Work should lift people out of poverty but far too often wages and incomes are systematically too low for a decent standard of living. Oxfam’s Behind the Barcodes campaign shines a spotlight on the conditions of the women and men who work to produce the food we buy from our supermarkets. These workers who are at the bottom of global …
What are supermarkets doing to tackle human suffering in their supply chains?
Last year, Oxfam embarked on a campaign asking 16 supermarkets to take responsibility for ending human suffering in their food supply chains. A year on, Monica Romis asks, what has changed? Slow progress to respect human rights The 2019 Supermarket Scorecard shows that, while some are doing better than others, all supermarkets lack sufficient policies to properly protect the people who produce our food. No supermarket does even 40% of what the Oxfam benchmark asks them to. Eight of the 16 companies, including Lidl, Plus and Whole …
Why is Oxfam campaigning against ALDI?
When Oxfam scored major supermarkets according to their public policies and practices that prevent human suffering, ALDI came bottom. As part of our #BehindtheBarcodes campaign, Rachel Wilshaw explains why they ranked so low and what can be done to improve it. Update Since Oxfam started campaigning against ALDI in October, the company has published a human rights policy, appointed a …
What more should supermarkets do to respect workers’ rights in their supply chain?
Recently Oxfam has been calling on supermarkets to end the human suffering in their supply chains for the Behind the Barcodes campaign. Here Rachel Wilshaw goes into more detail on the practical actions supermarkets can take and why it’s so important. Oxfam’s Ripe for Change report highlights hunger and suffering amongst the people who grow and process our food. Across a …
How to end human suffering in supermarket supply chains
Last week Tim Gore introduced Oxfam’s new research and campaign focused on the problem of human suffering in food supply chains, here he outlines solutions. If problem analysis captures media headlines (like these ones from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and the US last week) it is evidence of solutions and a sound theory of change that wins campaigns. Our research …
The human price of stocking supermarket shelves
The supermarket sector is ripe for change. Tim Gore, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research for Food Justice at Oxfam International, describes key findings from Oxfam’s research into the human suffering in supermarket supply chains. Imagine a workplace where 90% of your colleagues can’t afford enough food for their families each month. Where you work so hard you can’t take a toilet …
Dear supermarkets, can we have food without human suffering please?
Too often the people who produce our food are living in poverty and going hungry themselves. Rachel Wilshaw shares the findings of our new report and explains why we are calling on consumers and UK supermarkets to act. The people producing our food are often going hungry themselves. This is the standout finding of an Oxfam report published today, Ripe …