Mmmm sugar… some would say the cause of and solution to some of life’s biggest problems. I admit it, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I rather skip the desserts and head straight to the libations, but I can’t deny how vital sugar is as a taste enhancer in well, pretty much everything.

I had an opportunity this weekend to attend Pursuing Impact: A symposium on international development, hosted by the UBC Centre for Community Engaged Learning. (http://bccic.ca/event/pursuing-impact-symposium-international-development). It was a fascinating day of listening to interesting speakers and their experiences working in various communitites around in the world in Community based learning and work activities.

One thing in particular stood out to me, a speaker from Oxfam Canada mentioned their GROW campaign, which serves to raise awareness on the impact of land grabs on farmers and rural communities in order to grow sugar. Some interesting quotes from the Oxfam Canada Behind the Brands Campaign: http://www.oxfam.ca/grow/act/behind-the-brands

“The global sugar trade is worth about $47 billion. The world produced 176 million tonnes of sugar last year. The food and drinks industry accounts for more than half of it.

Land grabbing is a bitter secret in the sugar supply chains of some of the world’s biggest food and beverage companies. Poor communities across the globe are in dispute or even being kicked off their land, without consultation or compensation, to make way for huge sugar plantations.”

Now that’s a lot of sugar. And that’s probably going to be a lot of land grabbed.

Here’s another interesting sheet: http://files.oxfam.ca/docs/btb/sugar-and-land/Land-and-Sugar-Fact-Sheet-Small.pdf for more information if you’re interested.

And if you’re interested in seeing what you can possibly do to help, by lobbying drink companies, or aiding Oxfam Canada, here’s the web page

http://www.oxfam.ca/grow/act/behind-the-brands