This week marks the start of the annual Fairtrade Fortnight, but this year, with the ongoing lockdown, celebrations are going to take a different form.
Introducing the Fairtrade Foundation’s first-ever virtual festival to highlight the harmful effect of the climate crisis on farmers and food supplies.
The fortnight takes place from February 22 to March 7, and the Choose the World You Want Festival will feature more than 100 virtual events designed to engage, inform and educate people around the urgent message of Fairtrade and climate change.
The fortnight will see a host of virtual events take place to focus on the impact of climate change, with a prestigious panel of guests to appear. In addition, chefs including Melissa Hemsley and Rosie Birkett will run live cooking session in the food tent during the festival, via their own Instagram feeds. The full line up for the festival can be found at https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/choose-the-world-you-want-festival/
Fairtrade coffee farmer Bayardo Betanco, of the Prodecoop co-operative in Nicaragua, spoke of the importance of Fairtrade: “There is a chain on earth that starts where the producers are. They are the ones who suffer the consequences of climate change, the ones who get the least help, and carry all of the burden. It’s not fair.”
