Sorry for my lack of blogging lately but things have been really hectic, so I haven’t really had time to do much.
Anyway the change to a more ethical lifestyle is going really well, I recently used up all my old pasta and have now changed to Fairtrade Pasta from Traidcraft. Now its not cheap, a pack of Tesco own brand is around £1.00, but Traidcrafts Fairtrade Pasta is £2.09 from ethicalsuperstore.com, or if you buy it directly from Traidcraft it costs £10.50 for 6 bags which works out at £1.75 per bag of 500g.
Nicely enough the One World Shop inside the Chapel of St Thomas the Martyr sells individual packs for £1,75 saving me the postage costs, and also giving me an excuse to go for a walk, after all i really do need to lose some of the puppy fat! Anyway I got a couple of bags of Penne as its my favorite shape, I know it tastes the same but I like playing with the tube on my tongue!
What’s different about this pasta isn’t the wheat, its like most pasta made with durum wheat, and is made using a traditional method in Italy. What makes it different is the fact that 20% of it is made with Fairtrade quinoa from the Bolivian Andes.
Now quinoa is an interesting crop, it’s a traditional cereal grown on the high slopes of the Andes Mountains. Now unlike wheat or rice, quinoa is what’s called a complete protein, which means it contain all of the eight essential amino acids, in fact its pretty unique in the plant kingdom in that respect. This means that quinoa is perfect for veg*ns, as they can use it to make sure they are not lacking in any amino acids, which can be problem for some veg*ns. You may have heard it referred to as a ‘Supercrop’, the UN have even talked about using it to replace rice in emergency food aid as it could be far more effective at relieving hunger.
I must admit I was quite skeptical; I have never really tried quinoa once before at a music festival, but frankly it was dreadful. On reflection its quite possibly the fact that it had been standing for some time and had some many spices on it that my tongue felt like it had 3rd degree burns! But I was pleasantly surprised; it tastes just like normal pasta, and is extremely lovely. It might be expensive, but its a price worth paying especially as I know the extra money is going to really make a difference in someone else’s life. So I urge you to give it a try.
Kicks
Yesterday the postman brought me a wonderful item, a Fairtrade Football! Seriously, how great is that! Its fantastic I say. Footballs have long been considered a very unethical product, they are very labour intensive and often child labour is used.
The football I received is from ETHLETIC, who also make rugby balls, volleyballs, basketballs and netballs. The rubber they use is also FSC certified which makes it extra ethical. The ball I have normally costs £19.95, its nothing special as far as footballs go, but its a decent ball, a bit more expensive than a ball from a big brand, but the added bonus is that the extra money goes back to the workers who stitch these balls together by hand in Pakistan.
Over the past month or so with the World Cup rapidly approaching I have noticed footballs on sale in places like Tesco, Waitrose, The Co-Op etc, which is only natural, but all of these footballs have been quite cheap and are not Fairtrade, even the ones on the Co-Op. As well as that i live next to St James Park in Newcastle, and a quick peek in the club shop shows that none of their balls are Fairtrade either.
Ok I know its early days as far as Fairtrade footballs goes, but I think that it needs a high profile convert, either a Premiership club, which these days Newcastle are again, a national team, like England, or even a major tournament like the World Cup, Olympics or European Championship. If one of these makes the switch, I expect many of the rest will follow. Its too late for the World Cup, but maybe we should consider starting some sort of campaign, targeting a club or event to ask them to make the switch, to set an example.
Maybe the 2012 London Olympics would be perfect for this, what do you guys think, let me know.
Anyway, my footballs fate is to be used for the North East Bahá’í Summer School, and will then be donated to the local Bahá’í Junior Youth Group, who will certainly make better use of it than me!
God Bless
Michael
