{"id":68322,"date":"2025-02-11T11:14:37","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T22:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=68322"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:18:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T22:18:47","slug":"fonterra-quietly-removes-100-grass-fed-label-from-anchor-butter-as-greenpeace-lawsuit-approaches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/press-release\/fonterra-quietly-removes-100-grass-fed-label-from-anchor-butter-as-greenpeace-lawsuit-approaches\/","title":{"rendered":"Fonterra quietly removes \u2018100% grass-fed\u2019 label from Anchor butter as Greenpeace lawsuit approaches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Greenpeace Aotearoa says new legal documents from Fonterra Brands reveal that the dairy giant has removed labels from its Anchor butter packaging which Greenpeace says falsely claimed that Fonterra dairy cows are \u2018100% New Zealand grass-fed\u2019.<\/p>\n\n

Greenpeace spokesperson Sin\u00e9ad Deighton-O\u2019Flynn says, \u201cIn an undeniable admission of guilt, Fonterra Brands has changed the logo on its Anchor butter packaging since we filed suit against it. But this case doesn\u2019t end here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

In late September 2024, Greenpeace announced that it was suing Fonterra for false claims on the dairy giant\u2019s Anchor Butter packaging, which claimed to be \u2018100% New Zealand grass-fed\u2019. The lawsuit was met with vehement denial from the dairy giant, despite the fact that its own grass-fed standard, available online, allows for up to 20% of a cow\u2019s diet by dry matter volume to be palm kernel.<\/p>\n\n

However, Fonterra Brands\u2019 statement of defence has revealed that since the lawsuit was announced, it has removed the contested logo from the butter packaging, in a move Greenpeace says is an admission of guilt. The logo now reads \u2018grass-fed\u2019. <\/p>\n\n

\u201cFonterra Brands markets its products as clean, green and grass-fed because they know that people care about nature and climate change. But Fonterra is Aotearoa\u2019s worst climate polluter and is feeding the oversized dairy herd palm kernel – a product produced by the destructive oil palm industry which is destroying rainforests and contributing to climate change,\u201d says Deighton-O\u2019Flynn.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFonterra\u2019s own terms of supply allow for up to 20% of a dairy cow\u2019s diet to be palm kernel while still being classified as grass-fed. Fonterra Brands has confirmed this in its statement of defence. Yet its new Anchor butter packaging still retains the claim that it is \u2018grass-fed\u2019, without specifying that Fonterra has its own definition of what grass-fed means.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cNew Zealanders really care about nature. We don\u2019t want to be buying butter that is linked to the destruction of paradise rainforests in Southeast Asia and is fueling  climate change.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cIf Fonterra won\u2019t see the signs and change their practices voluntarily, then they should expect consumers both here and around the world to force their hand,\u201d says Deighton-O\u2019Flynn.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cFonterra may have changed its branding to remove the \u2018100%\u2019 claim, but this is still not enough while it continues to mislead\u00a0customers with this grass-fed greenwash. We\u2019ll be continuing our lawsuit and holding Fonterra to account over its use of palm kernel to feed the oversized dairy herd.\u201d<\/p>\n\n