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7 ‘Social licence’ rebuke as banks hedge Vol 22 No 34 | September 2, 2024
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Macca’s adds to NZ order: hold the GHG Neal Wallace
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EEF producers need to address climate change and treating bobby calves as a byproduct, says Andrew Brazier, McDonald’s global supply chain director. Speaking to Farmers Weekly at McDonald’s Chicago headquarters last week, he said New Zealand farmers rate highly for addressing the four key issues in consumer surveys: deforestation, animal health and welfare, antibiotic use and climate change. But that does not excuse NZ farmers from taking action. Brazier said the slaughtering of bobby calves hasn’t yet emerged as a public issue, but could. Meanwhile, consumers consider agriculture, specifically beef production, a significant contributor to climate change. Brazier said McDonald’s has been looking at the sustainability practices of its suppliers for 10 years and, like the food industry in general, needs them to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions footprint. “We want customers to feel good about the food they eat. “If we do not address it, it may not hurt us today, but it could in the future,” Brazier said. McDonald’s is not threatening to take its NZ business elsewhere, but Brazier said consumers’ concerns are growing faster than
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many realise. And beef production powerhouses like Brazil are making significant strides in addressing those issues. Up until 2015, McDonald’s did not buy any beef from the Amazon biome due to deforestation concerns. Brazier said not all farmers in that region were responsible for the deforestation. In return for supplying McDonald’s, farmers provide whole-of-life traceability data for stock and satellite verification of their land to prove they have not been cutting down the rain forest. He said solutions for NZ farmers are equally complicated. Between when a calf is born and McDonald’s takes delivery of ground beef, there have been four to five transactions. The fast-food giant wants to help farmers address these challenges, and globally has more than 200 pilot programmes in proof-ofconcept stage that may assist Continued page 3
Sock factory town lands on its feet Norsewear quality controller of 33 years Sharon Doreen has checked more than 10 million pairs of socks during her time with the company in Norsewood, southern Hawke’s Bay, which was purchased last year by business entrepreneur Tim Deane.
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Cashmere goats a profitable soft option
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Woolyarns manager Andy May says NZ has an opportunity to increase its cashmere fibre production, which the market wants because of the country’s farming capability and integrity.
SHEEP & BEEF 18-23 Synlait co-founder John Penno says a better deal is possible for the struggling company.
There’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon for droughtstricken North Canterbury farmers.
The question of just who gets to be a contender is itself hotly contested, writes Daniel Eb.
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