Public inquiry launched on Food and Fairness

Just how fair is our food? News of hunger, obesity and bumper supermarket profits assail us over our Fairtrade breakfast brew. The world’s not perfect, but aren’t we doing enough?

As the global food crisis and tight family budgets make this quandary sharper than ever, a major public inquiry wants your help.

How fair is the global food system? Who are the winners and losers? Who is responsible for making it fairer?

Whether you work in farming or the food business – or simply eat their products – you can give evidence until 16th July 2009.

The Food and Fairness Inquiry, commissioned by the Food Ethics Council, is led by a committee that includes leading figures from sectors and communities with a stake in food and farming.

Helen Browning OBE, chairing the Inquiry, said:

"The British public has an inbuilt sense of fairness – just think of the outcry over MPs’ expenses. But being fair isn’t always a simple case of right and wrong. What if fairness clashes with another aim, like tackling climate change or improving public health? How do we decide then what counts as the right thing to do?

"From fair trade to global hunger, food can teach us a lot. It’s seen some of the boldest efforts to tackle inequality, and some of the worst cases of exploitation.

"We want as many people as possible to contribute to our inquiry, and help increase the profile and clarity of debates about food and fairness. We want to hear first-hand experience from consumers and people working in food and farming, as well as relevant research."

Once the committee has received your evidence, it will examine what lies behind success stories and failures, and seek to understand the responsibilities of the British government, businesses and public in promoting a fair global food system. The Inquiry’s findings and recommendations will highlight consensus and differences among the members.

The Inquiry will collect written evidence from May 2009 and hold public hearings in September, October and November, reporting in the spring of 2010.