Related Issues
Fairtrade Coffee
Coffee is the most traded commodity in the world after oil and illegal drugs.
However during the past decade, prices paid to coffee farmers fell to a 30-year
low with as little as 3 cents from a $3 cup of coffee reaching the farmers who
grew the beans. Worldwide, 25 million small-scale farmers and their families
have been affected.
This is to be contrasted with continuing profits in the billions, for companies
such as Nestle, Altria (Kraft), & Sara Lee. In 2006 Nestle recorded an annual
profit increase of 14% to 9.2 billion swiss francs (US$7.4 billion).
- Look for products with the certified Fairtrade symbol. Buying Fairtrade
coffee ensures farmers get a fair deal – a minimum price of AUD $3.80
per kilo compared to the local price of about AUD 65 cents.
- Find local suppliers and cafes stocking fairtrade at www.oxfam.org.au/coffee
- Some Coles and Woolworths/ Safeway supermarkets stock Scarborough Fair,
Global Café Direct; & Republica fairtrade brands.
Buying local – good food mileage
Food Miles are a measure of the distance food is transported between production
and consumption. The more miles, the more greenhouse gases produced. A typical
Melbourne shopping basket has traveled a staggering 70,000 kilometers - equivalent
to almost two trips around the world. Buy purchasing an orange grown in Mildura
rather than 'California', you reduce food miles from 12,879 km to 567 kms.
(CERES
report–l www.ceres.org.au/projects/foodmiles.html)
- Buy Local. Purchase from local independent co-ops and grocers rather than
the big supermarket chains. In the market, ask your local grocer, where the
produce comes from. Check out local Farmers Markets at www.farmersmarkets.org.au
- Eat and buy in season. By eating seasonally you get the most flavor and
nutritional value and it is usually the most affordable. See what is in season
in Victoria at www.orangesandlemons.com.au
- In the supermarket, choose items labeled “Product of Australia”
- first preference, then “Made in Australia” - second preference.
Choose imported items as last preference. Order Australian made products online
at www.onlyoz.com.au
Organics
Organic systems recognise that our health is directly connected to the health
of the food we eat and ultimately, to the health of the soil. Organic farmers
aim to produce good food from a balanced living soil.
They severely restrict the use of synthetic chemicals, pesticides and fertilisers.
Animals are reared without the routine use of drugs including synthetic growth
hormones, antibiotics and wormers which are commonly used in intensive livestock
farming.
- Choose products that are certified organic or biodynamic under one of the
following labels: BFA, ACO, NAASA, Demeter. See www.organicchoice.com.au
- Find out which fruits and veggies expose you to the most and least pesticides
so you'll know which ones to buy organic, and which conventionally-grown ones
are okay when organic isn't available. See the Environmental Working Group's
“Pesticides in produce” guide. www.foodnews.org
Packaging & Waste
Product packaging takes valuable resources to produce, involves processes which
pollute air and water, and is often thrown out at the end of its short life,
ending up in landfill. Australia consumes over 3.4 million tonnes of packaging
every year- that's about 165 kg per person - only 48% is recycled.
- Minimise Packaging. Remember the waste hierarchy – Avoid first, Reuse
where possible, then Recycle.
- Buy in bulk where possible. BYO bags, BYO containers, doing take-away?
BYO plate. Pack green groceries loose in a box or basket.
- Avoid double packaging and unlabeled plastic tubs.
- Recycle where possible – check out what your council curbside collection
takes at www.recyclingnearyou.com.au
- Choose plastics ‘1’ & ‘2’ (commonly recycled
within Australia) over 4, 5 & 6 where possible (often processed overseas).
Avoid ‘3’ - PVC produces hazardous by-products (dioxins) when
recycled.
Use Recycled Paper - Don't wipe away our forests
Regular toilet and tissue paper uses wood fibre from native forests. Native
forests absorb carbon dioxide, act as water catchments and are home to animals
and much biodiversity. By using paper made from paper pulp with recycled content,
you reduce demand for native forest logging. Post-consumer-waste paper is even
more preferable as it is has been used once and then collected for recycling.
Each ton of post-consumer-waste recycled paper saves 17 trees, 26,000 litres
of water, and 4,100 kwh of energy - enough to power the average home for 6 months.
- Choose toilet paper with recycled content. Brands include SAFE, Treefree,
Eve, Naturale, Ecosoft, Envirosoft, Nature Soft, Forest free, Elite, Earthwise
& Softex. Choose those with paper wrapping where possible.
- Avoid paper products that have been bleached with chlorine (toxic). Look
for unbleached as first preference, or oxygen-bleached, total chlorine-free,
or elemental chlorine free, as a second preference.
Genetic Engineering
Concerns over genetically engineered (GE) food include unknown health risks,
threats to biodiversity, contamination of conventional and organic crops, increase
in pesticide and herbicide use, and control over our food by multinational chemical
companies who legally own the patents on the technology.
GE crops pose a very real threat to our food because, as living organisms,
they can reproduce and spread and so once released they cannot be recalled.
Their effects are irreversible.
In Australia, the four main GE ingredients in our food are currently derived
from imported canola, corn (maize) and soy, and local and imported cottonseed
products.
- look for foods labeled ‘GMO free', 'GE-free', 'Not genetically modified',
certified 'Organic' & 'Bio-dynamic' or items that are 'Product of Australia'
(except food containing cottonseed oil).
- Check the 'Greenpeace True Food Guide' for all brands guaranteed GE-free
by their manufacturer (assurance they are not using GE ingredients anywhere
in the food chain, including animal feed) . See www.truefood.org.au
- Have your say and oppose GE food crops in Australia. See www.geneethics.org
Multinational Monopoly
Foreign-owned multinational companies control 70% of world trade, and their
brands make up 85% of the products in the average Australian grocery trolley.
Top selling milk brands, 'Rev' and 'Pura', are owned by Italian multinational
Parmalat and Kirin Holdings of Japan, respectively. Out of the top 100 brands
sold in Australian supermarkets, just 15 are Australian owned, and these are
owned by just 10 companies.
- Choose Australian-owned brands .
- Shop at locally-owned businesses. For every $100 spent with a locally-owned
firm, $68 remains within the local economy. The same $100 spent with a multinational
sees only $43 staying local. This supports local jobs and we have more guarantee
of fair wages and conditions for workers. See more at www.fightbacknews.com.au
Factory farming – institutionalised cruelty
Factory farming is the system of raising animals using 'intensive production'
line methods that maximise the amount of meat produced while minimising costs.
It is characterised by close confinement in barren and unnatural conditions
and involves massive environmental pollution and health risks for both animals
and humans. In Australia as in other countries this is our conventional means
of raising pigs, chickens and producing eggs.
- Look for eggs labeled 'free-range', next choose 'barn-laid' over regular
'cage' (battery) eggs.
- Look for small-goods labeled ‘Bred Free-Range’. KR Castlemaine
have such a product line.
- Look for “Organic” or “Free-Range” chicken and
pork. See www.freerangepork.com.au.
(in order to achieve organic certification, chicken and pigs farmed organically
must be free-range).
See more at www.themeatrix.comand www.voiceless.org.au
Cleaning Products
Most cleaning products don't list ingredients. However, you can learn something
about a product's hazards by reading its label. 'Danger/ Poison' - most hazardous;
'Warning' - moderately hazardous; 'Caution' - slightly toxic. Ingredients vary
in the type of health hazard they pose. These include skin or respiratory irritation,
watery eyes, or chemical burns, while others are associated with chronic, or
long-term, effects such as cancer.
Avoid:
- Chlorine or Ammonia, listed as active ingredients
- Formaldehyde, Terpenes, Phenols, Chlorine, Organic Mercurials, Balsams,
Aluminium Complexes – known to have carcinogenic effects.
- detergents containing Alkylphenol Ethoxylates (APEs) - do not degrade completely
and are known hormone disruptors.
- detergents containing phosphates - cause algal blooms in water ways
Look for:
- biodegradable to AS4351, or better still , an international standard
- plant-based ingredients, instead of petroleum-based
- concentrated form
- specific ingredient information (such as "solvent-free," "no
petroleum-based ingredients”) rather than unregulated "greenwash"
claims (such as "natural" and "eco-friendly")
Find out more at www.safersolutions.org.au
