{"id":817,"date":"2021-03-18T11:59:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eos.co.id\/main\/?p=817"},"modified":"2021-03-18T11:59:53","modified_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:59:53","slug":"the-worlds-largest-food-and-beverage-companies-and-their-suppliers-must-do-more-to-create-an-equitable-and-sustainable-food-system-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eos.co.id\/main\/uncategorized\/the-worlds-largest-food-and-beverage-companies-and-their-suppliers-must-do-more-to-create-an-equitable-and-sustainable-food-system-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"The World\u2019s Largest Food and Beverage Companies and Their Suppliers Must Do More to Create an Equitable and Sustainable Food System for All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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A new Oxfam report finds the world\u2019s top food and beverage companies have improved global social and environmental policy commitments, but struggle to turn them into action on a local level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PUBLISHED 03-17-21<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUBMITTED BY OXFAM AMERICA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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N\u2019DRI CHANTAL KONAN, AGE 70, SEPARATES THE PULP FROM COCOA IN ALLAHTERESEKRO, C\u00d4TE D\u2019IVOIRE. \u00a9 PETER DICAMPO\/OXFAM AMERICA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

March 16, 2021 \/CSRwire\/ \u2013 As COVID-19 exposes vulnerabilities in the global food system, a new Oxfam report highlights the power of the world\u2019s top ten food and beverage companies to create more equitable and sustainable supply chains that can help lift millions of food producers out of poverty and fuel economies. The comprehensive report, \u201cShining a Spotlight<\/a>\u201d assesses how companies have delivered on commitments made during Oxfam\u2019s Behind the Brands campaign to implement stronger sourcing policies that impact climate change, land rights and women\u2019s empowerment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBold human and land rights commitments are a first step, but they are not reaching the very farmers and workers who are at once producing our food and struggling to stay afloat during a global pandemic and a climate in crisis,\u201d said Helen Ripmeester, Oxfam America\u2019s Associate Director of Inclusive Value Chains and Private Sector. \u201cGreater supply chain transparency, stronger incentives for suppliers to comply with standards and better regulation and accountability, can bring us significantly closer to a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable food system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxfam\u2019s Behind the Brands campaign which took place between 2013-2016 brought public pressure on the \u201cBig 10\u201d\u2014Coca-Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg, Mars, Mondelez, Nestl\u00e9, PepsiCo, Unilever and Associated British Foods (ABF)\u2014to improve their social and environmental policies. The new report analyzes how the companies have performed on their commitments specifically in Brazil, Ghana, Guatemala, India, and Malawi over the past five years. The report finds that while companies have taken actions at the global level, progress stalls in translating those approaches to countries and through supply chains to reach farmers and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe get peanuts or nothing in return. At times we don\u2019t even have enough money for sowing season. We are just surviving,\u201d says Pradeep, a sugar cane farmer in India who was interviewed for a related Oxfam study, the Human Cost of Sugar.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On climate change, companies have been adopting robust climate targets and begun tracking agricultural emissions within their own supply chains over the last few years. Given that the food sector accounts for about 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and small scale farmers are increasingly being impacted by climate change, progress by these big actors is essential for ensuring a just transition in food systems to address the urgency of the climate crisis. But as the report finds, not all companies have kept pace with a 1.5\u00b0C global warming scenario and taking serious action on deforestation remains elusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On land rights, companies have made significant progress instituting policies at the headquarters level to protect communities at risk of losing their land to the production of sugar, palm and other ingredients. But implementation is uneven. Especially concerning is companies are rarely aware of where new, risky land acquisitions are taking place in their supply chains until it becomes a compliance issue. Knowing where their suppliers are acquiring land \u2013 before an investment happens \u2013 would allow companies to implement policies that protect farmers and communities most at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On women\u2019s economic empowerment, several companies have taken initial steps to foster gender equality and women\u2019s economic inclusion specifically in the cocoa sector. Changes include new codes of conduct, parental leave practices, and social investment programs. However, they\u2019re often limited to headquarters or specific branches and fail to extend through the supply chain to factory workers, suppliers, and farmers where gender inequalities are more pronounced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmassing a common voice by cocoa farmers is one significant means to ensuring farmers take part in setting the agenda for sustainable cocoa production,\u201d Sandra Kwabea Sarkwah, <\/em><\/strong>Project Officer with SEND Ghana. \u201cThe current Ghana Civil society Cocoa platform with support from Oxfam Ghana has created a new space for collective idea sharing among farmers and civil society organizations at various levels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some promising instances of innovation outlined in the report involve companies testing new models on a small scale. For example, the Phata Cooperative in Malawi, demonstrated how smallholder farmers could combine their small family landholdings into large blocks in order to grow and sell sugar cane to Illovo Sugar Africa. A case study about the cooperative shows how farmers have been able to retain land rights and contribute to their own economic and development success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, as the report finds, in order for change to happen at scale, blockages must be addressed. This includes greater commitment to transparency that allows consumers and key stakeholders including farmers and communities affected by supply chains to understand which companies source from which suppliers and where. Companies also must provide the right incentives for suppliers, especially large-scale agribusinesses to comply with policy commitments and take up the agenda for a more resilient global food system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBuyers have tremendous power to engage with their suppliers and push for reform,\u201d says Ana Mar\u00eda M\u00e9ndez, Director, Oxfam in Guatemala. \u201cIn Guatemala, three major food companies suspended sourcing with a palm oil company due to poor sustainability policies.  This motivated the company to make significant strides in awareness of workers\u2019 rights, gender justice, and increased transparency, even though the palm oil sector has a long way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the number of severely hungry people across the world expected to double to 270 million due to COVID-19, the need for systemic change is urgent. Small-scale farmers and workers deserve their fair share of the value they create and access to productive resources, including their own land. The only way forward is for companies to move further, faster on implementing their commitments, and to adopt more holistic business models that internalize social and environmental performance and good governance across supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\/ENDS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oxfam is a global organization working to end the injustice of poverty. We help people build better futures for themselves, hold the powerful accountable, and save lives in disasters. Our mission is to tackle the root causes of poverty and create lasting solutions. Join us: oxfamamerica.org<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes to editors<\/p>\n\n\n\n