Greens Vow to Protect Farmers and Fair Food
Fri., April 15, 2005. 09:00.
Greens campaign for good, safe, local, fair food
[ScotGP-res] ELECTION: GREENS VOW TO PROTECT FARMERS AND FAIR FOOD From: press@scottishgreens.org.uk To: press@scottishgreens.org.uk Date: Friday 09:02:01 SCOTTISH GREEN PARTY MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release, Friday 15 April, 2005
ELECTION: GREENS VOW TO PROTECT FARMERS AND FAIR FOOD
Westminster must appoint an independent supermarket regulator to tackle the supermarket monopoly that has seen dairy farmers across Scotland struggle to survive while Tesco profits soar to over £2 billion per year, Scottish Greens said today. (1)
Greens argue that Labour UK government and LibDem Scottish ministers have done nothing to protect farmers and producers, leaving the door open for supermarket giants to abuse their power and exploit workers in Scotland and abroad.
Westminster candidates and MSPs campaigned outside Tesco to highlight the plight of dairy farmers. Dairy farms receive only 17p per litre of milk - 2p below the cost of production - and have an average net income of just over £5000 per year. (2) NFU Scotland claims that five years ago Scotland had 2,200 dairy producers - that number has now fallen to around 1500.
Green Edinburgh East candidate Cara Gillespie said, "The supermarket giants are out of control, trampling over the people who grow our food. Labour and the Lib Dems in Scotland have done nothing to fight for fair trade for our farmers. They are too concerned with the interests of big business to bother standing up for producers, small businesses and communities. Only Greens at Westminster will put people before profit."
This week ActionAid also exposed the plight of fruit growers in Africa that supply Tesco who are routinely exposed to pesticides and receive little more than £30 for a fortnight's work.
Mark Ruskell MSP, Green speaker on the environment, said, "The food we eat and how it is produced should make people, the environment and our economy healthy and strong. Instead, we see supermarkets dominating the entire food chain forcing small farmers and grocers out of business and robbing communities of jobs. This week as Tesco announced record profits, one of their suppliers in Fife is shedding over 100 jobs. It is time the bully boys were brought into line, and none of the other parties are willing to do so. A vote for Greens is a vote for fair food and fair trade."
Greens are the only Scottish party challenging supermarkets' monopoly over the food we eat and making fair trade and fair food a central theme of their election campaign. A survey earlier this year showed that nearly 90% of people want regulation to force supermarkets to act in the public interest. (3) The findings reflect a growing dissatisfaction with the way in which supermarkets are increasingly dominating Scottish towns and cities, with little concern for communities or producers, Greens said.
Greens' recipe for fair food trade:
- make the Office of Fair Trading regulate supermarkets better, so that Scottish farmers receive a fair price for their milk and other produce, and supermarkets operate under written contracts with suppliers
- establish an independent supermarket regulator to oversee the code of practice, ensuring a fair deal for farmers and consumers. The OFT has so far failed to ensure the code is implemented and noted that a "climate of apprehension" was preventing suppliers from lodging complaints against supermarkets who use bullying tactics. The code of conduct should apply throughout the food chain so that neither retailers nor suppliers can exploit producers.
- ensure fair prices for farmers abroad too, through the UK's leading position in global trade organisations and agreements.
ENDS
Notes
1. Candidates and MSPs will campaign outside Tesco Metro, South Clerk St, Edinburgh, from 10am today (15 April).
Motion lodged in Scottish Parliament
S2M-02695 Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): That the Parliament notes the £2 billion profit reported by Tesco; further notes that the average farm income is only £11,500; is concerned by reports from the National Farmers Union in Scotland that farmers receive just 17 pence a litre for milk that costs 19 pence a litre to produce; condemns the supermarket practice of paying farmers below the costs of production for milk and other produce; is further concerned by recent news that Kettle Produce Ltd, a food supplier of Tesco, is facing job losses in north-east Fife as a result of being squeezed by multinational companies in the retailing industry; notes new research by ActionAid that exposes the appalling working conditions of thousands of women workers in South Africa, casual labourers who grow fruit for Tesco, who are exposed to pesticides without protective clothing and receive poverty wages equivalent to a paltry £32.50 for two weeks work, which barely gives them enough money to feed their families; further condemns Tesco for its predatory behaviour and exploitative practices; notes the failure of the Office of Fair Trading to effectively regulate the increasing power of large supermarkets, and calls on the Scottish Executive to use its influence to ensure that the Supermarket Code of Practice provides effective protection for those in Scotland and abroad who produce our food.
2. See http://www.nfus.org.uk/facts_index.asp
3. ICM research - 89% of Scots respondents (and 82% UK respondents) answered yes when asked "Do you think the government should impose rules and regulations on how the large supermarkets operate to ensure that they always act in the best public interest?" Supermarket Survey, January 2005.
Contact the Scottish Greens' press team on 07909 933 074.