Grass has finally received a response today, (18 Sept, 2014), from the Woolworths Corporate Communications Manager, Woolworths Marketing:
Please see response below to your recent comments about Woolworth dairy practices. Please quote Woolworths.
Woolworths dairy team has engaged with Grass for well over 20 months on concerns regarding our dairy farming practices.
We have made a lot of information available in various meetings and via email. We have also issued a statement and produced a video explaining our dairy farming practices to our customers.
We stand by the statement and video that outlines our position very clearly and we’re reluctant to engage in further ongoing discussion.
We remain concerned, however, about the confusion Grass has created among customers and would like to correct the inaccuracies in your response:
1. Woolworths has not misled customers. We have changed labels due to feedback, legislative amendments and changes in our supply base.
2. We try hard to conduct business in an open and transparent manner, and the many months of engagement with yourselves is evidence of that.
3. We currently have 4 organic milk suppliers, 2 in the Western Cape, 1 in the Free State and 1 in Gauteng. At the moment, all the cows on our organic milk suppliers’ farms are reared on pasture only. If the pasture is not nutritionally sufficient, organic grains may be added to the livestock’s diet.
4. In most instances we exceed minimum standards to meet our strict quality standards. We subscribe to EU standards if there are no agreed local standards. These practices are independently audited by accredited organisations.
5. Homsek processes organic milk for Woolworths but they are not one of our organic milk farmers.
Woolworths will continue to work with, and learn from, organisations such as Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and WWF to approach dairy farming scientifically and benchmarked against the best international practices.
We will continue to do the best we can to protect the welfare of cows and other farm animals.
The statement and video are available at: http://woolies.me/5L60
Any further information will also be available at this link.
Then another mail followed shortly after.....
I have included a link in the last statement I sent you.
We have addressed many of the questions you have asked and we will be adding more information when necessary.
Please visit the link regularly to check for updates and further information on the issue.
Please see response below to your recent comments about Woolworth dairy practices. Please quote Woolworths.
Woolworths dairy team has engaged with Grass for well over 20 months on concerns regarding our dairy farming practices.
We have made a lot of information available in various meetings and via email. We have also issued a statement and produced a video explaining our dairy farming practices to our customers.
We stand by the statement and video that outlines our position very clearly and we’re reluctant to engage in further ongoing discussion.
We remain concerned, however, about the confusion Grass has created among customers and would like to correct the inaccuracies in your response:
1. Woolworths has not misled customers. We have changed labels due to feedback, legislative amendments and changes in our supply base.
2. We try hard to conduct business in an open and transparent manner, and the many months of engagement with yourselves is evidence of that.
3. We currently have 4 organic milk suppliers, 2 in the Western Cape, 1 in the Free State and 1 in Gauteng. At the moment, all the cows on our organic milk suppliers’ farms are reared on pasture only. If the pasture is not nutritionally sufficient, organic grains may be added to the livestock’s diet.
4. In most instances we exceed minimum standards to meet our strict quality standards. We subscribe to EU standards if there are no agreed local standards. These practices are independently audited by accredited organisations.
5. Homsek processes organic milk for Woolworths but they are not one of our organic milk farmers.
Woolworths will continue to work with, and learn from, organisations such as Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and WWF to approach dairy farming scientifically and benchmarked against the best international practices.
We will continue to do the best we can to protect the welfare of cows and other farm animals.
The statement and video are available at: http://woolies.me/5L60
Any further information will also be available at this link.
Then another mail followed shortly after.....
I have included a link in the last statement I sent you.
We have addressed many of the questions you have asked and we will be adding more information when necessary.
Please visit the link regularly to check for updates and further information on the issue.