As a vegetarian, you might think I’m a bit insulated from the current storm over horsemeat. I will admit that part of me wonders what all the fuss is about – you’re eating an animal, and in different parts of the world, different animals provide staple dishes. It surely does not matter which animal you are eating, you are eating an animal. After all, buy a ‘meat pastie’ or ‘meat pie’ in a bakers shop and you could literally be given anything.
But I am concerned. I’m very concerned, not just about food, but all elements of the supply chain. The scandal for me is not about horse v cow or horse v pig, but the incorrect labelling and the loss of control over what we are putting into our mouths. Various investigations are being carried out which may lead to criminal prosecutions, but if anyone who thinks that will be the end of the story, they are sadly deluded. The meat industry has passed responsibility for quality control further and further down the line, but they are not alone in that. What we have seen in the last twenty or so years is a gradual erosion of industry, a haemorrhaging of influence and a rise in ignorance.
All industries have been effected by out-sourcing, not just the food sector. Pottery which once carried the Stoke-on-Trent seal of approval is now manufactured in Indonesia. Teesside and Sheffield now produce far less steel than their rivals in Malaysia and India, while the textile factories of Lancashire have been replaced by a label proclaiming ‘Made in China’. It’s also a long time since a British Prime Minister has had to worry about what the miners might think.
How do we know what we are getting? How can we guarantee the quality of our purchases? More importantly, how can we be sure we are not contributing to sweat shop labour, child exploitation and modern day slavery? The easy answer is that we can’t. And it is the fault of all of us.
We all want bargains. We want good quality produce but are not prepared to pay for it. We want a Dyson vacuum cleaner at half the price it was 10 years ago. And thanks to the decision to send production overseas, we can have just that. Forget that the people producing a lot of products are working in conditions we would not accept, just look at the price. Think about what else we can now afford. Think about ourselves, not others.
We want more in our bank accounts and companies want more as well. Bigger profits, higher salaries for executives and larger dividend payments to shareholders. Let’s conveniently forget that this will ultimately rebound on us all – in the shape of more unemployment, higher benefit costs and, in the case of household names like Findus and Tesco, a suspicion that it doesn’t do what it says on the tin, or packet or bag.
It would be easy to shrug our shoulders, point the fingers at a few criminal gangs and settle down to Shergar & chips. But if this is important to us, we should be pressing for change. If companies could not exploit cheap labour overseas, they would be less likely to compete on cost, plumping instead for a pursuit of greater quality. If workers in the developing world enjoyed the same employment rights we do here, they would be rewarded for their work, not exploited for their labour. This may make companies think twice about outsourcing, perhaps leading to more jobs for the home market – reducing the benefit bill and making sure that more money was circulating round the economy, benefitting us all.
Globalisation has brought us many advantages. But with it has come the shame of exploitation for our personal gain. The campaign to encourage Fair Trade has reaped huge dividends for some in the developing world. Now it’s time to go further and ensure that those who work in factories as well as farms avoid gross unfairness and enjoy basic rights. In the long run, we will all benefit.
