New report exposes systemic exploitation and discrimination in the global food industry

Farmers and workers who supply Europe and the US with products such as rice, seafood, coffee, tea and wine have not received sufficient support to cope with the health and economic impact of the pandemic. Several global food chains have instead focused on shareholder dividends and executive bonuses.

In a new report, 'Not in this together: how supermarkets became the pandemic's winner while women are losing out', Oxfam shows that 16 publicly traded grocery chains* in the Netherlands, the UK and the US increased dividends to shareholders and bonuses to directors by an average of 123% - from around $10 billion to $22.3 billion - in the first eight months of the pandemic. Meanwhile, workers in the supply chains that sustained production received almost no support to cope with the risks and health and economic impacts of the pandemic.

None of the nearly 600 growers and farmers in Brazil, Pakistan, South Africa, India and Thailand interviewed by Oxfam are paid a living wage, some not even a minimum wage. Workers engaged in small-scale production of coffee, rice, wine, tea and seafood face inhumane and unsafe working conditions. Women, who have been particularly hard hit economically during the pandemic, continue to earn the least.

"We fear the pandemic. We are afraid that people will despise us if we get infected."

Chesa, migrant worker in Thailand's fish industry.

As a result of the pandemic, many workers have been forced into deepening poverty, while some of the world's richest families and individuals who own shares in the major food companies have multiplied their assets during the pandemic. The 16 publicly traded food chains reviewed by Oxfam have distributed an average of 98% of their net profits to their owners and shareholders.

"The report points to widespread, systemic exploitation and discrimination against workers and producers in global supply chains. A major shift is needed for food companies to respect human rights and it is high time for them to address the inequality and poverty of workers in their supply chains."

Lisa Söderlindh, Head of Communications, Oxfam Sweden

Oxfam calls on food companies to identify and take action in those supply chains where women are most at risk of discrimination, including by establishing policies and structures that promote gender equality throughout the supply chain and showing leadership by calling on the sector to address these issues.