As Fonterra\u2019s CEO Miles Hurrell resigns after eight years, Greenpeace warns that his successor has been left with a toxic mess to clean up.<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace Agriculture Campaigner Sin\u00e9ad Deighton-O\u2019Flynn says, \u201cHurrell\u2019s made millions, while the dirty dairy industry has poisoned rural communities\u2019 drinking water and trashed lakes and rivers. Now he\u2019s taking the money and running.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cUnder Miles\u2019 leadership, Fonterra has been making a killing selling cheap and dirty milk powder overseas, while selling out New Zealanders and destroying the environment. Whoever steps in to fill Hurrell\u2019s shows has a big mess to clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace warns that it\u2019s not just Miles Hurrell who\u2019s the problem – Fonterra\u2019s entire business model is failing.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cUnder Fonterra\u2019s intensive dairying model there are so many cows crammed into paddocks that the land can\u2019t sustain them all. So the industry relies heavily on destructive imported inputs, like synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and palm kernel expeller, to feed all of the cows. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cNot only are these inputs harmful to the people and the environment, they\u2019re becoming more expensive and less reliable due to global shocks, as we\u2019re seeing with fertiliser stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. This puts Fonterra\u2019s farmers in an increasingly vulnerable position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Greenpeace says that New Zealand\u2019s food systems need to change, and is calling for the new Fonterra CEO to support a transition away from intensive livestock farming, towards more regenerative, ecological farming practices.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFonterra claims to \u2018feed the world\u2019, but right now, it\u2019s not even feeding New Zealanders. Most of what Fonterra produces is milk powder for chocolate and potato chips, meanwhile people can\u2019t afford to buy butter at the grocery store.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe need resilient food systems that actually feed New Zealanders. It\u2019s time to transform the way we farm in Aotearoa. We need fewer cows, less fertiliser use, and a transition towards ecological agriculture practices – which are better for the planet, and better for us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Fonterra\u2019s CEO Miles Hurrell resigns after eight years, Greenpeace warns that his successor has been left with a toxic mess to clean up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":59757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[16,19],"p4-page-type":[7],"class_list":["post-76114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-climate","tag-food-and-farming","p4-page-type-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\n