We Spoke, They Listened! Exciting Progress from Three of the Worlds Largest Chocolate Companies!

Mars, Nestle, and Hershey's Moving Towards Sustainable, Ethical Chocolate!

Oxfam Action Corps of MN has spent the last three months gathering petitions and raising awareness for more sustainable and ethical cocoa production. Four Companies have been of target interest and three have already responded! Nestle, Mars and Mondelez have been brought to light by Oxfam America's Behind the Brands Campaign and Hershey's has been of interest through our work with Global Exchange.

Mars and Nestle have responded to Oxfam with commitment  to be more involved with how women are treated in their cocoa supply chains, to commit to a plan of action, to work to sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and to work with industry organizations to address gender issues. (Learn more about their commitments here.) We are very excited with the positive impact this will have on so many lives of women and communities around the world! Thank you so much for contributing to this important movement! 

However, we must continue to apply pressure to Mondelez who have yet to respond. Help us  maintain the momentum by calling on Mondelez International (maker of products like Oreos), to follow suit.  Please Add your voice today.

Hershey Commits to Use Some Fair Trade Chocolate in Products!

Hershey has recently announced its commitment to use some fair trade chocolate in some of its products.  Specifically, according to Global Exchange, Hershey “announced its next step toward 100% certified sustainable cocoa by committing to source cocoa through three of the world’s most recognized cocoa certifying organizations, including Fair Trade USA.”  Fair Trade USA is a third-party organization that certifies that the farmers in developing countries who are harvesting food, are paid a fair wage for their labor.

Thank you for the work that you have done to pressure Hershey to take this major step!  Thank you for attending “The Dark Side of Chocolate” documentary viewing in February, and spreading the word about the existence of child labor in Africa, within the chocolate industry.  Thank you for signing petitions to Hershey, in which you recommended that it eliminate child labor in its chocolate supply chain and develop fair trade chocolate bars. 

It is because of your actions and the actions of like-minded activists that Hershey has committed to use some fair trade chocolate in some of its products!  Your work is truly an example of the power that each of us has to be a changemaker and create a better world for our neighbors in developing countries. 

You can access Global Exchange’s full article about Hershey at http://www.globalexchange.org/blogs/fairtrade/2013/03/22/victory-hersheys-choose-fair-trade/ .  We are supportive of Global Exchange’s efforts to monitor Hershey’s next steps.

Support Women, Support the World

                          

International Women's Day (8th March) has been celebrating the achievements of women for over 100 years. This year, Oxfam strengthened its efforts to amplify the voices of women small scale farmers and producers, so that their rights to equality and self-empowerment are realized. 

Here is  Minnesota Oxfam Action Corps  celebrated this important day with two great events. We started the party on March 6 with Project Food Security and Interdisciplinary Perspectives in International Development, two student groups from the University of Minnesota, by hosting an exciting panel discussion. We had 3 tremendous women speak who shared their stories and experiences.Together the speakers wove ideas that gave a broad overview of the current status of women farmers, highlighted personal experiences related to the struggles of women farmers in Africa, and empowered everyone in the audience to take action in their own lives. 

                                               Thank you so much to our panelists:

Nancy Johnson, applied economist

Harriet Oyera, community activist on issues of food and environmental justice

Emily Torgrimson with Eat for Equity

March 8 brought the official date of International Women's Day,and Oxfam Action Corps Minnesota joined other action corps in a day of chocolate!  What better way to honor women than to raise awareness about women cocoa farmers. 

Volunteers from the Action Corps spent the day near the University of Minnesota, talking to people about the new Behind the Brands Campaign and the need to call on chocolate companies to treat women cocoa farmers with fairness and justice.  It was fun to hand out candy bars-after all, who doesn't like chocolate.  The great music we had also made for a fun atmosphere.  There was a real message to the day though, and that is that as consumers we need to use our voice.  A huge thanks to all the volunteers who came out and supported our action! 

More than 60,000 people have signed the petition calling on Mars, Incorporated, Mondelēz International, and Nestlé to respect women cocoa farmers!

 Have you joined the movement yet?

Take action 

Corporate Food Campaign Launched!

Major food and beverage companies, and those they buy from, employ millions of people in poor countries to grow and produce their products. Because of their global reach and influence, these companies could play a big role in reducing poverty, hunger, and inequality. But right now, they’re not doing enough. Oxfam spent 18 months looking closely at how the 10 biggest food companies—Coca Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Pepsico, Associated British Foods (ABF), and Unilever—report that they do business. Then, we created an easy-to-use scorecard—a “behind the brands” look—comparing and contrasting companies’ policies and commitments. We discovered that all 10 need to do a whole lot more to support farmers, communities, and our planet. Even big companies care what customers think. And that’s where you come in. You don’t need to stop buying your favorite products to make a difference. Instead, make your voice heard. Check out the scorecard. Get the facts. Then use your power as a consumer to tell companies exactly what needs to change.

Here in Minnesota the Oxfam Action Corps visited General Mills to ask them to “Help End Poverty!”

 

The world’s largest food companies have a lot of power – but you have more. If their consumers speak up, they have to listen. Tell them to do their part to fix the broken food system!

Act Local, Think Global!

Support Women Farmers
Fight Global Hunger 

Build a Better Food System

Join the Oxfam Action Corps!

www.oxfamactioncorps.org

Advocate in your community on behalf of millions worldwide

Free spaces are available at training April 13-16, 2013  – Apply now!

ð  Are you concerned that the people who grow the world’s food—many of whom are women—cannot afford to feed their own families?  And that one in eight people goes to bed hungry every night even though the world produces enough food for everybody?

ð  Do you want to take action in your city to achieve policies to sustainably feed a growing population and empower poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive?

ð  Are you willing to reach out to others in your community to hold governments and businesses accountable for the impact of their policies and practices on the environment and global food security?

Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, invites you to join the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting effort to cultivate grassroots leaders and political change.

Oxfam Action Corps volunteers work closely with Oxfam staff to engage their community and elected officials. We will provide training and support throughout a one-year time commitment.  You'll meet amazing activists, build community, and drive political solutions.

We are recruiting for the Oxfam Action Corps in these cities:

Albuquerque, NM	Columbus, OH	Minn./St Paul, MN
Austin, TX	Des Moines, IA	New York City, NY
Boston, MA	Indianapolis, IN	Philadelphia, PA
Burlington, VT	Kansas City, MO	San Francisco, CA
Chicago, IL	Madison, WI	Seattle, WA

Here is what previous Oxfam Action Corps volunteers said:

“Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence… gaining knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues.”  Amy , Business Operations Analyst, Des Moines

“I liked it, loved it, actually.  I now have a better appreciation for activism and I do believe that it can really make a difference!”  Debby, Graduate Student, VT

"This has become one of the best parts of my life… I can't express enough how satisfying it is to be organizing with people who are just as committed and dependable and passionate." – Isaac., Educator, New York City

          Sign-up by February 14 at:

            www.oxfamactioncorps.org