UPDATE: The video has been viewed over 70,000 times since launch 7 days ago and we've celebrated by re-launching it on a brand new website at www.fonterra-secrets.com
Yesterday we launched a cheeky milk advertisement for Fonterra.
Only 48 hours later more than 32,000 people have watched it on youtube. It’s spreading through facebook and twitter like wildfire. The ad has made an appearance on several blogs, it’s been talked about on Radio New Zealand and is being picked up in the media here and here.
Almost 5000 people have emailed Fonterra directly and many have posted questions on the Fonterra facebook page.
But Fonterra have so far remained tight lipped - other than to say it is “preserving all options” and they were ”not happy with the misuse of their logo”.
This only goes to show that it has no real answer to the core issue - the fact that it is linked to rainforest destruction.
The ad graphically illustrates Fonterra’s connection to Indonesian rainforest destruction through its use of palm kernel. Fonterra has yet to deny that the majority of palm kernel fed to its dairy herd comes from an unsustainable trade that threatens the home of critically endangered orangutan, the livelihoods of local communities and the forests and peatlands crucial to combating climate change.
Deforestation for palm plantation
A view of young palm trees in Telen subdistrict, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Its failure to own up to this ugly truth has only drawn greater scrutiny and outrage at its intensive industrial dairying approach.
In a statement on its website Fonterra admit that palm kernel has a value and is therefore not a waste product. And by acknowledging the need for sustainable certification it is accepting that the majority of its palm kernel is currently coming from rainforest destruction conceding that only a small fraction of palm kernel could even possibly have come from a sustainable source.
Fonterra is fast becoming a black mark against New Zealand’s clean, green reputation. Other companies such as Nestle, Cadbury and Burger King have responded to concerns about deforestation by suspending the supply of unsustainable palm products from companies link to deforestation. For some reason Fonterra thinks that it is above this making a mockery of its claims that it is a responsible company to do business with and threatening New Zealand’s valuable but now rather fragile reputation as a clean, green producer.
Boo Fonterra!
Take Action
You can take action now by sharing the video on Facebook and sending a message direct to Fonterra via a review on their Facebook page http://on.fb.me/doOgRd
Fonterra Environment Policy
Note: A search for " fonterra environment policy " reveals an interesting result.