Today has been a whirlwind. After months of planning Oxfam America has gone public with the Behind the Brands campaign and scorecard, and it couldn't be more exciting. 
Oxfam’s GROW campaign aims to build a better food system: one that sustainably feeds a growing population (estimated to reach nine billion by 2050) and empowers poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive. One of the ways in which we are taking action is holding companies and governments accountable for the impacts of their policies and practices on global food security. So Oxfam spent 18 months looking closely at how the top 10 food companies report that they do business. Then, we created an easy-to-use scorecard comparing and contrasting companies’ policies and commitments. We discovered that all 10 need to do a whole lot more to support farmers, communities, and our planet
You can help too, we're aiming for 1000 online hits today. Every time you share the website on Facebook, email to a friend, or tweet using #BehindtheBrands you are helping spread the message that you are a powerful consumer and are demanding change. Some sample tweets and posts include:
- The world’s largest food companies have a lot of power – but you have more. Tell them to do their part to fix the broken food system. http://bit.ly/ZcXnx0
- The world produces enough food to feed everyone, yet one in eight still go hungry every day. We must hold the top food & beverage companies accountable for the impacts of their policies on global food security! Find out the truth behind the brands and take action at http://bit.ly/ZcXnx0
The Oxfam Action Corps has played an integral role already in publicizing Behind the Brands throughout the US. Throughout the day on February 26th Action Corps members raised awareness at the offices of 6 of the top 10 brands being targeted: Mondelez in Chicago, Pepsico in Purchase, NY, and General Mills in Minneapolis just to begin.
Actions are already proving powerful! Many of the companies targeted have already begun responding, here a couple of samples, from both ends of the spectrum:
"We [Mars] look forward to strengthening our approach involving women in the community
development process and continuing to ensure that women in cocoa communities
are fully empowered to participate equally alongside the many other diverse
groups in West African society."
"Kellogg’s is committed to working more closely with the farmers who grow our grains to drive improvements in sustainability and we have a zero tolerance policy against forced labour. Clearly the ratings in the Oxfam report show us we need do more and we will be reviewing them in detail"
But we are just getting started.
Connect with your local Action Corps to see how you can become a part of the solution.
Let's go Behind the Brands!
