Andrew Mitchell visits Fairtrade market
Press Release :
14 March 2008
Andrew Mitchell, MP for Sutton Coldfield and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development ,joined Fairtrade Association, Birmingham to celebrate Fairtrade Fortnight with a fair and market in Victoria Square.
While there, Mr Mitchell was the first to taste the winning Fairtrade recipe created by a student from University College Birmingham.
Students at UCB have spent the past few weeks designing recipes using only Fairtrade ingredients. The winning entry, Honeyed Banana and Almond Fool, was designed by 3rd year BA Culinary Arts Management student Ben Ebbrell.
Ben Ebrell says: “I am delighted to have to design a recipe using FT ingredients as I love being creative - I learnt a lot about Fairtrade and feel really inspired by it."
Andrew Mitchell said: “The recipe was absolutely delicious with all the different ingredients from Fairtrade. Fairtrade is a very British thing because all of us in our own way send economic signals to the market. In my family we never buy eggs if not free-range eggs, that’s because we want to send a signal about the ethical way in which food is produced.”
Fairtrade is a big extension of that where we can all play our part. I’m delighted Fairtrade is doing so well and I’m sure it’s going to expand many fold over the coming years.”
Sue Cockcroft, FAB member and campaigner for Oxfam, says: “The Fairtrade mark means farmers in the developing world are guaranteed a fair price for their products, allowing them to plan for their future. Birmingham, as the largest Fairtrade city in the world, is already leading the way supporting farmers in developing countries.
We are urging the people of Birmingham to think about how your purchases can make a difference. Change the lives of farmers and producers in the developing world. Change the way you think about shopping. Change today. Choose Fairtrade.”
The fair and market featured a ‘Fairtrade bus’ with games and a talk from a Fairtrade banana grower from the Windward Islands, live music from the Caribbean, Bhangra dancing from India and dancing from Latin America.
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