Pandemic labour rights impacts in coffee and cocoa supply chains

Mary Linell-Simmons, director of marketing at Fairtrade America, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about some of the human rights impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in commodity supply chains.

Taking the the coffee sector, she argues that fluctuating prices driving the timing of crop harvesting brings a number of labour rights risks. And they discuss the child labour risks for the cocoa sector in west Africa, and the necessary sensitivities required to address the challenges.

Fairtrade America was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum Future of Food USA conference.