Greenpeace Activists Halt Palm Kernel Unloading in Taranaki

In a significant protest at Taranaki, Greenpeace Aotearoa activists have successfully occupied a storage facility belonging to Agrifeeds, the leading palm kernel supplier for Fonterra. The activists halted the unloading of a shipment carrying 30,000 tonnes of palm kernel expeller from Indonesia, aiming to draw attention to environmental concerns.

The organization accuses the use of palm kernel as animal feed on Fonterra farms of contributing to illegal palm plantations responsible for deforestation across Southeast Asia's rainforests. Two activists have locked themselves to pillars within the facility, effectively preventing further unloading while a team unfurled a 500 square metre banner on the roof tagging Fonterra's Anchor butter as a 'rainforest killer'.

Greenpeace spokesperson Sinéad Deighton-O'Flynn criticized Fonterra for marketing its Anchor butter as 'grass-fed', describing it as misleading. She emphasized the detrimental environmental impact, highlighting how rainforests are destroyed and replaced with palm plantations to sustain Fonterra's dairy herd.

Another activist, Danika Plowman, pleaded for an end to this practice, stating, "Rainforests and the wildlife that inhabit them should not be destroyed to feed to dairy cows here in New Zealand." Deighton-O'Flynn further revealed links between the facility and illegal palm plantations, calling on Fonterra to stop concealing actions through "greenwash" and to genuinely address its role in deforestation.

The protesters demand a total ban on using palm kernel as animal feed by Fonterra across New Zealand, suggesting the company has not adequately taken responsibility for its environmental footprint.