18 May 2009

Media statement: For immediate release

Murder Burger The Only Choice for Free Range, Ethically Farmed Burgers & Wraps
 

It is time New Zealanders’ woke up to the myth that our ‘clean, green’ image somehow extends automatically to this country’s farming and animal welfare practices, said Murder Burger spokesman Olivia Woodroffe.

“The way the vast majority of pigs and poultry (both meat & eggs) are farmed in this country is a national disgrace and the fact that such practices are justified on the grounds that New Zealanders cannot afford free range, ethically farmed animal products is an indictment on this country’s standard of living,” said Ms Woodroffe.

“To keep pigs under the conditions highlighted on last night’s Sunday programme on the basis that we want cheap bacon is utter drivel. For our Minister of Agriculture to express complete ignorance of those conditions is an embarrassment.

New Zealand consumers must wake up to the terrible conditions millions of animals are kept in,  because they are condoning these practices simply to save $1 or $2 off the price of a dozen eggs.”

Murder Burger launched last year with a commitment to only use animal products including chicken, eggs and bacon that come from certified free range, ethically farmed and sustainably managed sources.

The company will not use palm oil because only 15 per cent of that product comes from sustainably managed sources. It only uses chicken and eggs from certified free range sources. Its bacon comes from wild pigs shot in the Kaikoura ranges and from Freedom Farms – a certified free range supplier.

“It has been a real challenge to achieve this feat while keeping our prices at or near those of our competitors, who still insist on using products from farms using the shocking practices highlighted by Mike King in last night’s Sunday programme,” said Olivia Woodroffe.

“Our stand on this issue has not been helped by the reaction of one hitherto well-regarded journalist’s reaction to being told of our free range, ethically farmed commitment, who observed that, ‘really, I don’t give a f@#  about where my food comes from’.

“New Zealanders need to give a damn about how we treat our animals.

“We have the climate, the knowledge, the land and the experience to transform the way we farm in this country and to lead the way in providing free range, ethically farmed products to the rest of the world.

“To claim that we have to condone this barbarism, because people want cheap food is disingenuous at best.

“Consumers need to lead the way and reject this kind of thinking, just as their counterparts in Europe and parts of America have done (California recently passed Proposition 2, which bans the cage farming of pigs.)

“While many people will make a conscious decision to eat free-range, natural food at home, that commitment is often suspended, in the name of speed and convenience, when they pick up something on the way home. New Zealanders need to impose the same standards on fast food chains,” concluded Ms Woodroffe.

ENDS

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