Crumby business practices – or sustainable snacks?
Jo Southall and Bryony Moore ask which biscuit makers deserve a good
dunking.
Party like it’s 1999...
Back
in 1999, genetically modified (GM) food was the dominant issue, with the first
GM food product (tomato paste) having hit UK supermarket shelves a few years
earlier. That was also the year that the EU approved the importation and use
of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soya beans in foods for people and feed for
animals. Consumers in Europe were unimpressed and soon food companies began
to show their support for keeping food GM-free by adopting anti-GM policies.(1)
Today, the issue persists, having been brought to the fore once again when
the recent food crisis was used as a vehicle by those financially involved in
the industry to ram home the madcap suggestion that GM technology could be the
answer to world hunger.
As far as biscuit manufacturers go the major ones we covered in 1999 are very
similar to those we’re looking at now, aside from a few ownership changes.
Groupe Danone owned the brand Jacob’s but by 2009 it’s been gobbled
up by gigantic United Biscuits. The Burton’s brand (Jammie Dodgers, Maryland
Cookies) has also changed ownership from Wittington Investments ten years ago,
to private equity firm Duke Street Capital now.
What is different is the much bigger range of smaller specialist and organic
manufacturers, reflecting the trend towards rapid growth in ethical markets
which we have discussed elsewhere in this issue.
2009, the year of the orang-utan
Ten years later there’s a new environmental monster kicking up a stink
– palm oil. Deforestation to make way for oil palm plantations is common,
destroying the habitats of already threatened orang-utans and increasing the
release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.(5)
When we covered biscuits ten years ago this ingredient wasn’t even mentioned
in Ethical Consumer, but the rapid increase in its use since then has made it
a major issue in the processed foods’ industry. As well as biscuits, palm
oil is found in many other products including soap, chocolate, toothpaste, cosmetics
and muesli.(3) The dramatic expansion of the biofuels industry has added to
demand, which is predicted to more than double by 2030 and to triple by 2050.(4)
Indonesia already has 6 million hectares of oil palm plantations, but has plans
for another 4 million by 2015, dedicated to biofuel production alone.
Companies do not legally have to specifically label palm oil as an ingredient,
and therefore many just refer to it as ‘vegetable oil’. This makes
it very difficult for consumers to avoid the stuff and for companies to be held
accountable for their sourcing policies. However, Sainsbury’s(6) and Stiletto
Foods(7) have made a commitment to transparency by naming palm oil on ingredients
lists.
Industry efforts to convince consumers that they have brought palm plantation
deforestation under control have come through the Roundtable on Sustainable
Palm Oil (RSPO). It was set up in 2001 to establish clear ethical and ecological
standards for producing palm oil, and its members include high-street names
like Unilever, Cadbury’s, Nestlé and Tesco, as well as palm oil
traders such as Cargill and ADM. Together these companies represent 40% of global
palm oil trade.(8)
But according to Greenpeace, forest destruction has continued. Many RSPO members
are taking no steps to avoid the worst practices associated with the industry,
such as large-scale forest clearance and taking land from local people without
their consent. This happens because membership of the RSPO does not require
companies to commit to buy sustainably sourced palm oil, and those that have
made a commitment don’t always stick to it. On top of this, the RSPO actually
risks creating the illusion of sustainable palm oil, justifying the expansion
of the palm oil industry.(8) Greenpeace adds that some RSPO members are actually
directly involved in deforestation.(8)
According to Rodney Taylor, Director of WWF International’s Forests Programme,
figures released in May this year showed that, so far, around 1.3 million tonnes
of certified sustainable palm oil has been produced by RSPO member plantation
companies. Unfortunately, less than 1% of that has been bought, having instead
been sold at standard rates with the unsustainable variety.
At the time of going to press, WWF were planning to publish a Palm Oil Buyer’s
Scorecard to expose those who have not fulfilled their commitments to buy CSPO
(Certified Sustainable Palm Oil). Our table below shows which companies are
members of the RSPO and which have made commitments to using CSPO in the future.
* Data from ‘Big brands: Palm oil policy’, which appeared on www.independent.co.uk
on 2nd May 2009. All other data from RSPO website and directly from the companies.
** For some products it is not currently possible to purchase CSPO due to technical
reasons. Ethical Consumer has accepted the purchase of Greenpalm certificates
as an alternative.
Health issues
In January 2007 Ofcom banned adverts for very fatty, salty or sugary foods
during TV programmes which had an above average audience of children and young
people aged under 16. However, this fell short of the blanket ban on all junk
food advertising before the 9pm watershed, which campaigners were hoping for.(9)
Two years later, however, campaigners are still predicting a growth in obesity
with figures for the under 20s showing an increase of 10% by 2015 and 14% by
2025.(10)
We’re constantly being bombarded by health warnings about various processed
food ingredients, to the extent that it all becomes a bit confusing. But basically,
saturated and trans fats should be avoided because they raise LDL (or ‘bad’)
cholesterol levels in the blood, thereby increasing the risk of heart disease.
Both are commonly found in processed food such as biscuits and cakes. Dietary
cholesterol also contributes to heart disease. Unsaturated fats, such as monounsaturated
and polyunsaturated, do not raise LDL cholesterol and are beneficial when consumed
in moderation.(11)
GM Food in 2009
Some campaigners argue that the persistence of GM in our food supply can be
put down to the Codex Alimentarius (Latin for ‘food code’) Commission.
This body, run by the World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organization
under the auspices of the UN since the 60s, is responsible for establishing
a system of standards and recommendations that guide the direction of the global
food supply. It aims to tell us what is safe, but in the process often uses
criteria that are manipulated to support the interests of the world’s largest
corporations. This, say campaigners, means that Codex is working towards a slackening
of organic food regulations, a widespread adoption of GM into the food chain,
and continuing to allow a high levels of toxic pesticides in our foods. See
the links section for places to go for more information.(2)
Price Comparison
We've compared prices of choc chip cookies (or the next best thing) taking
each brand's cheapest available product, except in the case of the supermarkets,
where we've used their mid-range product.
Company Profiles
SUPERMARKETS – All the supermarkets have recently been accused of driving
rapid destruction in the Amazon rainforest by using meat from farms responsible
for illegal deforestation, according to a three-year investigation of the global
trade in Brazilian cattle products by Greenpeace.(13) Much of the trade was
in processed beef, used for pies, canned meat and frozen ready meals.(13)
In order for workers in supply chains to assert their rights, they need to
have access to the codes of conduct of the companies they supply. In order for
Ethical Consumer to assess the quality of these codes for our Supply Chain Policy
column on the table, we need to see them. The supermarkets’ supply chain
scores have all been downgraded recently due to them not making their supply
chain codes of conduct publicly available, or letting Ethical Consumer see a
copy of them. Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda are all members of the ETI, but
it has become apparent that it is not a prerequisite of ETI membership that
members fully integrate the ETI code into their code of conduct at the outset.
Doves Farm Foods has a policy of not using nanotechnologies. Currently,
engineered nanoparticles in food are not allowed in the UK but the Doves’
stance is relevant as engineered nanoparticles have started to be used in food
packaging.
The Fine Cheese Company (Artisan) is a supporter of the independent
retailer and has a policy of never selling any of its product range to supermarkets.
Traidcraft has provided research for the implementation of a Fairtrade certification
scheme for palm oil.(13) It has picked up marks in the Animal Rights column
for the sale of leather and silk.
Cadbury, which bought Green & Black’s in 2005, pick up a mark
in the Anti-Social Finance category, partly because at least four of the company’s
directors were being paid over £1m a year in 2008.(12) Its Dairy Milk
bars have just gone Fairtrade in Britian and Ireland.
United Biscuits is jointly owned by two private equity firms. It is
criticisms of companies that these two equity firms own that account for the
bulk of the marks for United Biscuits’ brands.
The Blackstone Group owns stakes in more than 40 companies and has some $90
billion in assets under management. Key portfolio companies include Cineworld
cinemas, Hilton Hotels, visitor attractions including Madame Tussauds, the London
Eye and Sea Life centres, Center Parcs, Orangina, and the restaurants Cafe Rouge,
Strada and Bella Italia. It also has a substantial investment in oil sands extraction
company Osum Oil Sands (see the Petrol report for more details on oil sands).(16)
PAI Partners owns stakes in 16 companies with assets valued at $14 billion including
dairy company Yoplait and Kwik Fit.
Northern Foods owns Solway Foods, who win the prize for the most bizarre
pollution incident: in 2005 the company was fined for not one, but two incidents
of coleslaw pollution. Skips of coleslaw waste were allowed to leak into water
courses, causing high levels of ammonia.(14) Northern Foods also owns Green
Isle Foods who are mentioned in the Greenpeace deforestation report mentioned
above.
Duke Street Capital owns Deloro Stellite, who provide components to
the nuclear industry, including: castings, fabricated components, ferrous, hardfacing
alloys, special metals and alloys.(15) Despite Burton’s membership of the
RSPO, one of Duke Street Capital’s other companies, Accantia Health and
Beauty, is not. Accantia make the Simple brand of soap and other toiletries.
Links
Borneo Orangutan
Survival UK
WWF
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace
Palm Oil campaign
Codex Alimentarius
campaign
References
1 www.news.bbc.co.uk, viewed 14/07/09
2 www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns/codex, viewed 14/07/09
3 www.foe.co.uk, viewed 14/07/09
4 www.greenpeace.org.uk, viewed 14/07/09
5 www.greenpeace.org.uk, viewed 14/07/09
6 The Guardian, The slipery business of palm oil, 06/11/08
7 Phone conversation with Stiletto Foods representative 13/07/09
8 www.greenpeace.org, viewed 14/07/09
9 www.guardian.co.uk/society/2006/nov/17/health.food, viewed 14/07/09
10 The NHS Information Centre, Statistics on obesity, physical activity and
diet:England, February 2009
11 www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/ucm109832.htm, viewed
14/07/09
12 Cadbury plc annual report 2008, p 73
13 ‘Slaughtering the Amazon’ report, Greenpeace, June 2009
14 Hazards, July 2005
15 World Nuclear Industry Handbook, 2007
16 ‘Osum Oil Sands announces $275 million refinancing’, August 27
2008, Osum Oil Sands.