farms child labour-free by 2008. That hasn’t happened either. In the meantime, tens of thousands of children and their families suffer in grinding poverty–earning only about 1 cent from the dollar or so we pay for a chocolate bar.

So what can we do to help the children who are the victims of the international cocoa trade, especially at this prime candy-buying time of year?

• Buy fair trade chocolate. Certified fair trade chocolate production prohibits child labour, increases the amount of money paid to farmers, and encourages safer and more environmentally sustainable farming methods. I bought mini Cocoa Camino chocolates to give away to trick-or-treaters this year. Try 10,000 Villages, Steep Hill Co-op, Herbs and Health, or Just Delights (664-6071).

• Go Reverse Trick-or-Treating. This Global Exchange campaign sets kids up with samples of free trade chocolate and postcards detailing the benefits of buying fairly traded chocolate, which they can hand out as they make their rounds. It’s a great chance to sweetly introduce people to the concept of fair trade!

• Think homemade (if and where possible). Homemade treats have mostly gone the way of the dodo bird, due to fear of tampering by unknown nutters. But you could still give out your great popcorn balls or cookies to the kids and parents you know well. It’s a sad state of affairs when people are so afraid of their own neighbours that they won’t let their kid eat a home-made treat from someone they see every day, but will let them scarf all the trans-fat laden, non-identifiable mystery-ingredient junk they can stomach. Maybe you could make it a personal challenge to get to know as many of the families on your block as you can and break down that distrust–a summer block party can be a great way to get people to open up to their neighbours.

• Try alternatives to chocolate. When I was a kid, we used to get apples. How delightfully retro! We weren’t always overjoyed, but we still ate them. This year I gave out little boxes of raisins along with the chocolate. You could also try something like Pure Fun candies–organic, kosher, vegan, fair trade candies made in Canada and the USA. They make lollipops, as well as individually wrapped sweets. Dad’s and Nutters carry their products–ask them to bring in the Halloween pack! There’s also peanuts in the shell (I wouldn’t hand these out unless there is a parent right there to say it was ok, in case of allergies), fruit leather, chips, pretzels, savoury snacks, juice boxes, applesauce/fruit cups…

• Politely pester retailers to carry fair trade candy. Stores won’t bring it in unless enough people ask them for it. So ask for it! We need to create alternatives to the mainstream chocolate and candy trade so that they know what they should be doing when their customers abandon them for their unethical business decisions.