Page 4 - National Poultry Newspaper

Consumers need and want choices in the provenance of the eggs they buy.
Sodexo Australia coun- try president and chief financial officer Mark Chalmers said Sodexo was proud to be going cage free for its fresh eggs as part of its Better To- morrow 2025 corporate responsibility commit- ments.
“We are dedicated to providing our customers with high-quality eggs produced in ethical con- ditions.
Good guys coming out of their shells
WITH sustainability and free range the food buz- zwords of the decade, certainly when it comes to primary production, I recently became aware that some big national egg purchasers are start- ing to loudly and public- ly claim ‘good guy sta- tus’ for now only sourc- ing cage free eggs.
be achieved through unity and are proud to be a part of the next step in So- dexo’s Better Tomorrow 2025 commitments by supplying them with cage free fresh eggs Australia- wide,” Mr De Lacy said.
Cant
Comment
by BRENDON CANT
I have long held the view that consumers deserve and, indeed, want a choice when purchasing, based on the provenance of the fresh food they buy, and in the case of eggs they should retain the options of caged, barn laid and free range.
To assure the welfare of its hens, all Farm Pride farms are third-party au- dited to the industry Egg Standards Australia ac- creditation.
Anyway, Sodexo Aus- tralia, which claims to be a world leader in ‘Quality of Life Services’ (whatev- er that means), also claims to be leading the Aus- tralian corporate sector in sustainable development
In Australia, Sodexo’s workforce of 5000 peo- ple delivers more than 100 integrated services lines, including catering, fa- cilities management, con- cierge services, security, asset maintenance and hospitality services in the corporate, healthcare and seniors, education, justice
Sodexo claims it will now source nine million fresh eggs for its Austral- ian operations annually from cage free egg suppli- er, Farm Pride Foods Ltd.
“This allows the hens more space, and they are protected from environ- mental threats and dis- eases,” Mr De Lacy said.
by using cage free fresh eggs, a commitment that comes seven years ahead of the company’s corpo- rate responsibility target.
and energy and resources sectors, both on and off shore.
Its cage free fresh eggs are produced in climate- controlled sheds where the hens have access to food, water, nest boxes and perches and are free to move within the shed.
“As a global company, it’s our responsibility to lead by example, which is why we are dedicated to achieving our corporate responsibility targets and encourage other compa- nies, both large and small, to follow suit,” Mr Chalm- ers said.
“It is our alignment with Sodexo’s corporate re- sponsibility standards that makes us proud to supply to them.”
Farm Pride Foods Ltd chief operations officer Bruce De Lacy said Farm Pride had been supplying eggs to Australia’s corpo- rate sector for more than 80 years and was excited to see Sodexo lead the facilities management in- dustry in committing to cage free fresh eggs.
Sodexo’s Better Tomor- row 2025 strategy is the company’s roadmap for the next stage of its cor- porate responsibility jour- ney, covering issues rang- ing from animal welfare and waste reduction to im- proving gender diversity and stopping hunger.
“We believe more can
For more information on Farm Pride Foods Ltd, visitfarmpride.com.au
For more information on Better Tomorrow 2025, visit sodexo.com/home/ corporate-responsibility. html
Low-interest loans
for farmers in
drought doubled
AUSTRALIAN drought, which is af-
farmers can now ac- cess up to $2 million in low-interest loans, double the previous limit of $1 million.
fecting so many farm- ing families.”
Minister for Agricul- ture David Littleproud said the Coalition Gov- ernment had also dou- bled the total funding available for low-inter- est loans in any given year to $500 million.
The Government has announced additional support for farmers fac- ing drought totalling more than $1.8 billion, including $75 million for the drought commu- nities program and im- mediate deductions for fodder storage assets. Fast facts
“These loans will help those in hardship, including drought,” Minister Littleproud said.
• Since FHA was launched in July 2014, the government has in- vested more than $230 million to help more than 8000 people.
“When farmers transfer their commer- cial loans to our low- interest loans, good savings can be made.
• FHA provides a fortnightly payment to help farming families in tough times. Each member of a couple can receive around $12,800 a year, and single people can re- ceive up to $15,350.
“The first five years of these loans will re- main interest-only.
“Farmers with exist- ing government loans will also be able to switch to these Region- al Investment Corpora- tion loans to access the interest-only period.
• In addition to fortnightly payment, recipients can access up to $1500 for an in- dependent financial as- sessment of their busi- ness, and up to $4000 in activity supplements to assist with improv- ing their circumstances and financial self-reli- ance.
“We made this com- mitment to farmers on August 19 and now we have delivered.
“We can’t make it rain but we can help our farmers survive the
the
Page 4 – National Poultry Newspaper, October 2018
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