Taranaki: Greenpeace Activists Stop Unloading Of Palm Kernel Sourced From Indonesian Rainforests

Greenpeace Aotearoa activists in Taranaki have occupied the storage facility of Fonterra’s biggest palm kernel supplier Agrifeeds this morning, stopping a ship from Indonesia carrying 30 thousand tonnes of palm kernel expeller from unloading.

The organisation says that it is protesting against the use of palm kernel as cow feed on Fonterra farms due to the product’s links to illegal palm plantations and deforestation of paradise rainforests in Southeast Asia.

Inside the facility, two activists have locked themselves to pillars, preventing trucks of feed from unloading. Meanwhile, a team on the roof has unfurled a 500 square metre banner labelling the Fonterra butter brand Anchor as a ‘rainforest killer’.

Greenpeace spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn is inside the facility and says, "Fonterra markets its Anchor butter as ‘grass-fed’, but this is a deception. Every year, dairy cows in New Zealand are eating almost two million tonnes of palm kernel imported from Southeast Asia.

"Rainforests are being burned, peatlands are being drained, and rows of palm trees are being planted in their place to feed Fonterra’s oversized dairy herd."

Greenpeace activist Danika Plowman, also inside the storage facility, says, "Rainforests and the wildlife that inhabit them should not be destroyed to feed to dairy cows here in New Zealand. We’re here to tell Fonterra to end the use of palm kernel and cut its ties to deforestation now."

Deighton-O’Flynn says, "Just this year, this facility was linked to illegal palm plantations in Indonesia, connecting Anchor butter and other Fonterra products with the destruction of lush rainforests and the wildlife that depend on them.

"Fonterra has failed to take accountability for the deforestation in its supply chain, and instead has tried to hide behind greenwash, by falsely claiming that its products are "grass-fed".

"No one should have to worry about whether the butter they are spreading on their toast is fuelling deforestation and driving orangutans towards extinction. We are calling on Fonterra to stop its greenwash and cut its ties to deforestation. "

"As more and more evidence emerges of New Zealand’s link to destructive palm kernel, Fonterra must ban the use of this blood-soaked animal feed on all their farms across Aotearoa."

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