100 signatures reached
To: Andy Clarke (Chief Executive of Asda) and David Potts (Chief Executive of Morrisions)
Supermarkets MUST supply Fairtrade cashew nuts
ALL supermarkets must provide Fairtrade nuts but cashew nuts in particular. By supplying these the supermarkets are not only supporting the Fairtrade movement but supporting Fairtrade nut companies such as 'Liberation', supporting small independent companies and also providing their customers with a choice whether or not to support Fairtrade or un-sustainable companies.
Why is this important?
Fair-trade needs support. Fairtrade needs our support and in order for us to support them we have to be able to buy their stock. If supermarkets do not stock their products then how an earth can we but the products and support Fairtrade? In addition to this, awareness to why supporting Fairtrade cashew nuts is so important needs to be raised.
Predominantly in India but also Africa and Brazil, due to the mass demand, the cashew nuts is hand processed in over crowded factories in incredible poor areas. Now when the kernel is extracted from the skin during the ‘deshelling process’ an allergic phenolic resin, anacardiac acid is released. This is a caustic liquid that burns skin known as a ‘Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis’. Because the demand for cashew nuts is so high and the factories are under so much pressure, the factories are packed to the brim with workers who are not provided with adequate skin protection and as a consequence during their de-shelling of up to 50-60kg of nuts a day they are constantly burned. Either the factory owners are not aware of these adverse health risks of cashew nut processing or they simply cannot afford to supply such high numbers of workers protection and workers are forced to tackle their skin protection themselves by bandaging their hands. So not only are these workers working in over crowded, appalling conditions, being paid roughly 30p a day for but suffering from permanent damage from the cashew nut burns. This is not right and people need to be made aware of this. That by purchasing non fair-trade cashew nuts they are indirectly supporting this act of negligence of the basic human right.
Fairtrade needs to be pioneered and that’s what I am trying to do. In order for problems such as the appalling working conditions of factory workers in India to be tackled, supermarkets need to stock Fairtrade and people need to start buying! People all around the world need our help and if its simply to buy a packet of cashews a few pounds more than the normal packet so be it! It takes so little to help in such a massive way. People need to start to become active citizens and to stand up and help tackle these worldwide issues. Without people working together, raising awareness and striving for change then problems like this will remain hidden and people will continue to suffer.
