TV Star Heads CAFOD's Ethical Gold Campaign This Valentine's Day

Casualty star Ben Price - "nasty Nathan" in the TV drama - is spreading the love this Valentine's Day as he supports the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development's (CAFOD) campaign for ethical gold and asking others to join him.

On screen, tough-hearted hospital manager Nathan Spencer's romantic life is in dire straits. But in real life, the actor behind nasty Nathan is showing his caring side this Valentine's Day by supporting CAFOD's Unearth Justice campaign to end the suffering caused by gold mining in developing countries.

"I'll be sending my wife CAFOD's Valentine card," said Ben. "Inside is the gold pledge, which asks for gold not to be produced at the expense of poor people and their environment."

CAFOD is looking for 50,000 signed pledges or emails by April 1 to present to the National Association of Goldsmiths, the trade body for jewellers in the UK, to give greater say to the communities directly affected by gold mining.

Ben said: "If enough people sign the gold pledge we can get governments and UK businesses to give poor communities much greater say in whether gold is mined, how it is mined, and who benefits.

"We want to show how much the public want to choose responsibly-sourced gold."

A recent CAFOD/YouGov poll showed two out of three people (65 per cent) believe gold mining companies should be responsible for limiting any environmental damage caused by their operations.

And more than one in four (28 per cent) claim they would buy Fairtrade gold on sale, even if it meant paying more.

Leonardo DiCaprio and the film Blood Diamond have recently highlighted the misery caused by diamond mining in Africa. CAFOD is now hoping Christians will give greater consideration to the gold in their rings and necklaces as a result of their campaign.

The charity's research in developing countries has revealed the hidden harm caused by gold mining. All too often, it said, mining leads to ruined lands, polluted waters, and deadly conflict.

Sonya Maldar, CAFOD's extractives analyst, said, "It's now up to the retailers to work within the industry to ensure that the gold they sell is produced without harming people and devastating the environment."

To sign the pledge against unethically sourced gold click HERE