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2023 Food & Beverage Benchmark Findings July 31st, 2023
BENCHMARK FINDINGS REPORT
“The practices of companies operating in the food and beverage sector has attracted the attention of customers, investors, and consumers for a number of years. The issues that the sector races touch all of our lives and we have grown in awareness about the workers who harvest these products before they are delivered tour tables.
“We welcome this report and hope that it gives you a good snapshot of the status of the companies that operate in this sector and provide you with the information needed consider your shopping choices in the sector. It should also provide you with some ways to improve your personal solidarity especially migrant workers who regularly harvest the products these companies deliver to market.” (Fr. Séamus Finn, OMI)
FOREWORD
“An estimated 2.1 million agriculture workers are in conditions of forced labour. Another 3.2 million victims of forced labour are in the manufacturing sector, which can include the preparation and packaging of food and beverages.
Much of the work of putting food on our plates is done by migrant workers, who are often targeted for exploitation. These workers generally have few, if any, legal protections, rarely have either the right or the opportunity to organise or speak up about mistreatment, and are sent to some of the most isolated locations in the world to work – whether fishing on a distant water fleet or picking crops on a farm the size of a large metropolis.” READ THE REPORT
