Millions of people around the world who farm, fish, and process the food in our stores are working extremely long hours, toiling in unsafe conditions, and earning only poverty wages.

The report and its accompanying methodology note launch Oxfam’s new campaign to expose the economic exploitation faced by millions of small-scale farmers and workers in food supply chains.

Summary
Inequality is rampant across the global economy, and the agro-food sector is no exception. At the top, big supermarkets and other corporate food giants dominate global food markets, allowing them to squeeze value from vast supply chains that span the globe, while at the bottom the bargaining power of small-scale farmers and workers has been steadily eroded in many of the countries from which they source.

The result is widespread human suffering among the women and men producing food for supermarkets around the world. From forced labour aboard fishing vessels in Southeast Asia, to poverty wages on Indian tea plantations and hunger faced by workers on South African grape farms, human and labour rights abuses are all too common in food supply chains.

In an era of gross global inequality and escalating climate change, this business model is increasingly unsustainable. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Governments, food companies, small-scale farmers and workers, and citizens around the world can all help to rebalance power in food supply chains and ensure they more fairly reward those producing our food. The supermarket sector is ripe for change.

There is no justifiable reason that the human and labour rights of women and men supplying supermarkets cannot be respected. There is no moral excuse for anyone  producing our food to go hungry. This report launches Oxfam’s new campaign to expose the root causes behind human suffering in food supply chains and to mobilize the power of people around the world to help end it, starting with a focus on the role of supermarkets.

Ripe for Change: Ending Human Suffering in Supermarket Supply Chains - Oxfam International, 2018 DOWNLOAD
Ripe for Change: Methodology Note - Oxfam International, 2018 DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

The Role of Recruitment Fees and Abusive and Fraudulent Recruitment Practices of Recruitment Agencies in Trafficking in Persons
Publications

The purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship between recruitment fees and other abusive and fraudulent practices of recruitment agencies and trafficking in persons, with a particular focus on criminal justice measures to address this relat...Read More

Preventing Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking – An Agenda For Action Across the Financial Services Sector
Publications

There are over 40 million people in modern slavery worldwide. Modern slavery exists in every industry, in every country in the world. The financial services industry has a major role to play in combating this violent and abusive business. And yet ou...Read More

Country Profile: Romania – Abuses in Garment Sector
Publications

Garment workers, mostly women, earn some of the lowest wages in the world while making clothes for some of the biggest fashion brands. Romania has about 300,000 oficial garment workers, who usually earn a minimum wage of about 230 EUR after tax. Wor...Read More

From Exploitation to Fair Employment. Report on the Organisation of Employment Services to Victims of Trafficking in Finland
News & AnalysisPublications

Hundreds of migrant victims of human trafficking or labour exploitation are identified in Finland each year. Human trafficking is a serious crime that violates human rights and personal liberty and integrity. The consequences of exploitation and its...Read More

TAGS: Europe