Can producers trust WWF to be accountable?

Dale Stiller discusses the WWF's Roundtable for Sustainable Beef campaign: 

In the quest of others to create an image, Australian beef producers are at the mercy of a cynical business arrangement that has little to do with the realities of science, environment, production, improved beef prices or the best interests of Australian beef producers. The business arrangement is between international titans of the beef trade and the largest international environment organisation or ENGO, WWF.

Any advertising agency can tell you that a well-known brand name or logo is a powerful marketing tool. The panda logo of WWF is an image internationally very well known. These multi-national corporations that trade in beef including JBS, Cargill, Walmart and McDonalds are looking to engage with WWF in a partnership to obtain an endorsement of the panda logo for a marketing edge. These image-makers first met in Denver, Colorado in November 2010 at a conference convened by WWF for the Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

Image appears to be also on the mind of one Australian industry body, Cattle Council Australia, who has engaged in the roundtable of sustainable beef process. Recently on the 27^th April in the CCA forum, Your Say Beef 2015 and Beyond, CCA councillor Hamish Munro said,

“By not engaging with NGO's (like WWF and RSPCA, which are the more moderate), we as an industry run the risk of becoming irrelevant within the environmental and welfare policy development area and we would project an image of apathy for the environment and animal welfare.”

Image is important but even more so is accountability. Can beef producers trust WWF to be accountable to a beef sustainability plan?  Let us look beyond our known history of rural landowners “engagement” with WWF in the failings of the vegetation management laws and reef regulation. How accountable is WWF in its activities across the world stage in this current day? In seeking to answer these questions let us establish if WWF is a moderate organisation as CCA has proposed.

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Dale Stiller is the secretary of Property Rights Australia, and a beef producer on a family farm in the upper reaches of the Dawson river catchment in Queensland. Dale also manages and harvests areas of natural regenerating forest within the western hardwoods forest region.

 

 

Comments

[Grumpyoldman2]

1.

WWF is just as corrupt as most of the other World do- good agencies. Wife and I spent some years living in Bhutan. WWF dignitaries visited often. It was virtually impossible to obtain entry visas. WWF no doubt got theirs by supporting the King who was an ardent big game hunter (military beaters and from elephant back) who took pride in presenting stuffed or tanned tropies to his slected guests. Our project even had its ToR altered to provide better road access to one of His Majesty's favourite hunting reserves. UN paid for the work of course.

[Dale Stiller]

2.

For those you like to understand the deeper issues behind the ENGO's push for sustainable roundtables Tim Wilson's paper, Naked extortion? Environmental NGOs imposing [in]voluntary regulations on consumers and business can be found at the IPA web site.
http://www.ipa.org.au/sectors/food-environment/publication/1918/naked-extortion-environmental-ngos-imposing-involuntary-regulations-on-consumers-and-business

[Dale Stiller]

3.

For more detail on the WWF inspired Roundtable for sustainable beef Australia, please read a discussion, WWF to Tell Australian Cattlemen How to be “Sustainable”, hosted by PRA chair Joanne Rea that started in February but with up to date detail in the comment thread.
http://justgroundsonline.com/forum/topics/wwf-to-tell-australian-cattlemen-how-to-be-sustainable

[The Old Man]

4.

Dale
Are you raising beef on your property this year? Did you raise beef there last year? Did you raise beef there 5 years ago? Ten years ago?

I rest my case Your Honour! You are obviously a 'sustainable' beef producer! ;-)

[Grantley]

5.

Dancing with these devils is akin to playing blindmans bluff in a minefield with your industry.....be careful Cattle Council...be very careful; groups such as Animals Australia Unleashed will have us all become vegetarians in a heart beat and they are all connected at the end of the day.

[Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson]

6.

Of course the WWF cannot be trusted. History shows how the farmers of Northern Qld. were demonised by WWF to "protect " the reef.The mainstream media conveniently forgot to publish the correction of the data that was used by these miscreants to discredit the farm sector. Undoubtedly they had a "win", and caused a lot of grief to primary industry with their lies and distortions, and when confronted with this at the Rockhampton meeting the WWF rep acknowledged that the science used was indeed flawed.."But we want to start over", as though an apology is enough. To invite WWF on board to make regulation for primary industry is tantamount to giving the keys to the kids bedrooms to an admitted pedofile.

[Matt Thompson]

7.

Dale,
Great Article.
Personally, I would not purchase meat from anyone using the Panda Label identifying the fact that extortionists have been paid off in order to produce said product.

[Dale Stiller]

8.

Startling but not surprising revelation by Rural Press reporter Brad Cooper published for this Thursday’s newspaper.

"Their [beef producers] scepticism is perhaps warranted when it can be revealed that the organistaion’s chairman Guy Fitzhardinge, who also chaired last week’s forum with minimal input, is in fact a highly placed WWF ‘governor’. He did not disclose this to the meeting. All it took was a simple Google search. I found him listed on a WWF web page in the WWF list of governors. From the WWF web page is this quote for the role of WWF governors:

“Governors use their expertise, influence and networks to enhance WWF’s ability to achieve its programs in Australia and the region.”

Mr Fitzhardinge is also a director of the Commonwealth Threatened Species Scientific Committee and former Greens leader Bob Brown’s Bush Heritage Australia and deputy chairman of Desert Channels Queensland.
It is established that WWF initiated the roundtable process with McDonald’s coming board very early in the piece, What confidence can Australian beef producers have in the roundtable when it is initiated by WWF and its chairman Fitzhardinge has an allegiance to WWF and a direct delegation to promote and progress its ideals?"

http://justgroundsonline.com/xn/detail/3535428:Comment:355950

[John Mc]

9.

Finally some prominent people are starting to reveal the truth about Australian agriculture:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8469792

The Australian economy is supported by three areas:

1. Services
2. Agriculture
3. Resources

We're cutting the supports out of from under ourselves:

1. Inflexible labour policy (Fair Work), red tape and high taxes
2. Ridiculous environmental and animal 'welfare' legislation (live export ban)
3. Mining tax (MRRT)

Then where going to thrown another extreme carbon dioxide tax right across the lot.

(Needless to say, the WWF would support all of these things.)