When it comes to achieving high ethical standards, the largest food companies in the U.S. and overseas are sorely lacking.

A new report (pdf) from Oxfam found that leading global brands like Nestlé, Mars and Coca-Cola do a poor job of protecting farmers, local communities and the environment.

The charity ranked the 10 biggest food companies after examining their performance in these categories: transparency of supply chains and operations; protecting the rights of workers; ensuring women’s rights; managing water use; managing land use; policies to reduce the impacts of climate change; and protecting the rights of the farmers who grow their ingredients.

Coming in dead last was British food giant Associated British Foods, owner of Ovaltine and other brands with 13 points on a scale of 70. Next to last were Kellogg's and General Mills, with both scoring 16 points. Nestlé made the top of the list with 36 points, with Unilever close behind at 34.

“Consumers have the right to know how their food has been produced and the impact this has on the world's poorest people who are growing the ingredients,” Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking told The Guardian. “The hundreds of brands lining supermarket shelves are predominantly owned by just 10 huge companies, which have combined revenues of more than $1 billion a day while one-in-eight people go to bed hungry every night.”

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Oxfam Reveals Global Food Firms' Gaping Ethical Shortfalls (by Damian Carrington, The Guardian)

Behind the Brands: Food Justice and the ‘Big 10’ Food and Beverage Companies (Oxfam) (pdf)

Huge Food Companies File Antitrust Complaint against Huge Egg Companies (by David Wallechinsky, AllGov)

Federal Government Allows more than 250 Nonorganic Substances to be Added to “Organic” Foods (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)