Awareness raising on animal feed and soy in the Netherlands Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands Awareness raising on animal feed and soy

Awareness raising on animal feed and soy in the Netherlands

Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands




• Michiel van Geelen

• Food & Agriculture Campaign

• Main campaign: Factory farming of pigs and chicken

Agriculture in the Netherlands• In value the the worlds largest agricultural

exporter of the world after the US & France.


Factory farming in the Netherlands

• Highest amount of livestockper hectare

• The Netherlands 'produces' 450 million animals yearly

• The amount of land needed to feed those animals is 3 times the size of the Netherlands


Impacts of factory farming pigs and chickens• Pollution of water, air and soil

by manure (ammonia, nitrates etc.)

• Deforestation, social missery and polution in countries producing the animal feed (soy)

• Very low animal welfare


Awareness raising on soy and factory farming

• Situation in 2004: Soy?? Isn't that what vegetarians eat?

• Start of factory farming campaign

• Milieudefensie joined the Dutch Soy Coalition

• 2005 / 2006 Campaign 'No forest destruction for meat production

• 2006 / 2007 Campaign for a citizens initiative: 'Stop factory farming'


No forest destruction for meat production• Research following 'dirty' soy from

the Amazon to the port of Amsterdam, 2005

• Press launch of the researchresults and the campaign on a boatin the port of Amsterdam, 2005

• Naming & shaming campaign targettingVION Food group 2005-2006


'Dirty soy' chain of custody research• Two local NGO's researched impacts and

followed soy to two ports in the Amazon between March and Oktober 2005

• Impacts included: illegal deforestation, slavery, violent land expropriation, pollution and violation of environmental legislation

• Eight shiploads totalling 350.000 tons of soy where exported to Cargill crushing plant in Amsterdam

• 'Dirty soy' linked to all major Dutch feed producers > VION > all major supermarkets


Press launch on a boat in front of Cargill crushing factory Amsterdam, November 2005


Naming & shaming VION

• 26.000 people send an action card to VION asking them to stop processing animals fed with 'dirty soy'




Naming & shaming VION

• 26.000 people send an action card to VION asking them to stop processing animals fed with 'dirty soy'

• First reaction denial of problem and responsibility

• Announcement to blockade VION's main Dutch slaughterhouse with Amazonian tree trunks

• Vion starts lawsuit to prevent blockade and wins Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands

Campaign for a citizens initiative:Stop factory farming!• What is a citizens initiative?

• Plan to reform the factoryfarming sector

• 107.000 people in 3 months

• Parliament rejected most of the proposals...

• Except measures to reduce impacts of soy imports


Current situation • Issue has been put firmly on the agenda of

media, general public, government and companies

• Media: hundreds of articles, radio & TV items mentioning the soy – animal feed link

• General public: opinion poll > 1 out of 6 is aware

• Government: 5 binding requests from parliament to government to take measures

• Companies: few are buying 'sustainable' soy, most joined the Round Table on Responsible Soy...


More awareness and pressure is needed...

>> Feeding & Fuelling Europe!!!Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands

Documents

Awareness raising on animal feed and soy in the Netherlands Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands Awareness raising on animal feed and soy