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Here you will find supplementary articles and information
relating to recent issues of FightBack magazine.
Boycott Heinz Ketchup
The Goulburn Valley Food Action Committee recently made an offer to Heinz to purchase the redundant factory in Girgarre for $750,000 which Heinz declined, greedily asking for more. Chairman of the Committee, Mr Les Cameron recently wrote a letter to Heinz, urging them to reconsider. The full letter and response is below.
For more information, join the conversation at facebook.com/boycottheinzketchup
To: Judith Swales Managing Director Heinz Australia
From: Les Cameron Chair of the GV Food Action Committee
Dear Judith,
As you know we have received notification, through your Real Estate agency, that our offer for $750,000 is considered by Heinz an insufficient amount for the proposed co-operative purchase of your Girgarre site. I would like to suggest that in fact there are 10 good reasons why we believe this is the correct price.
I offer these 10 points for clarity and would hope that we might meet to ensure a good outcome from this negotiation for all of us.
1. Your purchase price.As considered buyers we investigated the previous buying price and looked at current price trends. We found that Heinz purchased this land about 20 years ago from the Shire of Deakin at a price that was very low by that day’s standards. We would be pleased if you now release that price so that the people of Australia can be arbiters of whether our current offer price is too low. You will also agree that land prices in Girgarre haven’t exactly boomed since 1990. Your announcement that you are leaving hasn’t helped those values.
2. There is no other purchaser and the site will deteriorate quickly.As you know, while all sellers would like a high price for their property, when there is no other bidder we have to accept that we may be reaching for too grand a figure. We understand that your selling price is probably set by more senior managers and that bonuses may be on the line. It would be a pity if the only group to show interest in taking it over were to purchase elsewhere and the declining factory site would then be a testament to a second failure by Heinz. The cost of you maintaining this in a fit state would be wasteful.
3. Community supports have part paid for the site.Heinz received a number of incentives from the Australian taxpayer both at buying time and since then. We consider those to have been a down payment on our community offer bringing it much closer to the price you would prefer to be paid. (Maybe net $1.5 million). We are happy to list for your consideration some of the financial supports Heinz have received, if you do not have records of that information.
4. Food Security.Like those in the United States, people from this country prefer to be able to grow and process our own food. Your leaving us means there is now only one tomato processor in the country. This means our tomato farmers are subject to monopoly terms and are likely to stop growing to the great loss of this country. A new co-operative would help protect farmers future and Australia’s love affair with the tomato, while helping guarantee fruit security in the Goulburn Valley.
5. Sustainability.Your website says Heinz is committed to sustainability but the destruction of 20 years of infrastructure at Girgarre does not support that. The decision not to sell the equipment in place as we requested nearly 6 months ago, means that bizarre costs are now being absorbed by your shareholders. Pulling out equipment which is on its last legs and transporting it to other places outside Australia seems unduly expensive and clearly a high cost to everyone in replacing this equipment.
6. Farmer’s financial support.As you know, Heinz has had direct financial support from local farmers in purchasing equipment which you are now selling or giving to other factories. This seems grossly insulting and unfair to those of us observing from outside. At the very least, we suggest this should be another deduction from the selling price.
7. You are leaving very little.As your short list indicates, you are leaving very little behind. You are even taking the rat-proof fencing. There is much to be done to make this site functional again. Heinz will effectively force the new owner to spend nearly a million dollars just to get electrical supplies running again in the main areas. Only the large warehouse and water supply remains. Clearly, it will take at least $10,000,000 to put this right as a new manufacturing plant. This destruction is a sad indictment on a company which made a quarter of a billion dollars profit last year.
8. The prospective purchasers are the community.The group of people who helped you make this the most profitable plant in the world at one stage are now dislocated. Up to 1000 people who have been directly or indirectly affected by this closure may be forced to leave the area. A new food hub in the area would have changed this. We anticipated building a great new training building with tourist and environmental opportunities for this community. You have currently closed the door on this.
9. The co-operative can succeed.Our feasibility study is showing that the food service area wants to buy its fruit products in Australia. We are getting a great number of new agencies wanting to buy from an Australian based fruit and vegetable manufacturer. We will enrol 1,000,000 members to support food security in Australia and we will not be competing with you for low cost, high volume tomato products in supermarkets. Our people are looking for new products based on what we can grow, make and deliver sustainably. They are hoping Australia’s farms can become as diverse as those in food bowls across the world. They are looking for variety and provenance. They are looking for mass production to help create high quality local food.
10. Heinz reputation.Currently, Heinz is being seen as retreating from its global charter. Perhaps you could be seen as a better corporate citizen by selling the site at this reasonable price to a community cooperative. We are not a business cartel wishing to make great new profits. We are a sensible group of people who can see that a new form of local production is needed. It is the International year of the Co-operatives and your gesture would be seen as significant farewell gesture.
Heinz Australia’s official response:
Heinz has contributed a great deal to our former employees and the wider community, both prior to and since the announcement of Girgarre’s closure. We must now acquit our business obligations in relation to the sale of the site.
Heinz paid what we are advised was market price for the Girgarre site at the time we purchased it in 1989. Since then, we have been a significant economic contributor to the region, through local employment, payments to suppliers and investments in community initiatives.
Heinz has always paid a fair price for tomatoes and has assisted growers during difficult times, such as through the provision of water subsidies during drought, and delayed payments for seed.
Heinz has donated land and associated water rights to the Girgarre Development Committee, provided grants to local groups and provided a career transitioning scholarship program for employees, on top of retraining assistance and redundancy entitlements.
We have said from day one that the majority of equipment at the site is required by other parts of our business.
Heinz has no objection to the co-op purchasing the site subject to offering a reasonable price and terms. We continue to wish the co-op well in its venture.
Smith and Spring a match made in Heaven
Fightback supporter Spring Gully has teamed up with Dick Smith to produce 100% Australian owned and grown jams for distribution through IGA stores nationally.
Russell Webb, Brand Coordinator at Spring Gully, has faith that consumers will buy the new rage of jams and honeys for the sake of Dick Smith employees and suppliers.
The joint venture will “give us the opportunity to grow and employ more people and it’s a great opportunity to produce these fantastic Australian products,” says Mr Webb.
Dick Smith has been causing a stir recently with his fight against imported foods and foreign companies with rumours that Woolworths was threatening to sell his electronics store to a foreign owned company.
“I’m a proud Australian and this is just continuing where all the wealth is going overseas and damaging our country,” he said.
He is hoping that his partnership with Spring Gully will encourage Australian consumers to recognise the importance of buying locally.
“Australia’s best-selling premium jam comes from France with more than four million jars of St Dalfour fruit spread brought here every year, yet Australian farmers are ploughing their crops back into the ground,” he said.
The new jams will come in flavours such as raspberry, orange marmalade, strawberry and apricot. They will be distributed nationally throughout IGA, Foodland and other independent supermarkets around the country.
Fresh VS. Frozen VS. Canned
In terms of fruit and veggies what is the best form to buy them in? We have long thought that fresh is best, but is this actually the case?
Before we go any further, FightBack would like to point out that many Australians are not getting their recommended daily intake of fruits and vegies (the suggested amount is 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegies every day) so any form of vegetable is better than none at all.
It is a misconception that all frozen and canned foods are devoid of any nutritional value. In fact, in many cases it is the complete opposite as they can provide more nutrients than their fresh counterparts.
‘Fresh’ vegetables can often spend 3 to 7 days in transit or storage before they are purchased and consumed, many much of the nutritional content, such as vitamin c, is lost. However frozen vegetables are picked when they are perfectly ripe and frozen soon after, meaning all the benefits of the product is ‘locked in’.
A recent study conducted in the United States showed that in the majority of instances, canned or frozen vegetables are nutritionally comparable to fresh. The study found that particular nutrients such as carotene (Vitamin A) is actually preserved better in frozen foods because the storage protects the vegetables from light, which eventually kills the vitamin.
So it would seem that frozen and canned vegies aren’t as bad for us as we may have thought. Do you eat canned/frozen vegetables? What do you prefer? Email us at editor@fightbacknews.com.au
Fat Free TV Guide
The New South Wales Council has published a list of the food advertising that occurs during popular children’s TV on their website, in an attempt to encourage parents to filter these shows.
The list has been dubbed the “Fat Free TV Guide”, and the Cancer Council recommends parents “make better viewing choices with television shows that have less junk food advertising.”
Unfortunately, 1 in 4 Australian kids are overweight or obese and it is inappropriate that unhealthy and fatty foods are advertised during children’s programming.
Some of the “fattest” children’s telly includes; The Simpsons, Junior MasterChef, The X Factor and Dancing with the Stars.
But it isn’t just TV shows that are being infiltrated - when a children’s movie is aired it is also fattened up with junk food advertising. Previous films to have this happen include The Simpsons Movie and Kung Fu Panda.
Do you pay attention to the adverts your children watch? Should junk food advertising be banned? Email editor@fightbacknews.com.au with your thoughts.
Birds Eye Foods
Birds Eye - supporting Australian farmers and stopping foreign imports of
produce
Birds Eye is a foreign owned company but supports the Australian vegetable
industry with the following products.
PEAS
40828 Birds Eye 24 x 500g Garden Peas
40832 Birds Eye 24 x 500g Minted Peas
40830 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Garden Peas
40003 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Minted Peas
48520 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Baby Peas
48521 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Baby Peas
45171 Birds Eye 6 x 2kg Garden Peas
45759 Birds Eye 6 x 1.8kg Baby Pea Value Pack
BEANS
40867 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Sliced Green Beans
40870 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Sliced Green Beans
48525 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Baby Beans
WINTER VEG
40187 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Broccoli Florets
40209 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Carrot Rings
42382 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Julienne Carrots
40227 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Caulifower
CORN
40812 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Supersweet Cobs
40244 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Supersweet Kernels
41366 Birds Eye 12 x 1kg Supersweet Kernels
MISC
40264 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Chopped Onions
01454 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Sliced Onions
COUNTRY HARVEST
40574 Birds Eye 10 x 1Kg Chunky Mix
40575 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Peas Carrot Cauli
40576 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Peas Corn Caps
41008 Birds Eye 12 X 500g Broc & Cauli
41009 Birds Eye 10 X 1KG Pea Corn Carrot
41010 Birds Eye 10 X 1KG Garden Mix
41730 Birds Eye 10 X 1KG Carrot Broc Cauli
41733 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Carr Cauli Brocc
41737 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Carrots/Caul/Brocc/SSPea
41739 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Corn/Peas/Carrot/Brocc
42638 Birds Eye 12 X 500g Peas & Corn
42639 Birds Eye 10 X 1KG Peas & Corn
42708 Birds Eye 10 x 1kg Mixed Vegetables
42707 Birds Eye 10 x 1kg Spring Greens Mix
42681 Birds Eye 10 x 1kg Baby Beans, Carrot, Baby Corn
42003 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Mixed Vegetables
43075 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Green & Gold Peas and Corn
STIR FRY
40582 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Chow Mein
42343 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Special Fried Rice
40594 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Thai Style Mix
40596 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Malaysian Style Mix
40597 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Cantonese Mix
40604 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Shanghai Sitr Fry
05557 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Basil & Garlic Stir Fry
05559 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Ginger & Garlic Stir Fry
45175 Birds Eye 8x1.5kg Stir Fry
45333 Birds Eye 8x850g Chinese Value Pack
45344 Birds Eye 7 x 850g STIR FRY Supreme
CREATE A MEAL
48132 Birds Eye 8x600g Teriyaki
48133 Birds Eye 8x600g Black Bean
48135 Birds Eye 8x600g Honey Soy
OVEN ROAST
48218 Birds Eye 12 x 570g Italian Herb
48225 Birds Eye 12 x 570g Rosemary & Garlic
GARDEN GOURMET
41182 Birds Eye 12 x 500g Veg in Cheese Sauce
STEAM FRESH 600g RANGE
40623 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Broccoli, Cauliflower & Carrot Mix
40624 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Carrots, Peas & Corn Mix
40632 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Broccoli, Corn, Peas & Green Beans
40633 Birds Eye 12 x 600g Cauliflower, Green Beans, Julienne Carrots
43276 Birds Eye 8 x 600g Peas, carrot, water chestnut and baby corn
43275 Birds Eye 8 x 600g Broc, Cauli, corn kernels and sugar snap peas
STEAMFRESH VALUE PACKS
45190 Birds Eye 12 x 750g Carrot, Broccoli and Corn
45185 Birds Eye 12 x 750g Carrot, Beans and Broccoli
Palm oil labelling
Please find a list of products that contain palm oil here
Please find a list of products that DO NOT contain palm oil here
For more information on palm oil and palm oil labelling, visit one of the following sites;
