Fair Trade Magazine - Winter/Spring 2019 Edition

FREE Winter / Spring 2019

C A N A DA’ S V O I C E F O R S O C I A L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Wild Coffee Prices Zero Waste Becoming a Parent and Staying Ethical

Toward a Sustainable Lifestyle

CANADIAN MUSEUM FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Shop with confidence and conscience

Offering an array of ethically sourced and fair-trade products.

boutique.humanrights.ca #AtCMHR

publisher’s letter

Change, Because We Must Publisher | Sean McHugh Managing Editor | Erik Johnson Proofreader | Bryce Tarling Contributors | Fouzia Bazid, Jennifer A. Clark, Monika Firl, Zack Gross, Sarah Heim, Kimberly Leung, Naomi Zurevinski

Cover Image | Wendemageh Kebege dries fair trade–certified organic coffee at the Kenteri co-op, Jimma, Ethiopia.

Photo by Éric St-Pierre.

St-Pierre’s images appear in his book Fair Trade: A human journey (Goose Lane Editions, 2012)

We want to hear from you!

514 – 207 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H7 1-604-685-6005 | editor@cftn.ca

Canadian Fair Trade Network Réseau canadien du commerce équitable

The Canadian Fair Trade Network (CFTN) is a non-profit organization that works with civil society and industry stakeholders to advance awareness and support for fair trade in Canada.

It supports collaboration and best practices within the fair trade movement to increase Canadian commitments to international social responsibility.

Fair Trade Magazine is published by the Canadian Fair Trade Network. Copyright 2019.

All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without publisher’s written permission. Not responsible for unsolicited editorial material.

The information provided in this magazine is for educational and informational purposes only. Fair Trade Magazine makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions.

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e’ve all seen them, report, after report, after report. The news isn’t good: climate change is here. It’s rapidly advancing and our present efforts to combat it are not enough. How will we react? Will we despair? Will we run? Or will we continue on and hope the predictions aren’t true?

Instead of running, losing hope, or turning away, we must stand up and do everything we can to be part of the solution. Each of us can do small things every day. Leave the car at home and hop onto a bike or a bus; consider meatless Mondays or shift away from red meat all together. Change out our light bulbs, carry reusable cups and containers, and buy only fair trade organic coffee, chocolate, and sugar. Make one commitment each week or each month and begin living a lower-impact lifestyle.

When you walk down that grocery store aisle, consider brands that are committed to making a difference. Look for brands that source fair trade products and show their respect for the people who work in their supply chains. Choose companies that grow organic produce, that encourage soil health and biodiversity. Support businesses that strive to be carbon neutral by reducing the impacts of their operations. Build up your community by purchasing products from local, family-owned businesses and co-ops.

Sometimes these things—fair trade, organic, carbon neutral—can seem like nice ideas or empty claims, but the reality is that these ideas have meaning. When you buy a product that’s labelled fair trade, you use your purchasing power to support the solution, rather than contribute to the problem. The truth is, if each of us steps up, we can make an impact. We can shift markets, push business and government leaders, and begin addressing the many challenges that lie ahead. Let’s make 2019 the turning point.

Sean McHugh Publisher, Executive Director Canadian Fair Trade Network

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/ spring 2019 | issue #13

Why Fair Trade?

4

Reclaiming Coffee: Moving from Plastic and Paper to Zero Waste

6

The Wild World of Coffee Prices

8

Toward a Sustainable and Fair Lifestyle

11

Bananas: The Path to Sustainable Pricing

14

Canada’s Progress to Banning Forced Labour

17

Fair Trade Baby: Becoming a Parent and Staying Ethical

18

Fair Trade Programs

20

Book Review: Making Peace with the Earth

22

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Why Fair Trade?

We Canadians depend on others to grow many of the products we enjoy every day: cocoa, coffee, fruits, vegetables, and much more. Unfortunately, the supply chains that bring these products to us are often long and convoluted. They lack transparency, and this can lead to exploitation, low pay, poor working conditions, and environmental devastation. Yet we can take an active role in changing this. We can build solidarity with the people who grow our food by choosing fair trade.

Fair Trade Is Respect and Equality Fair trade isn’t just an economic model. It’s a partnership between consumers and producers, based on mutual respect.

With fair trade, producers receive a guaranteed minimum price for their products. This price reflects market value and recognizes the incredible effort it takes to grow food and produce goods.

And a Little Extra to Help Close the Gap When businesses purchase fair trade–certified products, they deal directly with the producers. They pay fair market prices plus an additional fair trade premium. Producers use this premium to grow their businesses or fund community development projects—like schools and healthcare centres. Ultimately, fair trade sees producers lead their businesses, shape their communities, and set their own course toward economic independence.

Mutually Beneficial Long-Term Commitments Typically, fair trade businesses and producers negotiate long-term trading partnerships— this adds stability at both ends of the supply chain. Producers can rely on these commitments to plan for the future. Businesses selling fair trade products can count on a steady supply of high-quality goods.

Fair Trade Promotes Gender Equality Many fair trade co-ops have benefitted from strong women leaders and managers. Fair

Fair trade standards

trade aligns with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and Goal 5 of the UN’s

Fair trade certifiers, organizations, and

Sustainable Development Goals. The best fair trade certifiers protect gender equality and

producers work together to create and enforce

empower women and girls through their standards.

standards for production, labour, trade, and more. These standards ensure the system

Fair Trade and Climate Change

works for producers and not against them.

Our everyday purchases affect people and the planet. Fair trade standards limit pesticide and chemical use, promote sustainable agricultural and soil regeneration techniques, and

Third-party certifiers mark products with

support reforestation and water management projects. In addition, fair trade carbon credit

a seal or label to signify that the product

programs provide additional revenue for producers.

has met their standards. The Canadian Fair Trade Network currently recognizes Fairtrade

When we choose fair trade products, we stand against poverty in the Global South. Yet fair

International, the Small Producers’ Symbol,

trade isn’t a handout. Fair trade products are noted for their high quality and are produced

the Fair Trade Federation, and the World Fair

in a way that respects human dignity and the health of our planet.

Trade Organization.

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growing change

Reclaiming Coffee: Moving from Plastic and Paper to Zero Waste

BY NAOMI Z U R E V INSK I

S

econd only to tap water, coffee is one of Canada’s most loved beverages. It’s also one of the most wasteful, as every day, millions of Canadians dump disposable coffee cups and packaging in the trash or recycle bin, even though many of these items cannot be recycled.

Barb Hetherington, a lifelong advocate and board member of Zero Waste Canada, explains why coffee waste is bad for the environment.

“The to-go coffee industry, which is the major seller of coffee these days, creates a lot of waste because there’s all these single-use products. You’ve got the lid, the cup, the stir stick, the cream packages, and the sugar packages,” Hetherington said. “You’re using virgin resources, and within 10 minutes, it’s discarded, and it may go to a landfill, or it may create pollution.”

What Is Zero Waste?

Canada’s zero waste movement supports lifestyle changes to eliminate waste, trash, pollution, and incineration, while also working to redesign systems that respect, conserve, and reuse resources.

Hetherington noted that for consumers buying ground coffee or beans, the bags these products are sold in are often not recyclable. Rather than trying to create recyclable cups or bags, Zero Waste Canada recommends using reusable ones.

“We can’t really keep having to-go cups and expecting someone else to solve the problem. You can create recycling systems, but if people don’t use them, or don’t use them properly, then that’s not solving the problem,” she said. “We would prefer people use reusable cups, which are more environmentally

beneficial. That’s something that individuals can do—it doesn’t rely on government regulation or business, it just relies on the individual taking their own cup, or supporting a zero waste business.”

Although zero waste businesses are starting to pop up across the country in recent years, the zero waste movement is not new. Beginning in the United Kingdom and United States in the 1980s, zero waste is now a global movement, and the Zero Waste International Alliance was created in the early 2000s to oversee policies and practices.

Before Zero Waste Canada became an incorporated nonprofit in 2013, its founding members were involved in the Zero Waste International Alliance. Today, there are Canadian chapters in Vancouver, BC, and St. John’s, NL, that advocate with all levels of government for zero waste policies to create a circular economy, without impacting quality of life.

Fair Trade and the Environment Eliminating waste doesn't need to be at the expense of product quality. Instead, it involves simple changes to where we put our dollars. Coffee pods, for example, are difficult to recycle and often end up in the trash. To counter this, Ethical Bean, a fair trade coffee roaster, sells biodegradable ones.

“We’re kind of late to the game with coffee pods, because we knew they were so wasteful,” said Stephanie Ray, Ethical Bean’s sales and events coordinator. “But then we found out about the BPI-certified, 100 percent compostable pod, so we decided to jump on that. There’s no need to separate the

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coffee grounds from the pod, and they break down in a regular compost in 84 days.”

Ethical Bean also offers a coffee bag recycling program and works to ensure that fair trade is at the core of everything it does. “ Fa ir trade a nd helping the environment go hand in hand,” Ray said. “Without fair trade, Ethical Bean wouldn’t be the coffee company it is. Fair trade certifications help the environment as well, ensuring producers have more sustainable and diverse farming practices.”

Alternatives to Throw-Away As far as sustainability is concerned, the way we consume coffee doesn’t add up. Waste causes pollution and threatens human, animal, and plant life.

Disposable packaging often ends up in the ocean, collecting at shorelines. Some1 FairTradeMagAd_PrintBrochure2_Bleeds.pdf plastics never degrade, while others can

last up to 450 years before breaking down.

It wa s this concern for the environment that led Kate Pepler to open Halifax’s first zero waste coffee shop in fall 2018. Pepler graduated from Dalhousie University in 2016 with a degree in sustainability, environmental science, and marine biology, and had been working to reduce waste in her own life before opening the Tare Shop.

“I think the big issue overall is our disposable, throw-away society, where we don’t think about our actions or the things we’re purchasing,” Pepler said.

“Disposable coffee cups are horrible—a lot of people think that they’re recyclable, but they’re not.”

Pepler’s frustration resulted in a coffee shop that doesn’t use any disposable cups or packaging, and sells bulk goods that can be purchased with reusable containers or bags.

“We have mugs if you’re staying in 2015-04-02 9:53 AM store, and we also have mugs that were

donated to us that people can take for free and then bring back,” she said.

“Our baked goods from local suppliers are package-free too.”

On the first day alone, the shop prevented 55 disposable cups and 127 bags from being thrown out. And that’s just one coffee shop, on one day. With thousands of coffee shops across the country, millions of single-use cups and bags are tossed every day.

If we want a future with a healthy planet, action on every level is necessary.

“We all have to make changes— businesses, governments, individuals,” Hetherington said. “We need to reduce the amount of resources that we’re using and discarding, and we need to redesign to make systems more effective so we’re not producing more waste.”

Naomi Zurevinski is a freelance writer, editor, and researcher based in Saskatoon.

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We passionately work to promote Certified Organic and Fair Trade by building relationships with small scale farmers here at home, as well as abroad.

Over the years, our procurement team has extended our relationships to develop a network of growers along the Pacific Coast, from British Columbia to Chile.

www.discoveryorganics.ca

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feature

The Wild World of Coffee Prices

BY ER IK JOH NSON

With over 300,000 plantations, Brazil dominates global coffee production. The nation is also home to 65 Fairtrade co-operatives, all located in the state of Minas Gerais. © Fazenda Da Lagoa

I

n August 2018 the price of washed arabica coffee fell below US$1 per pound on the Intercontinental E xch a n ge , t he world ’s lea d i n g commodity marketplace. A month later it bottomed out at US$0.95, a 12-year low. In the ensuing months it crept up slightly, although never enough to spark hope for smallholder coffee farmers, and then resumed its downward path. By the end of 2018, coffee futures were again

trading below US$1.

Even back in 2016, at the dawn of this present slump, coffee wasn’t fetching much. Now, when adjusted for inflation, prices are almost as low as they were during the pit of the 1989 coffee crisis.

“Smallholder coffee growers need to be profitable to keep farming and providing for their households,” said Sofia Molina, coffee account manager at Fairtrade Canada. “We need to ask,

‘Is the price of coffee sustainable?’ We pay the same price today as we did 30 years ago, but coffee farmers are making much less, accounting for inflation and depreciation.”

Coping with low prices, farmers cut fertilizers and other inputs. Their yields suffer. If this trend continues, smallholders could abandon coffee, leaving the market to plantations that grow java on the cheap. Already, young

Coffee Futures: Paper Prices and the Physical World Originally designed as a way for growers and importers to control

Adding to the complexity are commodity funds that lump

risk, the futures market today is driven by investors, of whom most

together oil, coffee, corn, and more. Fund managers, to maintain a

will never see a single green coffee bean. Yet the C price, the price

stable return, will buy or sell one commodity to compensate for the

per pound for coffee on futures contracts, serves as a starting

changing price of another, affecting the market for both.

place for most commercial-grade coffee deals.

Successful futures traders make money whether the price goes

Why? Because the trade of futures contracts reflects the actual

up or down. When prices decline, traders sell their contracts and

market for coffee, even though most futures contracts are traded

take up a short position, essentially a wager on lower prices. As

in paper only.

more traders adopt similar strategies, the C price declines further.

Since the coffee harvest varies from year to year and region to

And that’s what happened in August 2018. Thousands of futures

region, the C price is especially sensitive to rumours, forecasts, and

contracts, worth about $20 million bags of coffee, bet on falling

world events. Whether it’s reports of extra rain, El Niño, or delivery

prices—this speculation piled up, and helped push coffee prices

drivers on strike, traders react and the C price fluctuates.

into the ground.

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people are trading life on the family farm for other opportunities. Low coffee prices accelerate this migration.

Why Are Coffee Prices Low? Coffee is complex, and multiple factors contribute to low prices. Big harvests, combined with existing surplus, have resulted in a saturated market. People drink a lot of coffee but not enough to keep pace with production. During the 2017/2018 market year, the International Coffee Organization estimates that producers cranked out an estimated 155 million kilograms that didn’t get roasted, ground, and brewed.

Like other soft commodities—cotton, sugar, and wheat—coffee reaches the market at set times during the year.

During harvest, prices wane. For coffee buyers, this is the best time to buy, yet shipping massive orders across continents requires advance planning.

Importers need to make sure they have enough coffee to fill orders. Because varying crop yields and quality creates uncertainty, buyers simply can’t wait around for the cheapest price on whatever is left. Coffee is too wild, unreliable. Similarly, farmers want to avoid selling into a surplus market.

With futures contracts, agreements to buy or sell coffee for a set price at a specific date, importers can plan shipments, and farmers can negotiate above-market prices for delivery when supply is at its height.

But futures contracts aren’t exactly risk free, and trading them isn’t limited to farmers and importers. With regional and seasonal differences in crop yields and quality, coffee presents a lucrative opportunity for futures traders. So lucrative in fact that the futures trade dwarfs actual trade and influences the prices farmers receive.

Historical Volatility To keep track of all the coffee crises,

the industry has labelled them by year.

2018 is just the latest. There was 1989, when the long-standing provider of global coffee stability, the International Coffee Agreement (ICA), disintegrated.

This happened because, among other factors, the United States couldn’t broker new quota agreements with Colombia and Brazil, the world’s leading arabica producers. The market flooded and prices sank. At its worst, coffee was trading for less than 50 cents per pound.

In 1997, the market reached a 20-year high, in part due to a devastating frost that struck Brazilian crops in the mid 1990s. Next was 2000. Prices fell when Vietnamese producers scaled up robusta production and frost-free Brazil bounced back with record harvests.

Coffee Prices and Living Income The current Fairtrade Minimum Price is US$1.40 plus an additional US$0.30 for organic and the Fairtrade Premium of US$0.20. Does this provide a living income for smallholders?

“There’s not one break-even point,” said Molina. “The costs of production vary per region, per country, and even among farmers in the same co-op. The Fairtrade Minimum Price is designed to help cover these costs.”

Presently, Fairtrade International is researching production and living costs in five coffee-growing countries with the goal of clearly understanding living incomes for farmers and their households.

In the meantime, the organization continues to work with smallholders to develop their businesses and navigate the

Coffee: Controlled by Buyers By the new millennium, the deck had been shuff led, and the aces—profits and wealth—were in new hands. Before the ICA crumbled in 1989, world coffee sales were about US$30 billion, with producing nations receiving around US$10 billion of that revenue. In 2001, the global market was US$80 billion but producing nations were earning less than US$6 billion.

Big companies that once relied on smallholder arabica to make their blends Udesa Beyene, a member of the Negele Gorbitu co-op in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, carries freshly picked fair trade coffee cherries. © Éric St-Pierre

global market. In 2018, Fairtrade provided training in price risk management for over 200 small producer organizations, helping them establish business strategies to stay competitive in a tough industry.

“We’re proud that Fairtrade is about pricing and profitability,” said Molina. “It’s also about the environment and people.

That makes it a strong system. When it comes to sustainability, all three work together to create a real difference for smallholder farmers.”

palatable were now cutting in more robusta, thanks to new technologies that could effectively assuage the latter’s less savoury characteristics.

Then the price went up. When Fairtrade International set its current Minimum Price (US$1.40), in April 2011, coffee was trading near US$3.00 a pound. Over the next few years, coffee fluctuated. Central American and Colombian producers battled leaf rust. Brazil endured drought. Meanwhile, other growing regions churned out java. When Central American, Colombian, and Brazilian yields recovered, warehouses once again teemed with beans.

By late 2016, coffee began its present tumble. Industry forecasters predicted excessive supply and futures traders speculated on lower prices. At the end of 2017, experts looked into their crystal balls and saw lighter harvests from Brazil.

Some believed there wouldn’t be a surplus. They were wrong.

Last spring Brazil began harvesting what could be a record crop; the latest estimates say 60 million bags. The price of arabica hit a two-year low and kept falling.

Looking Forward With a record Brazilian crop on its way, the global surplus will surely carry over to next year, keeping prices low or possibly driving them lower.

“When prices are low, more farmers are attracted to Fairtrade,” said Molina, “and this means there’s more Fairtrade-certified coffee on the market.” Yet demand for Fairtrade coffee isn’t increasing at the same pace. On average, around 30 percent of Fairtrade coffee is sold on Fairtrade terms. According to Molina, “Established co-ops sell more than 30 percent and newly certified co-ops aren’t quite reaching that level.”

Clearly, we need to drink more Fairtrade coffee.

While there is no easy fix for low coffee prices in a deregulated market, we as consumers have options: By buying and drinking Fairtrade coffee, we stand alongside small producers and their communities. By pushing for changes to government and institutional procurement, we stand against an unbalanced and unchecked system.

Erik Johnson is managing editor of Fair Trade Magazine.

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essay

Toward a Sustainable and Fair Lifestyle

BY MON IK A FIR L

Aida Flores Zavala, a coffee farmer from Cooperativa Las Diosas, Nicaragua, appreciates a small lizard while in Honduras with Café Orgánica Marcala COMSA, during the Diplomado Organico.

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nder an endless downpour of By choosing fair trade products such water, or access to health services and depressing news, with facts and as small-scale farmer coffee or cocoa, education. images depicting economic, social, and other smallholder products, we not But what about everything that and environmental crises, it’s easy to only support producers and artisans, but doesn’t fall neatly within the fair trade get swept away in despair. And with so also participate in production systems framework? many world leaders pushing political that go easy on the environment and Fair traders are well positioned agendas in the wrong direction—toward encourage thriving co-operatives and to raise awareness and take action in greater economic broader circles, injustice, human to ma ke our s u f fer i n g , a nd planet a healthier Let’s stop trying to dominate nature and each other and runaway climate and fairer place. adopt a spirit of constructive collaboration. change—we risk Climate change is seeing more and a pending disaster more people give for a l l l i v i n g up. But please, don’t; it’s still too early communities. A fair price helps farmers creatures, and we must act now in order to lose hope! invest in more sustainable practices to stop catastrophic environmental We’re surrounded by solutions. But and infrastructures. It also empowers destruction in the frighteningly near we must choose to put them to work. producer families, co-operatives, and future. Hitching our sensitivity for Now more than ever, our lifestyle and communities to invest in projects economic justice to causes that protect consumption choices have potential to that promote healthier living, such as the environment is becoming part of our create remarkable, positive change. reduced-emission cook stoves, clean collective challenge.

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6 Ways to Support a Socially Sustainable Future Adopt a Low-Carbon Lifestyle Get started on a low-carbon lifestyle with this list of ideas. Do one thing new each week or each month and see your carbon footprint shrink over time.

climatecare.org/low-carbon-living

Sign an E-Petition Environmental Defence tackles some of Canada’s most critical environmental and health issues: global warming, harmful chemicals, and urban sprawl. Add your name to an e-petition and help protect the environment and our health.

To stay ahead of the changing climate and production landscape, coffee farmers work in a constant state of experimentation and innovation.

environmentaldefence.ca/take-action

Join a Community Climate Initiative

It’s time for conscious consumers to revitalize, engage, collaborate, act up, and speak out!

Through citizen engagement, Climate Hubs help build public support for political leadership on climate change. While international agreements are essential, citizens, businesses, and civil society must step up.

climatehub.ca

Where to Begin?

Start by calculating your individual and organizational carbon footprints (find a carbon calculator online) and discover how your lifestyle contributes to climate change. Incorporate “4R + 1CR” (catchy, right?) into your daily routine:

Support Sustainable Curriculums at Your School Learning for a Sustainable Future encourages educators to include key aspects of the UN’s Education for Sustainable Development program in formal curriculum.

lsf-lst.ca/en/projects/key-themes-in-sustainability-education/ canadian-sustainability-curriculum-review-initiative

Educate Others at Your Place of Worship Faith & the Common Good is a national network of diverse faith congregations and spiritual communities, built on the belief that faith groups share a calling to protect our ecosystems and serve our communities.

faithcommongood.org

Learn About Soil Regeneration Regeneration International promotes regenerative food and farming, with the ultimate aims of restoring climate stability, ending world hunger, and rebuilding social, ecological, and economic systems.

regenerationinternational.org

• • • • •

Refuse single-use plastics Reduce consumption Reuse what you have Recycle everything that cannot be reused Compost all organic Residue!

What’s next? Join or create a local climate awareness initiative in your community. Support sustainability curriculums at your school. Educate and mobilize others at your place of spiritual retreat or worship. All this contributes to the common good.

Learn about how simple organic practices can regenerate our soils and green spaces—from backyard or community gardens to open pastures or woodland areas—and contribute to carbon sequestration. After that, sign an environmental petition to hold elected local and federal governments accountable to their commitments for economic, social, and climate justice.

Let’s stop trying to dominate nature and each other and adopt a spirit of constructive collaboration. Real impact is possible when we dig a little deeper and come together in our awareness to intentionally make positive, systemic change.

This might sound like a very tall order for the fair trade movement. But fair trade itself has been extraordinarily

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successful at driving noble causes. Because fair trade demonstrates that consumers care—about the way products are made and how farmers, workers, or artisans are paid and treated—Business as Usual had to sit up and take notice.

The Growth of Fair Trade Coffee I’ve worked in coffee for 25 years, a blink in the history of that commodity, yet I’ve seen tectonic shifts in the industry.

I’ve had the opportunity to participate in the birth of the fair trade coffee movement, while working with both producer organizations and early labelling initiatives. I’ve seen the fair trade market grow, develop, and diversify. I’ve nurtured organic coffee, learning alongside small-scale farmers, and have seen how the nuances of this crop have blossomed into a household vocabulary. I’ve been swept up in the tourbillon of quality coffee, as the concept and realities expanded beyond our wildest dreams. And I’ve also seen countless “extreme challenges” from seed to cup, ranging from market fluctuations to crop failures to the ultimate extremes of power struggles and political assassination.

But when all is said and done, production, market, and living conditions have fundamentally shifted for coffee farmers engaged in fair trade.

I grew up in the era of the bitter and bottomless cup and an CFTN utter lack of consumer awareness of coffee farmers. With the introduction of fair trade and the ensuing ethical, responsible, Camino_pub_pepites_1.indd 1 and direct trade variations, coffee became chic in remarkably short order. Today, the fastest growing markets for specialty coffee are gourmet, organic, fair trade, and other cause-related niches.

Even coffee companies that have tried hard to steer clear of fair trade feel compelled to announce farmer friendly initiatives. For some companies, this is as simple as rolling up the rim to show consumers how their purchase touches the life of a coffee farmer. For others, it’s developing more sophisticated internal criteria or joining an ethical initiative so they can show a connection to the farm.

The impact that fair trade coffee has made reminds me of my favourite quote from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

An informed and motivated consumer base making intelligent choices can play a critical role in turning the tide toward a more just, safe, and healthy planet. So get out there and exert your power as if your life depends upon it. Because actually, it does.

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Monika Firl is director of sustainability at CoopCoffees.

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on the ground

Bananas: The Path to Sustainable Pricing

BY K IM BER LY LEU NG

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ananas are some of the most delicious—a nd cheapest— fruits you’ll find in the supermarket.

Nutritionally dense, packed with potassium and other micronutrients, bananas sell for astonishingly low prices, especially when you consider that they’ve travelled thousands of kilometres to arrive in your fruit basket.

Bananas require a precise temperature to ripen properly and gentle handling methods to prevent bruising or other damage. However, these efforts—the costs of specialized harvesting, shipping, and processing—are not reflected in the final price.

Julie Sage of Discovery Organics, an organic and fair trade produce distributor based in Western Canada, points to the supply chain: “The biggest banana impor ters are ver tica lly integrated. This means they can control costs at every step, from cultivation to harvest, to packing, shipping, and delivery.”

While it’s no question that economies of scale play a role in managing costs, a lack of regulation and oversight in terms of worker wages and rights and environmental impacts means big banana importers can save money in less ethical ways as well.

Costs of Banana Production In a 2017 study, Fairtrade International partnered with two organizations, True Price and Trucost, to determine and compare the costs of conventional and Fairtrade banana production.

Both True Price and Trucost aim to educate consumers and organizations by conducting research on sustainability and the environmental impact of the goods and services.

This particular study used a series exported throughout the world, this of calculations to quantify the negative seemingly small number adds up. And external costs involved in banana while Fairtrade bananas fare better, production in Colombia, Dominican they too are accompanied by external Republic, Ecuador, and Peru. In costs, calculated at US$3.65 per box. simple terms, negative external costs Because of Fairtrade’s focus on worker or “externalities” are the detrimental well-being, much of the difference is a impacts on people or society that are not accounted for in Big banana importers control costs at the standard costs every step, from cultivation to harvest to of production. For example, if fertilizer packing, shipping, and delivery. pollutes a nearby la ke, the rest of society must “pay” for it with unsafe result of lower social costs. In contrast, drinking water, a threatened food supply environmental costs vary from country from reduced fish populations, and to country but are somewhat consistent rising healthcare costs from ingesting between conventional plantations and the toxic chemicals. Likewise, if a Fairtrade producers, implying that all worker becomes ill from poor working growers face similar challenges in this conditions, the financial impact on a particular area. banana company is minimal, especially if it does not provide benefits or sick days. Limiting External Costs The worker, however, must pay with lost How can producers reduce the social wages, treatment costs, and impacts on and environmental impacts of banana financial security. production? The study offers a few The study separated negative suggestions, like better training for externalities into two categories: social workers and more productive farming costs and environmental costs. Social techniques. With these initiatives, costs included potentially exploitative resources like water, fertilizer, and labour practices, such as low pay, energy can maximize yields without gender discrimination, unsafe working increasing environmental costs. In conditions, harassment, and the like. addition, these practices can make Environmental costs were defined as operations more efficient for the pollution and waste, water depletion, company. Tackling social externalities climate change, and land use. is often a greater challenge, since The study found that the external empowering workers and providing costs of the industry came to an average of more employee benefits do not represent US$6.70 per box of bananas. In essence, cost savings for banana companies. this means each box of bananas costs an additional US$6.70 in environmental Resetting Consumer Expectations and social impacts. Considering the Sage worries that consumers have grown sheer number of bananas produced and accustomed to rock-bottom banana

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prices and may have difficulty accepting prices that account for worker wages, environmental impacts, and other costs.

Other barriers stand in the way as well. Many grocery chains have entered into exclusive contracts with large banana importers, and this keeps them from signing on with a more sustainable supplier.

Bananas are often marketed as loss leaders, steeply discounted to entice customers into a store. Because grocery stores already make so little from banana sales, they may be reluctant to take on the risk of pricier (yet more sustainable) bananas, especially if they do not believe customers will see the value in spending more. Despite all this, there are promising developments.

Working Together to Find Solutions Delegates and stakeholders around the world gathered in Montreal this past October for the World Banana Forum to discuss best practices, challenges, and collaboration in the banana industry. The forum runs year-round, with working groups focused on improving environmental, economic, and social sustainability.

Jennie Coleman, president of Equifruit, the only Canadian member of the World Banana Forum, is encouraged by the participation of multinational banana chains in the forum’s working groups. Coleman said, “Much like Walmart or McDonald’s, these large organizations can make huge positive impacts downstream by adopting progressive policies that better respect workers and the environment.”

Shifts in consumer awareness and a growing demand for socially responsible goods may pressure banana companies to make more sustainable choices and lead retailers to offer ethical alternatives. Members of the millennial and Gen Z cohorts have significant purchasing power, and studies have found that they place a higher value on ethical products, with sustainability as one of their primary concerns when making a purchase. Older generations, too, are more likely to pay extra for socially and environmentally sustainable products than they were even a few years ago.

The success of specialty health and grocery stores shows that modern shoppers are willing to pay for sustainable products. In light of this, consumers may very well be ready to support a more sustainable banana industry even if it means paying more, as long as social and environmental externalities are minimized, and the costs of the product are fair for everyone—including the people who grow them.

Kimberly Leung is a Toronto-based freelance writer with a special interest in sustainable and ethical living.

Thelmo Japon prepares organic, fair trade bananas for export in Ecuador.

C F T©NÉric . C St-Pierre A | 15

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Canada’s Progress to Banning Forced Labour

BY SA R A H H EIM

O

ver the past few years—and primarily as a reaction to the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013 in which over 1,100 Bangladeshi garment workers died in a building collapse— governments across the world have introduced legislation to tackle forced labour in public and private supply chains: legal frameworks that go beyond trusting voluntary corporate social responsibility schemes.

In December 2018, Canada moved closer to joining these governments when Liberal MP John McKay tabled Bill C-423, also known as the Modern Slavery Act. The bill passed its first reading in the House of Commons, but needs to pass two more before receiving royal assent.

The proposed bill would apply to any company listed on a stock exchange in Canada, or any company doing business in Canada or holding assets in Canada with at least C$20 million in assets or C$40 million in revenue. Every year, these businesses would submit a report describing how they have addressed modern slavery in their supply chains. The report would include information on a company’s policies on forced labour and human trafficking, its at-risk activities, and the training it has provided for staff about these issues. A director or officer of the business would also have to attest that the report is truthful before submitting it. In addition, the reports would be published on companies’ websites, making it easier for Canadians to monitor their activities.

According to the bill, if a business fails to report or fails to abide by other orders, such as search warrants, it can be fined C$250,000. Lastly, the bill would amend Canada’s Customs Tariff to “exclude goods manufactured or produced wholly or in part by forced labour or child labour.” If passed, Canada’s Modern Slavery Act would enter into force in 2020.

Comparatively, this bill takes a stronger stance than the legislation in United Kingdom and Australia, which asks businesses to release yearly statements that explain their efforts to prevent forced labour in their supply chains.

In these jurisdictions, a company can say, “we’ve done nothing to tackle this issue,” and face no consequences. In addition, there is little governmental oversight to verify that a company has indeed released a statement, so civil society and non-profits must scrutinize reports to confirm compliance. One positive aspect of this style of modern slavery legislation is that a company’s chair must sign off on the statement, holding her or him directly accountable for the company’s practices.

A stronger approach, however, is the French model.

Businesses are asked to identify areas of their supply chains (and their subcontractors’) that are at risk of forced labour, safety issues, and environmental deterioration, and then come up with response plans. If they cannot prove they are actively addressing potential violations, businesses can be sued by civil society organizations or individuals. The Netherlands is following this example but focusing entirely on child labour.

Bill C-423 was tabled in response to a report published by the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development in October 2018. The report details the committee’s study of child labour in supply chains, and makes seven recommendations to the Canadian government, including the need for legislative action at the federal level.

While Bill C-423 addresses the need for a legal framework, and, through its employee training requirement, asks that Canadian businesses develop a better understanding of modern slavery (also among the committee’s recommendations), it doesn’t directly address the committee’s recommendation to tackle forced labour in Canada’s free trade agreements and international aid packages. The tabled bill also misses the call to rescript public procurement policies to better tackle modern slavery.

In Canada, procurement (and consequently companies’ supply chains) falls under both federal and provincial jurisdiction, making legal intervention a bit complex.

Regardless, the tabled bill, the committee’s recommendations, and the examples provided by other countries give us, the fair trade movement in Canada, an opportunity to engage with our elected officials. While C-423 is private member’s bill, and its odds of passing are low, it still offers a platform to talk more about fair trade and how it combats modern slavery. By paying producers a fair price and a social premium, the fair trade system breaks local cycles of poverty, enabling kids to go to school, women to gain leadership skills, and workers to democratically determine how to use collective resources in the community. Fair trade does something much more powerful than increase transparency of supply chains: It works to improve the livelihoods of those at the beginning of supply chains by actively involving them in co-determining the process and shaping the outcomes. I encourage you to ask our government to make businesses more accountable, and take another step toward trade justice.

Sarah Heim is national programs manager at the CFTN. CF TN.C A |

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Fair Trade Baby: Becoming a Parent and Staying Ethical

BY J EN N IFER A . CL A R K

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Your Guide for Everything Baby There are a lot of fair trade–certified goods for babies available in Canada, the United States, and farther afield. While there is a ton of ethical, beautiful stuff out there, shipping charges can really rack up.

Consider ordering your items all at once or combining with other parents-to-be to increase on savings.*

hen it comes to having a baby, everyone has an opinion. This is particularly true considering the stockpile of supplies a baby needs, as well as all the stuff you, as a parent, need in order to care for your little one.

Like many of the milestones of life, becoming a parent—especially when it’s your first child—is generally accepted to be a costly endeavour. The pressure of a huge commercial industry preying on parental guilt and fear encourages us to buy everything on that Baby Essentials list foisted upon us by every shop.

For Your Baby’s Sensitive Skin Douceur de Géraldine

douceurdegeraldine.com Douceur de Géraldine specializes in allnatural soaps, balms, and butters, with two soaps designed specifically for baby, using Fairtrade-certified shea butter in several products.

En’tyce

entyce-your-beauty.com En’tyce offers hair and body solutions made with pure ingredients including Fairtrade-certified shea butter. Designed with African-Canadian and curly hair in mind.

Karité Delapointe

karitedelapointe.com Karité Delapointe makes a range of balms and sensitive skin soaps with Fairtradecertified shea butter. They also offer bulk butters, so you can make your own

Costs on Many Levels It’s easy to see why so many parents end up with a ton of stuff they never use. There seems to be so many “musthaves” for babies (and parents!) today, that it can be hard to know what you will really need, and what you will really use.

Not to mention where it came from and who made it.

If you prioritize environmentally and socially conscious products and want to ensure that your bub is not exposed to a gamut of harmful chemicals, this journey can leave you feeling even more overwhelmed and confused. More than one mom-to-be has confessed to being reduced to tears.

It’s no longer as simple as walking into a store and clearing a shelf into your shopping cart, either. No one wants the dark shadow of worker exploitation falling across the crib.

products.

*For the purpose of economy, I have not included any brands that charge more than C$25 for shipping.

The Problem of Misleading Labels Products for babies and kids are often labelled as “natural,” “organic,” or “fair trade,” but what do these labels really

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mean? And, how do you know they’re accurate? Brands use these labels in Canada, often without recourse.

The Government of Canada has lega lly enshrined some labelling requirements to help give consumers clarity about what they’re buying. For example, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has specific rules about using the words “Nature,” “natural,” “Mother Nature,” “Nature’s Way,” but only in the way that these terms are applied to food or consumable items. The Textile Labelling Act demands that imported textiles be labelled with their origin, but makes no stipulation about providing information on worker conditions in the country of origin.

This leaves a parent-to-be walking into a baby store with relatively limited information. Take a box of bottles, for example. The packaging is brown cardboard. The label says “Natural Bottles.” Upon further examination, though, the packaging is merely brown, not recycled nor printed with natural dyes. The “natural” aspect the company refers to on its packaging is the design of the nipple, meant to more closely simulate breastfeeding. The bottle itself, however, is still made of plastic, which can potentially leach into the bottle’s contents. A study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that plastics, whether labelled BPA-free or not, released estrogen-mimicking chemicals.

How Fair Trade Certification Helps When it comes to fair trade products, things can get even more confusing.

Canada lacks legislation to control how the phrase “fair trade” is applied to

products. Many brands will call themselves “fair trade” but use those words to describe a myriad of things. By choosing products associated with a reputable certifying program or membership organization, like Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Federation, or World Fair Trade Organization, you can have confidence that the claim of fair trade is being supported by real efforts.

Preparing for baby is a lot of work, yet making purchases that respect people and the planet is worth the extra effort.

Set aside a few minutes and jot down the items you really need. Then read up on the brands to ensure their claims of environmental and social sustainability aren’t just marketing glitter. Don’t have time for research? Then check out our list.

These businesses sell fair trade baby products affiliated with third-party certification.

Passionate about ethical and sustainable initiatives, Jennifer A. Clark is a freelance writer, educator, and blogger, as well as communications and marketing coordinator.

For Baby Attire Dhana (USA) | dhana.com

FANCY FAIRTRADE BANANAS for your next community event?

Equifruit believes in building partnerships with community & campus groups who advocate for fair trade. Drop us a line!

Let's work together to make bananas fair.

Learn more at equifruit.com

Featuring a large range of colourful and classic baby and kids clothes, Dhana sells clothing made with 100 percent Fairtrade-certified cotton.

My Fair Baby (Australia) | myfairbaby.com.au

custom apparel for your events

My Fair Baby offers a range of items from brands that use Fairtrade cotton, such as Little Green Radicals (UK) and Global Mamas (USA). While My Fair Baby is based Down Under, it ships internationally with lower shipping charges than buying directly from the brands.

100% ORGANIC

For Toys and Games

t-shirt

10,000 Villages | tenthousandvillages.ca This World Fair Trade Organization member retails everything from puppets to puzzles, as well

100% FAIRTRADE

as games and books. Also a good resource for nursery decor.

cotton

Volo | voloathletics.com Thinking of encouraging your little one’s fancy footwork early on? Volo is your one-shop-stop for Fairtrade-certified soccer balls.

new options available online!

WWW.GREENCAMPUSCOTTON.COM @greencampuscoop

CF TN.C A |

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fair trade programs

Ambassador Program: Turning Passion to Knowledge

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Students at Tec-Voc in Winnipeg celebrate the school's Fair Trade designation.

Culinary Program Whisks in Fair Trade Products

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n November 28, 2018, the Technical Vocational (TecVoc) School in Winnipeg became a Fair Trade School.

In the lead-up to its designation, the school started including fair trade throughout its curriculum.

For instance, Tec-Voc’s culinary stream, led by teacher Livia Gloux, is sourcing fair trade coconut and cocoa, and is looking into certified bananas and spices. Meanwhile, the business stream is running a school store where students can buy fair trade coffee and chocolate. The school has also partnered with Assiniboine Credit Union to teach students accounting and support them as they find work locally once they graduate.

“We are honoured to be recognized as a Fair Trade School,” said Kathleen Mira, lead teacher for Tec-Voc’s fair trade initiatives. “Our school motto is ‘Think Green! Act Gold! Be a Hornet!’ This motto emphasizes the importance of environmental considerations and of being a good and supportive global citizen. Being a part of the fair trade initiative is in keeping with this mantra, as we want to promote fairness and a quality of life for all.”

All across Canada, students and teachers at Fair Trade Schools are finding creative ways to incorporate fair trade principles and products into courses and more. Tec-Voc is a fantastic example, one of many.

—Sarah Heim

hen Nikki Mertens first heard of the Fair Trade Ambassador program at Simon Fraser University (SFU), she was studying sustainable business. Feeling like she knew about environmental sustainability but lacked knowledge on the social sustainability side, Mertens signed up to be trained as a fair trade advocate on campus.

In 2017, Mertens was selected to go to Ecuador as part of the CFTN’s Origin Trips program, fulfilling SFU’s annual commitment to send two students to meet with farmers and co-operative members in the Global South.

Inspired by her time in Ecuador, Mertens has been actively promoting fair trade on campus ever since.

During the 2018 Fair Trade Campus Week, she led the Fair Trade Bake Sale, raising funds to enable more students to join Origin Trips in the future.

“I believe universities have the purchasing power to lead the way in advocating for ethical products,” Mertens said, “I want to help change the way the next generation of citizens consumes.”

Thanks to local champions like Mertens, the Fair Trade Campus and Ambassador programs continue to grow, and more Canadians are hearing about fair trade and buying certified products.

—SH

Fair Trade Ambassador Nikki Mertens in Ecuador.

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Collège Mont Notre-Dame, Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Volunteers: The Core of Fair Trade Town Groups

A

t the centre of every Fair Trade Town program is a team of

committed volunteers working to raise community awareness and increase political and business support for the procurement of fair products. A major challenge for these groups is recruiting and retaining volunteers after a town is designated.

To engage volunteers, the new leadership team at Fair Trade Toronto aims to make meetings fun and informative. During its monthly twohour meetings, Fair Trade Toronto usually spends the first hour learning about a topic, such as living incomes, and the second hour planning events.

Fair Trade Toronto has also found success dividing volunteers into teams based on each person’s skills and interests. The organization currently has three committees: compliance, education, and events.

Since most volunteers want to stay active and informed, the team at Fair Trade Toronto runs a website with educational materials and handy links, such as cftn.ca and fairtrade.ca Moreover, Fair Trade Toronto encourages its volunteers to reach out to schools and teachers, and look for

FA IR T RADE

Quebec Update

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n Quebec, there are currently eight Fair Trade Towns, eight Fair Trade Campuses, nine Fair Trade Schools, 24 Fair Trade Workplaces, and two Fair Trade Faith Groups—and the province also held 29 Fair Trade Events in 2018.

These grassroots programs have worked with organizations such as Association québécoise du commerce équitable, Carrefour de solidarité internationale, and Oxfam-Québec to raise awareness about fair trade and encourage people to engage with trade justice.

In addition to working w ith established fair trade programs, these organizations are guiding the dozen campuses and several cities, including Montreal and Quebec City, that are on the road to designation, and will continue to advise them as they complete the process.

Across the province, designations of Fair Trade Workplaces and Fair Trade Events are on the rise, and applicants are no longer limited to the offices and functions of fair trade partner organizations. Rather, recent designations have come from a variety of sectors: For example, the Montreal airport, a law firm, and a marketing firm have all obtained Fair Trade Workplace designations in 2018.

opportunities to speak about fair trade.

It’s a great way to spread the word,

—Fouzia Bazid

promote the organization, and connect Sarah Heim is national programs manager at CFTN.

with future volunteers.

T OWN S

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FA IR T RADE C A M P U S ES

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FA IR T RADE S C H OOLS

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FA IR T RADE WORKP LAC ES

10

FA IR T RADE FA IT H G ROUP S

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FA IR T RADE EV EN T S I N 2 0 1 8

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FA IR T RADE A M BA S SADORS

Fouzia Bazid is a project manager at Association

—SH

québécoise du commerce équitable.

Designation numbers as of Dec. 4, 2018.

CF TN.C A |

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book review

Making Peace with the Earth

By Vandana Shiva Pluto Press/Fernwood Publishing, 2013 288 pages, 24.95 ISBN: 987 1 55266 566 4

R E V IE W BY Z ACK GROSS

T

he earth is at war. Nature and the people who depend on its bounty are under attack by corporations and their subservient government partners. This is the central idea of Making Peace with the Earth, a book that both describes the realities of our embattled planet and proposes a way to find peace.

According to the book’s author, Vandana Shiva, a global environmental activist and founder of Navdanya, an NGO that operates a seed bank and soil protection programs in Shiva’s home country, India, the weapons of this war are governments’ abilities to take land from peasants for export agriculture or resource extraction, to privatize or alter waterways for the purpose of profit, and to control seeds and genetic materials, tying farmers to the private sector. “The rewriting of rules and laws to perpetrate wars against the earth,” Shiva says, “undermines the rights of communities to co-create and co-produce with the earth and meet their needs for food and water.”

Economic Growth Through the Barrel of a Gun For Shiva, the war against the earth is likewise a war against people:

Corporations and governments push democracy aside and force their agendas on people and the planet. This war, like all wars, involves power and violence.

Shiva tells about a mining site that will devastate the environment and culture of a “tribal” group in India. Protesters are beaten or shot by soldiers upholding a government order. Shiva warns that we can expect the same results when those at the bottom of the economic scale organize to oppose any corporate initiative that will make their lives unsustainable. When recognized leaders step in to support popular concerns, their democratic rights are denied. This includes their rights to gather, speak out, stop unbridled development, and represent those who want to live in peace with nature.

“Consumerism Lubricates the War Against the Earth” Shiva passes the blame along to us, consumers. She shows how the Global North’s extravagant ecological footprint will be our undoing, as we lose biodiversity and democracy, and deal with the effects of climate change. While the book focuses on her experiences ranging back as far as fifteen years ago, there is no question that she is in tune with the negative trends in today’s world: the corporate purchase of land; growing climate uncertainty in the face of mega storms, droughts, and wildfires; and daily loss of not only plant and animal species but also of languages and cultures. “Humanity stands at a crossroads,” Shiva writes,

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“one road continues on the path of… commodification of the earth [and] her resources… The second road is that of making peace with the earth, beginning with the recognition of earth rights.”

Shiva delivers Making Peace with the Earth with the passion she has always displayed as an eco-feminist and an uncompromising critic of government and business. Her words are clear and consistent. In fact, when you read the book (and you should), you can hear her voice, rather than your own.

But here are some caveats: Her passion is sometimes overwhelming and dogmatic. The reader might feel scolded, and the casual or corporate reader might be turned off. She lacks a chapter on the good things that governments and corporations are doing, although sprinkled around the book are instances of small victories: factories that are stopped, laws that are changed or upheld, social movements that are making a difference.

She does address the solution side of the duality, writing about “enoughness” toward the end of the book. Shiva writes about how she would like to see humanity proceed in its governance and its “development” in a way that puts people and the earth first, not profit. She ultimately argues that making peace is not just an economic or political quest, but a spiritual one as well. We need to (re)discover our souls.

Zack Gross is a board member of Fairtrade Canada and a former president of the CFTN’s board of directors.