Peg Willingham explains that FairTrade was founded when people saw injustices around the world and called for equity. FairTrades works in over 120 countries, by partnering with farmers to adopt better practices and promote better, more equitable pay and working conditions. FairTrade works with companies in the USA like Ben and Jerry’s, Starbucks, Wholefoods, and Trader Joes. Peg notes that consumers also have significant power. When consumers make more ethical choices, farmers are treated more ethically. Sadly, climate change is threatening our most popular crops, coffee, cocoa, and bananas. Moreover, the independent farmers who contribute least to the changing climate are being impacted the most by the impacts. Farmers who might grow luxury products for consumers in the USA only make a few dollars a day, and as a result, cannot afford to properly nourish themselves. FairTrade works with these farmers to make positive change and provide them with equitable solutions, such as planting more trees, digging trenches to direct water, and ethical planting. Peg and Bernice close by speaking about the impact of climate change around the world, immigration, and empathy.
Dr. Natasha DeJarnett explains that Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) advocates for health around the world, and was founded on preventing nuclear war & proliferation, and works to protect the public from toxic chemicals, nuclear power, and climate change. At the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Dr. DeJarnett works to truly connect public health and environmental health. Environmental health ensures that people have safe water to drink, safe food to eat, and safe environments to thrive in, free of disease-carrying bacterias and ticks. Dr. DeJarnett notes the top public health issues exasperated by environmental issues as, Climate change as a threat multiplier to already susceptible populations (elderly, children, people of color, undocumented residents, and LGBTQ+ populations), our aging infrastructure, and our emerging environmental health conditions. Dr. DeJarnett breaks down these threats, noting that climate change has been widely named our nation's biggest public health threat, and the disastrous effects of the aging infrastructure seen in Flint Michigan and Hurricane Katrina. Dr. DeJarnett reminds listeners that climate change costs us our environment, our health, and our economy, we can’t afford not to invest in climate solutions and climate equity!
