by frog
In a surprise move, Bill English has called for supermarkets that stock palm oil products to be picketed.
After a series of questions from Russel Norman on New Zealand’s complicity in the devastation of rainforests in South East Asia, Bill stepped up to the plate with his proposal for an environmental campaign:
… the primary driver of value in the palm oil industry is consumer products that are bought every day by New Zealanders in our supermarkets. I look forward to the Greens and Greenpeace picketing those supermarkets, if they really want to stop deforestation.
Great idea Bill – any takers out there??
Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Fri, September 18th, 2009
Tags: Bill English, cliamte change direct action, deputy prime minister, palm kernel, Palm Oil, rainforest
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Interesting. This is exactly what panda was saying yesterday….
Bill English is a terrorist!!! *foam* *foam* *spittle*
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I’m starting at the Dipton General Store.
(It’s where Bill shops, when he’s at home).
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yes frog..but putting yr spin on englishs’ words to one side..
there is more than a (palm)-kernel of truth in what he says…
eh..?
..and an accurate observation on yr ‘selective’/subjective protests on this..
..(and other matters)
..and no..we shouldn’t be importing this crap..
..but..y’know..!
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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Typical of the Nats to put the onus on the consumer, shifting it away from the corporates. Personal responsibility you see. Only we as consumers often don’t have much of a choice when companies are free to control the supply chain, and why it’s appropriate to attack the source where we can.
As an aside, I take it that the Nats will approve of me ripping all the ridiculous packaging off my products and leaving it in the aisles? Personal responsibility.
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Does “the Deputy Prime Minister told me to do it” keep the Police at bay when the supermarkets call them to evict the picketers from their carparks and foyers?
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Really, greenfly!
Surely he shops at the New World on the corner of Karori Road and Campbell Street when he’s at home?
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Come on you guys give it a go.
What a great public relations opportunity.
Be a chance to explain your nanny policies to a mass audience.
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we’ve had our protest about palm oil in chocolate, and they’ve taken the palm oil out. So now it’s time to move on to another product. 2 minute noodles, perhaps?
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So I warrant that Govt. will now be insisting that food manufacturers put large labels on all food products containing Palm Oil to the effect that’ This product contains Palm Oil which destroys Rain Forests so please don’t consume it ‘ Oh Year !!
It’s a rediculous statement from English of course – which consumer could tell what products contain Palm Oil – zero to none would be a fair answer Bill – could you, wherever you shop ?
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- “we as consumers often don’t have much of a choice when companies are free to control the supply chain”
Yeah, except they don’t of course. You and some like-minded people could easily set up a business of your own and source everything the supermarkets do.
But I do agree with your point about the evils of true monopolies. One of the great things about Capitalism is that you can choose who you deal with.
Contrast that with, say, the state provision of education: no matter how appalling your local school, and how much it will blight your children’s future, you still have to send them there.
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Except they don’t of course, they steal a march on the poor & send them to fee paying schools which tend to attract better teachers because they can afford better equipment, & can pay teachers more. Also the ‘state’ schools rely on the wealth of their parents to provide much of the equipment & ‘frills’ that poorer state schools can’t afford., perpetuating the appalling education you speak of that is offered to many state school pupils in poor deprived areas. Fair – No ! a market approach yes !
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dickealy and bigblukiwi,
Actually, it is not the consumers targeted by Bill’s statement and as such the arguements/critiques provided by yourselves are irrelivant.
Bill called for the Greens and GreenPeace, political organizations (yes, all that stuff about GreenPeace being apolitical is total crock) with significant resources, to protest the main driver of the deforestation. This does not require that they know every product which contains palm oil but only that the target supermarket/producer uses it or stocks some products which contain it.
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- “Except they don’t of course, they steal a march on the poor & send them to fee paying schools which tend to attract better teachers because they can afford better equipment, & can pay teachers more.”
For this to be true, results would be correlated with spending. However:
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/09/09/a-picture-is-worth-300-billion/
Also, you are assuming that private schools spend more per child than state schools, yet that is often very far from the case:
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2007/10/private-school-tuition-13-to-12-less.html
If you are interested in improving education then I suggest a scholarship for every child: in other words, a voucher system so that good schools grow and flourish, while bad schools either improve or close down.
The state education monopoly is run for the benefit of members of the teachers’ unions, not the children.
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Have you heard of the new product in south Auckland supermarkets?
2 minute poodles.
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It’s becoming a dog’s breakfast!
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With the Greens and Greenpeace claiming that diary farming is destroying the waterways, should they not protest and boycott supermarkets, dairies, greengrocers, etc. who sell milk?
Comeon guys, be consistant.
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Can’t be every where Gerrit. Mind you, I’m in here.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/opinion/2876122/Water-worries
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So Gerrit, given we have no issue with the concept of dairying, but only those who insist on doing it unsustainably, perhaps you can tell us how your approach would be at all effective, i.e. why should we listen to you?
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“..So Gerrit, given we have no issue with the concept of dairying..”
what’s this ‘we’..?..white-man…?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
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Valis,
No use you listening to me, I’m for too radical for you guys.
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Radical! Sounds like a potential terrorist to me.
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Green Party policy of course.
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Somehow I doubt it.
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