Lidl introduces the first fair and sustainable cashew nut

Way to Go Cashew is the first fair and sustainable cashew nut. In developing Way to Go Cashew, Lidl worked together with Fairtrade and Johnny Cashew Nederland. In addition to the cashews being fully Fairtrade certified, and the farmers receiving a fixed Fairtrade price and Fairtrade premium, Lidl also pays an additional premium. And the route taken by the cashew nut is considerably more sustainable.

What people often do not know when eating cashews is the journey the ‘regular’ cashew nut has made. 90% of all African cashews in Dutch shops are first shipped to Asia to be shelled there. That is a detour of 12,000 kilometres!

By processing the cashews locally, an end is put to these detour cashews, reducing CO2 emissions from transport by 57%. It also creates jobs, and a larger share of the added value remains in Africa, as around 400 farmers from Tanzania—part of the first Fairtrade-certified cashew cooperative in East Africa—are involved in producing this cashew nut.

Way to Go cashews are available in two varieties: Unsalted & Unroasted and Salted & Roasted. Both bags cost € 2.49 (175 grams). Unroasted nuts (raw) have not been processed and contain only the nutrients naturally present. Roasted nuts are nuts that have been fried in oil. Because the nuts are roasted at a high temperature, they contain slightly fewer vitamins and minerals than raw nuts. This does not make much difference to their health benefits. Since nuts already contain a lot of healthy unsaturated fats, they absorb virtually no additional oil. Roasted nuts therefore contain approximately as much fat as raw nuts.