The United Nations Millenium development goals were set to be achieved by 2015.

As the deadline approaches, the UN is discussing what sort of framework should be in place beyond 2015.

The Fairtrade Foundation is joining the global Fair Trade movement in calling for a future international development framework that supports concrete means to achieve sustainable and inclusive development.  This should include a fairer world trade system enabling the poorest communities to work their way out of poverty.

Thousands of local leaders across the globe have been contacted by Fair Trade supporters to sign the Fairtrade Beyond 2015 Declaration.

Councillor Linsay Cunningham-Cross and James Alexander, Leader of City of York Council, as he signs the Beyond 2015 declaration.

Councillor Cunningham-Cross, the Fairtrade Councillor in York, was eager to get behind the campaign.  She said:

“I have asked the Leader of City of York Council to sign this pledge and make an important statement about global development and the role York as a city can play in that.  We want a development framework that enables small producers in poorer countries to trade their way out of poverty, a truly sustainable form of development.

It is important that York looks beyond its own boundary in making a contribution to Fair Trade and ethical global development, and this pledge is an important part of that contribution”.

Find out more here:

Fairtrade Beyond 2015

 Chair of Fairtrade Bradford and Fairtrade Ilkley, Karen Palframan, will be heading to Downing Street on May 9th to hand in the mini marchers’ petition to David Cameron.  She will be able to speak to him about the need for global policies to support small scale farmers.

Karen Palframan – all set for Downing Street

An early signatory to the petition, Mrs Palframan was herself represented by a paper mini marcher and has been invited by the Fairtrade Foundation to join the delegation meeting the Prime Minister.

“I am really honoured to have been asked to do this”, she said, “and never dreamt that my support for the ‘Make Food Fair’ campaign would lead me to Downing Street. Our voices can be heard and hopefully we can influence powerful decision makers. Food and hunger are on the G8 agenda, and we must ensure that the farmers providing our food are not going hungry themselves”.

Mrs Palframan added, “Let’s unite and make our voices heard even more loudly then they were during the ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign in 2005. I would ask you to sign the ‘Make Food Fair’ petition and also to buy products with the Fairtrade logo as these guarantee a fair deal for farmers”.

The Fairtrade Foundation is part of the nationwide Enough Food For Everyone – IF campaign

This food justice campaign seeks to make the changes necessary so that no one need suffer from hunger.

In the past month, thousands of IF campaigners across the country have been visiting their MP’s to lobby for food justice.

Majimcha and Jenny with Julian Sturdy MP

Food campaigners Majimcha and Jenny visited their MP, Julian Sturdy, who represents York Outer.  They called at his surgery at Monks Cross on the edge of York.

IF campaigners were pleased to see the Government stand by its international commitment on international development aid levels.  This is vital if we are to eradicate hunger, but of course, there are many countries that need to be persuaded to honour their commitment as the UK has done.

Majimcha and Jenny spoke to Julian about transparency regarding tax arrangements for multi national companies.  The world’s poorest countries lose out on tax revenue due to sophisticated avoidance schemes employed by many wealthy corporations.

The UK is hosting the G8 summit in June this year, so our government has a real opportunity to change international policies to benefit the poor and hungry, including changes to the international tax system.

Fairtrade Yorkshire backs Oxfam’s food justice campaign, Grow, which aims to support small scale farmers.  A major issue that Oxfam has focussed on is the issue of land grabs.

Every second, poor countries lose an area of land the size of a football pitch to banks & private investors.

Families are being evicted from their land – sometimes violently – and left with now way to grow food or earn a living.

Oxfam supporters in York drew attention to this issue with a march from the University of York to the Minster.  The Minster was symbolically ‘land grabbed’ and an eviction notice served.

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