This Valentine’s Day, before planning your romantic dinner or buying roses and chocolate, the Food Tank wants you to think about how your choices will affect the hands that feed you.
The average consumer spends about $116 on Valentine’s Day, and florists make about $400 million in revenue, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association. About 48 percent of consumers spend money on candy and 34 percent spend money on flowers, and about 35 percent dine out.
Workers in these industries, including service workers and farm laborers, are among the lowest paid in the world. They face exposure to pesticides and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Valentine’s Day is the highest grossing day for the $600 billion restaurant industry. But the 4.3 million tipped workers in the United States only earn $2.13 per hour – the amount they’ve earned for more than 23 years.
The Food Tank suggests consumers:
1. Rethink the roses
From Ecuador to Colombia to Southeast Asia, the cut flower industry is characterized by high energy use, low labor standards, and low regulation. Floriculture takes up valuable land and water and can crowd out local food production and family farms.
Look for fair trade and sustainable flowers certified by Fairtrade International and Rainforest Alliance. Researchers at Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences propose American flower production as an alternative to imported flowers.
Whole Foods is offering delivery of “Whole Trade” flowers.
2. Care about the cocoa
Chocolate’s primary ingredient, cocoa, has sustainability issues, from a huge water footprint to overuse of pesticides. Africa produces more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, but more than 60 percent of consumption occurs in North America and Europe. Fair Trade chocolate, Rainforest Alliance certified chocolate, and U.S. Department of Agriculture certified organic chocolate are some of the many options for sustainable chocolate.
3. Focus on food workers
Consumers can participate in the Fair Food Program, an alliance dedicated to farm worker justice and supply chain transparency. They can also pledge to support a living wage in Morocco, Thailand, and the Philippines by signing Fairfood’s Valentine’s Day card to food workers.
Another group, the Fight for 15 has spread to several hundred U.S. cities and is seeking a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.
4. Eat out sustainably
If you’re planning a romantic dinner, look up a restaurant in your area that features local foods. Consumers also can support Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which publishes a National Diner’s Guide for consumers with information on the wages, benefits, and promotion packages of places where they dine.
The Sustainable Restaurant Association has a Restaurant Guide, which rates restaurants on 14 key focus areas from treating workers fairly to waste management.
5. Cook at home
Another option is to skip the restaurant and stay in. A 2012 survey by the Hartman Group showed nearly half of adults’ meals are eaten in front of the computer, in the car, or on the go. And, planning menus in advance can limit waste, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.
6. Take action
Consumers vote with their purchases and can make their voices even louder if they:
- Stand up for food that is responsibly grown and farm worker assured: Pledge to support safe food and safe workplaces by buying Equitable Food Initiative certified produce from farms that comply with the EFI Standards, which include improved working conditions, pesticide management, and food safety.
- Stand up for a food system that is fair and just: Pledge to support The Milan Protocol, an international agreement that connects citizens and policy makers to address the issue of food sustainability.
- Take the sustainable seafood pledge: Learn about sustainable seafood, and make choices that protect workers and the environment.
- Take a look at TakePart’s Tastemakers, a list of 100 food-focused businesses dedicated to local, sustainable, organic, humane, and unprocessed foods.
