Sustainability Standards Must Give Producers More Opportunities to Help Steer Their Agenda
Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) have emerged and proliferated over the last 3 decades to help address social and environmental challenges associated with how we produce and consume food and goods. Many VSS-setting organizations (VSSSOs) in the agricultural sector seek to improve the livelihoods of producers—by which we mean farmers, farm workers, and factory workers—as part of their mandate. But to what degree do VSSSOs include the people they intend to help in the decisions that affect their lives? Studies suggest not nearly enough.