The US sold nearly 21 million gallons of grapefruit juice to other countries from January to September 1999.
[Source - Foodnews, January 14th 2000]

Our children were amazed at how complicated it was to get grapefruit juice. They were particularly intrigued that it had to be turned into concentrate for shipping, and was then topped up with water over here. It raised a lot of questions about how far most of our food has to travel, and also about why most of the money gets made by shops and processors, not growers.

Products: Juices, foodstuffs, seed extract and oils for shampoos, shower gels etc.

Where grown: USA, Caribbean [including Belize], Israel

Information sources:

www.agra-food-news.com [for suppliers list]

wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm [Jamaican citrus]

http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/ [search on grapefruit]

www.yahoo.com or http://uk.yahoo.com [you can search on the word "grapefruit" to link to dozens of growers’ sites]

Brazil nuts

Trying to understand the ethical issues surrounding trade was important to us. Were the Body Shop being ethical with their rainforest products, or was Survival International right to claim that they were exploiting nut gatherers and risking the forest?

Products: cereals, chocolate bars and other foodstuffs, extracts used in some bath oils etc.

Where grown: South America - Brazil, Peru.

Information sources:

www.agra-food-news.com [for suppliers list]

www.the-body-shop.com [includes interactive questions and answers web page - plus information on "rainforest products"]

www.survival-international.org [survival international - a critical view]

www.nri.org [tropical forest forum]

www.tradezone.com [aimed at investors]

www.bertholletia.org/bertholletia [Amazon Conservation Association]

http://uk.yahoo.com [a search on "brazil AND nut" uncovers numerous useful websites]

Aloe Vera

One of the big questions for us about Aloe vera in the Dominican Republic was who controlled the process. If local communities could process it as well as produce it, they stood to make more profit, and to do so in a more sustainable way [for example, by composting unused parts of the plant]

Products: Shampoos, moisturisers, conditioners, shower gel, tonic drink.

Where grown: East Africa, Mediterranean, Dominican Republic ...

Information sources:

www.the-body-shop.com [includes interactive questions and answers web page];

www.aloe-vera.org

Palm oil

Who owns the land? Who makes the decisions? Those were the most important questions for us when we looked at palm oil.

Products: Soaps, detergents, palm wine [in West Africa], sweets, snack foods, fuel oil, cooking oil and other goods.

Where grown: West Africa, Malaysia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

Information sources:

VSO [Tel. 0181 780 2266] produce a teaching resource "Solids, liquids and gases using palm oil"

http://uk.yahoo.com [a search for "palm AND oil" uncovers numerous useful websites]

www.corporatewatch.org.uk [for a critical view and onward links to campaigning groups]

www.mpopc.org.my [Malaysian palm oil promotion council]

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