Ben Clowney, 25, a companionable young man who relishes a challenge, is appealing for virtual dinner dates this Fairtrade Fortnight (26th February-11 March) as he embarks upon an ambitious challenge to become a ‘Fairtrade Man’.
Ben’s challenge is simple - to consume only food and drink that carries the Fairtrade Mark for fourteen days. Or perhaps it is not so simple, when you consider this excludes all meat and vegetables.
So passionate about the benefits that Fairtrade shopping has on the lives of third world producers, Ben is keen to encourage as many people as possible to join him by pledging to a virtual dinner date via his MySpace site, www.myspace.com/fairtrademan At least 30 people have already pledged to join him for anything from one meal to the whole 14 days.
‘Man cannot live by bananas alone: Tearfund’s Ben Clowney with one of the biggest selling fairtrade products, bananas.’
With more than 2,000 products displaying the Fairtrade Mark available these days, Ben argues that there’s plenty of variety to ensure he and his dinner dates will be well fed. Menu plans include muesli and fruit juice for breakfast and peanut curry with rice, mango chutney and even a beer for dinner.
“You can join me for a virtual date by committing to eat at least one entirely Fairtrade meal. It could be the most ethical date you’ll ever have – without leaving the comfort of your own home you can cook a meal where every ingredient benefits poor farmers somewhere in the developing world,” says Ben Clowney, from Reading.
No stranger to a challenge, in 2005 Ben lived on the minimum wage for Lent, while in 2006 he committed to only buy ethically-produced clothes. But, says Ben, who is Campaigns Officer for international aid agency Tearfund, becoming Fairtrade Man is his most ambitious challenge yet.
Since posting his ‘Fairtrade Man’ challenge on MySpace last month, Ben has been overwhelmed by messages of support, recipe ideas and donations of Fairtrade food to help him on his way, including drinks, snack bars, breakfast cereal and even a generous supply of Ben and Jerry’s vanilla ice cream.
By taking part in this challenge, Ben is keen to show just how widespread the Fairtrade range is. “Gone are the days when Fairtrade was just about tea, coffee and chocolate,” he says. “With every major supermarket stocking a wide range of Fairtrade products, from avocados to wine and baby food to biscuits, there’s something for everyone whether its breakfast, lunch, dinner and plenty in between.”
He adds, “Fairtrade has a massive impact but I’m under no illusion that supporting Fairtrade alone will end world poverty. That’s why every day I'll be helping to tackle the bigger issues of trade justice, such as meeting with my MP and writing to my local supermarket to ask them to stock more Fairtrade products. I’ll even be emailing the Chair of the European Union (EU) challenging the EU to do more to tackle unfair trade rules.”
Buying products carrying the Fairtrade Mark has a positive impact on the lives of those who grew or made the product. More than 5 million farmers and producers throughout the developing world are benefiting from the Fairtrade commitment to fair prices and safe working conditions.