“The claim did not put in issue the question of whether or not the phrase ‘grass-fed’ on its own was misleading, and Fonterra makes no admission that the words ‘grass-fed’ in isolation are likely to mislead.”
Fonterra said its definition of grass was consistent with the grass-fed feed types in the New Zealand Dairy Grass Fed Administrative Standard.
It said farmers’ cows are 96% grass-fed, with “grass” defined as including grass, grass silage, hay and forage crops (including brassicas and legumes).
Greenpeace spokeswoman Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn said it was an “open-and-shut case of greenwashing”.
“Fonterra claimed that its Anchor Butter was ‘100% New Zealand grass-fed’, but that isn’t true. Fonterra dairy cows can be fed up to three kilograms of palm kernel a day – an imported feed linked to rainforest destruction.
“Palm kernel is a dry, gravelly cow feed that comes from the destroyed paradise rainforests of Southeast Asia. It isn’t grass, and to claim otherwise is misleading and deceptive.”