Increasing accountability of big food brands

To end the scourge of world hunger, the underlying dynamics of the food production system must be transformed

In a world that produces more than enough food for everyone alive, one in nine people still suffer from chronic undernourishment. A major reason for this is the fact that decisions concerning our global food system are concentrated in the hands of national and international policymakers, the landed elite and corporate entities. Conversely, the hundreds of millions of small-scale and landless farmers who toil to grow food, as well as the multitudes of poor people who spend a large proportion of their household incomes just to buy food, have little say over what food is grown, how it is produced or distributed.

To end the scourge of world hunger, the underlying dynamics of the prevailing food production system must be transformed. International advocacy groups such as Oxfam have identified some relevant means to help challenge the prevailing situation. Oxfam’s ‘Behind the Brands’ campaign, for example, aims to challenge how the ‘Big 10’ food and beverage companies do their business. It aims to amplify the voices of disempowered stakeholders such as poorer farmers and ordinary citizens concerning food production. Simultaneously, it is trying to work with large corporations to try and improve how they work.

Focusing on large international food corporations is necessary, given that the so-called Big 10 companies generate revenues of more than $1.1b per day. The Big 10 also employ millions of people directly and indirectly in their supply chains, which extend across much of the developing world. Mobilising public demand, such as petitions and other advocacy efforts, has nudged these companies to recognise and adopt more responsible policies and practices. Most of these Big 10 companies have now admitted responsibility of improving gender equality, protecting land rights and addressing climate change concerns, including the growing problem of water scarcity, within their supply chains.

However, changing the way international food and beverage production takes place is not going to be easy. These big companies are still trying to figure out how to translate their policy assurances into actual practices which can assure that workers and the environment are less exploited by their varied suppliers. At present, there are untold instances of land grabs by larger landowners working for the corporate sector. There is rampant exploitation of poor agricultural workers, including women and children, in the name of food production. Food is also produced in a manner that causes serious environmental degradation and exacerbates water scarcity. Think, for instance, how producers of water and beverage products have contributed to depletion of ground water levels in localities where their bottling plants are located.

Besides corporate assurances, there is need for vigilant oversight of varied stages of production ranging from sourcing of raw materials, to the outsourcing of different parts of the production process, prior to which a brand name puts its name on a finished product.

Holding large companies accountable for exploitative and detrimental production practices is the only way to ensure that big brands will begin taking social and environmental issues as seriously as they do ensuring the quality of their products. Otherwise, big companies will simply continue to shrug off responsibility and blame their suppliers, and just find another local supplier to meet their needs, any time violations are detected.

Mere emphasis on free trade and boosting agricultural production will not do the job of making the global food production system fairer. Lessening exploitation in sourcing agricultural commodities also requires fairer contracts for agricultural labourers and better supply terms for small farmers, even if they work in the so-called ‘informal sector’. Governments of developing countries should also pay heed to such issues, instead of focusing only on how much international companies can contribute to state coffers. The international community needs to help fundamentally and rewrite the business models of food supply chains otherwise the problems of world hunger, increasing land and water degradation, will continue to exist.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2017.

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