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Fighting Slavery is Smart Development Policy

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Maya is six years old. She spends her days sitting in a stone quarry in Bihar, India, using a hammer to break stones into smaller pieces. The smaller stones will be used for building roads. She has never been to school, and probably never will. The work is physically draining for her small physique, and every day she inhales unhealthy amounts of dust from the stone crushing. Without outside intervention she will end up doing this for many more years, and will likely be married off soon after hitting puberty, with all the risks of early childbirth that entails.

Impakter, SDG, The Freedom Fund: Galvanizing Resources to End Slavery by Humanity United

In the photo: We have 45.8M modern day slaves. Photo credit: From the Freedom Fund short movie LINK

How did she end up in this modern form of slavery?

The most common scenario for millions trapped in bondage in South Asia is that her father took a small loan in return for agreeing to work in the quarry. He had a quota of rock to crush each week—but couldn’t make the target. In the meantime, the debt grew, because it came with a punitive interest rate and his subsistence pay was barely enough to provide food for his family, let alone pay off the loan. And every time someone in the family became ill, the father had to borrow more money for healthcare, increasing the amount he owed. He couldn’t leave the quarry, because the overseer employs thugs to beat up anyone who tries to flee. Local officials ignore the abuses, at best. At worst, they are bribed to turn a blind eye. To pay off the ever-increasing debt the overseer tells the father that he had to enlist his wife and children—which is how Maya and countless other children like her come to be performing back-breaking work instead of going to school.

This is the reality of slavery today. It goes by many names—human trafficking, forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor … etcetera—but the essence is the same: the control of an individual through violence or other forms of coercion, in order to force them to work or exploit them for sex.

A GLOBAL PROBLEM
 Impakter, SDG, Freedom Fund, Walk Free Foundation

PHOTO CREDIT: Walk Free Foundation

Slavery still thrives around the world. Although enslavement is a crime under international law, and prohibited in every country, recent estimates put the number of slaves alive today at between 20, 900 000 and 45, 800 000. 5, 500 000 are children.

Wherever you are, there are slaves—because despite the global prohibition on slavery people are exploited in every country. Modern slaves can be found in ISIS-run slave markets in Syria.

In the Congo: men, women and children are compelled by militias to mine minerals for our smartphones. Burmese migrants are trapped on Thai fishing boats and forced to fish seafood that ends up on our supermarket shelves. In West Africa, enslaved children pick cocoa for our chocolate. Workers, in bondage in South Asia, are used to make our dirt-cheap t-shirts.
 Impakter, SDG, Freedom Fund PHOTO CREDIT: Audrey Guichon / Freedom Fund

No state can effectively tackle modern slavery on its own. As Pope Francis has noted, slavery is a; “global phenomenon which exceeds the competence of any one community or country.”

TACKLING SLAVERY TO PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT

Slavery thrives because it can be hugely profitable to its perpetrators. The International labor Organization estimates the profits from slavery at $150, 000 000 000 annually. But while perpetrators profit, communities and states bear a huge cost, in addition to that imposed directly on the victims.

Slavery shackles development. It drives down local wages and productivity, suppresses tax revenues, and removes valuable human capital from the economy. As a result, we all bear the costs of slavery.

This also means, however, that fighting slavery is smart development policy. World leaders recognized this when they adopted a new target in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7 (Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor) at the United Nations—to end modern slavery and forced labor by 2030.

Related article: “THE ROCKY ROAD TO HUMAN RIGHTS: THE SDGS ARE ONLY PART OF THE SOLUTION”

How is that going to happen?

The good news is that we already know quite a bit about the steps that need to be taken to tackle this evil.

Slavery is a product of vulnerability arising from: social exclusion, income shocks, illiteracy, low educational levels, state instability, conflict, high corruption levels, or insecure immigration status.

SDGarticle3 PHOTO CREDIT: Audrey Guichon / Freedom Fund

We can reduce vulnerability to slavery by: improving access to education, credit, food, health care, land, wage regulation, women’s rights, safe migration and recruitment, rehabilitation services and through strengthened law enforcement.

The challenge now is to systematically tackle the drivers of slavery. New sources of funding for anti-slavery efforts, especially from the private sector, can help. But research makes clear that private action and public regulation have the biggest impact in this field when they work together.

The UN has provided leadership in combating slavery, forced labor and human trafficking over the last century. International criminal tribunals are also helping explain how the norms against slavery apply in contemporary conditions. But these international efforts are fragmented and poorly coordinated, weakening their effectiveness.

Today the UN system provides limited political leadership to sustain anti-slavery efforts in the face of vested and corrupt interests. Most interventions act at a local level and are not connected, failing to address global supply-chain issues. And interventions are haphazardly funded and often not driven by global data sharing and analysis. International anti-slavery efforts do not effectively bring together the different levers of development policy, on trade regulation, on peace and security and in international criminal justice, and through engagement with business.

A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP TO END SLAVERY
Impakter, SDG, Freedom Fund PHOTO CREDIT: Ginny Baumann/Freedom Fund

Slavery will only end if we effectively use all the levers available to us. To do this we need to establish a: global partnership of states and UN organizations and representatives of business, workers and frontline organizations—all key actors in the fight against this crime. The purpose of the partnership would be to mobilize this constituency to achieve ambitious shared goals, foremost among them being the eradication of slavery by 2030, and measurement of progress towards that goal in the interim.

The International labor Organization has proposed establishing such a partnership—to be called Alliance 8.7: (Joining forces globally to end child labor, forced labor, modern slavery and human trafficking)—and which would have exactly these goals. The Alliance is beginning to attract interest and support from member states, UN agencies and other groups, and deserves support.

This Alliance partnership should foster innovation through pooled investment in data, research, development, and dissemination. It should measure how much progress is being made (or not) to reduce slavery and forced labor.

It should help coordinate efforts to protect global supply chains against slavery by creating roadmaps to help states and global brands and retailers undertake reforms.

It could lower the transaction costs for communities, countries and companies looking for anti-slavery assistance. And it should encourage support for local organizations working on the frontlines of the fight against slavery, as key drivers of the systems change required to tackle this extreme exploitation.

A successful partnership will also require leadership—especially from governments, the UN and regional organizations. We need to make slavery a focus of integrated multilateral efforts, if we are going to end it by 2030.

The UN secretary-general should appoint a time-bound Special Coordinator on Modern Slavery, to work across the different silos within the UN, and with member states, to help build the Alliance over the next two years. States should make ending modern slavery a focus at the UN, taking action within the UN General Assembly and Economic and Social Council.

Bringing together all of these levers will drive real progress against the ambitious goal of eradicating slavery by 2030.

It will ensure that millions of girls and boys will escape the fate of Maya, and be able to live free from the extreme exploitation and violence they would otherwise endure.

That’s what sustainable development is really about.

Recommended reading: “A SHORT HISTORY OF THE SDGS”

EDITOR’S NOTE: THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE BY IMPAKTER.COM COLUMNISTS ARE THEIR OWN, NOT THOSE OF IMPAKTER.COM. FEATURED PHOTO CREDIT: Video screenshot, “The Freedom Fund: Galvanizing Resources to End Slavery by Humanity United”/ Freedom Fund
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About the Author /

Nick is the inaugural CEO of the Freedom Fund. The Fund is an ambitious effort to mobilise the knowledge and capital needed to end modern slavery. It was launched by President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2013, who declared at the time, “This is a huge deal and we should all support this.” In its first two and a half years of operation the Freedom Fund has worked with some 100 frontline partners around the world to liberate some 9,000 people from slavery and return over 24,000 at risk children back to school. Overall, its programs have positively impacted the lives of over 200,000 of those most vulnerable to exploitation. Previously, Nick was the CEO of the Walk Free Foundation, a leading international actor in the fight against modern slavery, and before that he was the Deputy President and COO of the International Crisis Group, the world’s leading conflict prevention NGO. Nick is a lawyer by background and worked as Chief of Staff and National Security Adviser to the Australian Attorney-General from 1999-2001.

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The food industry is coming under increasing scrutiny for its environmental impact, from greenhouse gas emissions, to excessive and detrimental land and water usage, to chemical pollution. Given the challenge of feeding a growing world population whilst simultaneously needing to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts, clearly we need to look at alternatives to “dinner as usual”. The contribution of livestock to global greenhouse emissions is estimated at between 14.5 – 18%. Fortunately, there are companies who are tackling this challenge head on and looking at how emissions from food production can be reduced. With consumer interest increasing in alternatives to meat and other protein sources, we’ve spoken to the founders of three companies. From the seemingly futuristic to the rediscovery of superfood trees, each company tackles this new drive in consumer interest in different ways.

Solar Foods, Finland

Dr Pasi Vainnika is the CEO and co-founder of Solar Foods. The slogan of the company is “Food out of thin air”. Pasi was formerly in charge of the single largest renewable energy program in Finland. However, when he found out that 20-25% of the emissions come from food, he realized that emissions from this sector needed to be addressed, as well as those in the energy sector. But with the growth in affordable and renewable energy – particularly solar energy– it led him and his team to question the possibility of producing food solely from energy, carbon dioxide, and water. It turns out, the answer is yes. Solein is a unique single cell protein. It is produced using a fully natural fermentation process like that of the production of yeast or lactic acid bacteria. The powder, which is produced from the process, is 50% protein, 5-10% fat and 20-25% carbohydrate. Most likely, the first product to reach the consumer market will be a replacement in existing plant-based foods. For example, using Solein in shakes or as an alternative to dairy in milks, yogurts, and even in breads and pasta. In the future, a lasagna could include the protein in all aspects of the recipe: the sauce, in the pasta sheets, and in the filling. Further into the future, there is also the possibility that it could be used as the basis for cultured meat production.
In the Photo: Solein Can be used in smoothies as a protein alternative. Photo Credit: Shawn Fields - Unsplash
To produce a kilo of the protein powder takes 10 liters of water in comparison to the 2500 liters of water for a kilo of soy or 15,500 liters for a kilo of beef. Electricity is the main raw material, and the plan is to source this from renewable energy sources. Additionally, Solein binds carbon dioxide rather than emitting it, easing pressure on land use. The product is currently going through regulatory checks and testing at the moment, with a plan to launch in 2021. NASA and the Soviet Union space programs had started to investigate in similar protein production for their expeditions in the past, but Solar Foods has brought it down to earth.

Higher Steaks, United Kingdom

Whilst some people are switching to plant-based diets and others have reduced their meat consumption, some others still want to keep meat in their diets but are looking for more environmentally friendly options. This is where lab-based meat comes in. Benjamina Bollag, CEO and co-founder of Higher Steaks, a UK-based company, believes that it is important to provide alternatives to meat with a lower carbon footprint, but that taste as close as possible to the real thing. She believes that the change required in human behavior to cut emissions will not happen fast enough otherwise. This approach is confirmed by research they have conducted. 52% of respondents confirmed that they would switch from conventional meat to the Higher Steaks alternative, with 21% saying they would prefer a plant-based diet. There are different ways of producing lab-based meat. The process that Higher Steaks is developing is based on pluripotent stem cells, which are taken from a small skin patch or blood sample. The meat that is grown is then shaped into products. Currently, Higher Steaks is working primarily on pork products.
In Photo: Higher Steaks will eventually release pork as its first lab-cultured meat. Photo Credit: Yvonne Lee Harijanto - Unsplash
The company has yet to conduct a lifecycle assessment of the lab-grown meat, but given the high levels of environmental impact from meat production, it should be safe to say that Higher Steaks products will be more sustainable. In addition, as Benjamina explains, other advantages include the avoidance of antibiotic use, resulting in a product which is better for the consumer as well. The level of fat can also be adjusted, depending on consumer preference. The company is working to have the first products in shops within 3-5 years.

Barukas, Brazil

Barukas proves that you don’t always to have to look to the future for more sustainable food sources. Sometimes it is about rediscovering and making available a food source which has been around for a long time to a wider audience. The baruzeiro tree, native to Brazil, has been a long-time source of nutrition for people living in the Cerrado, the vast savannah at the heart of Brazil. The tree produces a fruit, which contains the baru nut. It was the nutritional profile of the baru nut that initially attracted Seth Tuckerman, who had formerly been the COO of Beachbody, a fitness business. The nuts are high in protein, fiber, minerals, and are lower in fat than typical nuts. The taste is often described as a cross between peanuts and almonds. In fact, Tuckerman’s immediate thought on tasting them was “low calorie almonds”. Tuckerman’s passion is not only about the positive health benefits, but also about the trees and the mutual benefits for the communities where they grew.
In Photo: Baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas
Tuckerman became a co-founder of Barukas Incorporated. They are on a mission to plant 20 million baruzeiro trees – as a start. The trees need little water and – as native trees – they are already ideally suited to the Cerrado conditions. First, Barukas must prove that there is a market for the fruit of the existing trees. As such, the company is encouraging those living in the Cerrado to collect the nuts by guaranteeing to buy them, then creating customer demand for the nuts. Collecting the fruit from existing trees helps to preserve them from being cleared for intensive and invasive agricultural methods such as soy plantations. Likewise, planting new trees helps to reverse the deforestation of Cerrado. A report by the Climate Observatory estimated that the destruction of surface vegetation in the Cerrado released 248 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. This is roughly two-and-half times the annual tailpipe emissions from all cars in Brazil.
In Photo: Closer look at the baruzeiro tree. Photo Credit: Barukas.
From talking with these three pioneers, it is now clearer than ever that we need multiple solutions to address how to sustainably feed a growing population. We need to cut the carbon emissions and reduce other environmental impacts such as water and land use associated with food production. Some of these solutions are a little way off in the future, but others are available now. We are what we eat, but our choices will increasingly determine what kind of future we will live in as well.   EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com.
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