White Oak Pastures: Difference between revisions

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= Greenwashing =
= Greenwashing =


As a major supplier for [[General Mills]], White Oak Pastures is "not just a small local farm, but actually part of a powerful and massive multinational company, and an important arm of its branding and marketing." Its claim to produce "carbon-negative beef" through [[Holistic Management]]<ref>https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/climatecollaborative/mailings/1633/attachments/original/PPT-FINAL-Regenerative_Mapping-min_compressed.pdf?1579205603; p. 41</ref> has been refuted, after General Mills-funded research was found to have "significant lapses that grossly exaggerate or misrepresent the true SOC sequestration capacity of their farming techniques." <ref>https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333</ref> This research was cited by the [[Savory Institute]] as part of the [[Climate Collaborative]]'s 2020 report on Regenerative Standards, an organization financed in part by General Mills.
As a major supplier for [[General Mills]], White Oak Pastures is "not just a small local farm, but actually part of a powerful and massive multinational company, and an important arm of its branding and marketing." <ref>https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333</ref>  


<blockquote>Jason Rowntree, principal investigator in General Mills White Oak Pastures study, declared no conflicts of interest... (but) declined, however, to mention that he sits on the board of the [[American Grassfed Association]] and has received research grants from corporations such as [[McDonald’s]].<ref>https://medium.com/@unpopularscience/the-regenerative-ranching-racket-fe6cce917a42</ref></blockquote>
In a 2019 report on White Oak Pastures' carbon footprint, funded by General Mills and published by Quantis, the ranch's importance to rebranding & consumer psychology was made explicit:


As the owner of White Oak Pastures, Will Harris boasted to [[The New York Times]] in 2015, "We cheat to win," and that Confederate General Robert E. Lee was one of his "heroes."<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/dining/at-white-oak-pastures-grass-fed-beef-is-only-the-beginning.html</ref>
Regeneratively grazed beef can likely escape the stigma of extremely high carbon emissions attached to conventional beef. General Mills, Epic and WOP should consider how to tell this story to ensure brand enhancement.<blockquote>Regeneratively grazed beef can likely escape the stigma of extremely high carbon emissions attached to conventional beef.
 
General Mills, Epic and WOP should consider how to tell this story to ensure brand enhancement<ref>https://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/hubfs/WOP-LCA-Quantis-2019.pdf</ref></blockquote>
 
Subsequently, their claim to produce "carbon-negative beef" through [[Holistic Management]]<ref>https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/climatecollaborative/mailings/1633/attachments/original/PPT-FINAL-Regenerative_Mapping-min_compressed.pdf?1579205603; p. 41</ref> has been decisively refuted, after this report was found to have "significant lapses that grossly exaggerate or misrepresent the true SOC sequestration capacity of their farming techniques." <ref>https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333</ref>
 
Further, it was also discovered that Jason Rowntree, the principal investigator in the study, had erroneously declared he had no conflicts of interest, despite sitting on the board of the [[American Grassfed Association]] and having received research grants from corporations such as [[McDonald's]] also seeking to rebrand their beef as 'regenerative'
<ref>https://medium.com/@unpopularscience/the-regenerative-ranching-racket-fe6cce917a42</ref>
 
As General Mills' report was an assessment of WOP's application of [[Holistic Management]] as developed by [[Allan Savory]], it was also cited by the [[Savory Institute]] as part of their presentation for the [[Climate Collaborative]]'s 2020 report on Regenerative Standards, an organization financed in part by General Mills.


= Savory Network =
= Savory Network =

Revision as of 18:42, 18 February 2023

Greenwashing

As a major supplier for General Mills, White Oak Pastures is "not just a small local farm, but actually part of a powerful and massive multinational company, and an important arm of its branding and marketing." [1]

In a 2019 report on White Oak Pastures' carbon footprint, funded by General Mills and published by Quantis, the ranch's importance to rebranding & consumer psychology was made explicit:

Regeneratively grazed beef can likely escape the stigma of extremely high carbon emissions attached to conventional beef. General Mills, Epic and WOP should consider how to tell this story to ensure brand enhancement.

Regeneratively grazed beef can likely escape the stigma of extremely high carbon emissions attached to conventional beef. General Mills, Epic and WOP should consider how to tell this story to ensure brand enhancement[2]

Subsequently, their claim to produce "carbon-negative beef" through Holistic Management[3] has been decisively refuted, after this report was found to have "significant lapses that grossly exaggerate or misrepresent the true SOC sequestration capacity of their farming techniques." [4]

Further, it was also discovered that Jason Rowntree, the principal investigator in the study, had erroneously declared he had no conflicts of interest, despite sitting on the board of the American Grassfed Association and having received research grants from corporations such as McDonald's also seeking to rebrand their beef as 'regenerative' [5]

As General Mills' report was an assessment of WOP's application of Holistic Management as developed by Allan Savory, it was also cited by the Savory Institute as part of their presentation for the Climate Collaborative's 2020 report on Regenerative Standards, an organization financed in part by General Mills.

Savory Network

According to their website, White Oak Pastures is "proud to be named 1 of only 23 Global Savory Hubs" organized by the Savory Institute and participates in Savory's Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV) program as a "frontier founder".[6]

According to Allan Savory, scientific evidence against his methods is irrelevant because holistic management "cannot be peer-reviewed." He has made this argument several times, perhaps most recently on Twitter in March of 2021[7] in defense of its application by White Oak Pastures on behalf of General Mills in response to evidence of greenwashing. [8]

Wage Theft

In 2021, White Oak Pastures settled a class action lawsuit for $100,000 of wage theft paid back to its workers [9]

Sources

  1. ↑ https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333
  2. ↑ https://blog.whiteoakpastures.com/hubfs/WOP-LCA-Quantis-2019.pdf
  3. ↑ https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/climatecollaborative/mailings/1633/attachments/original/PPT-FINAL-Regenerative_Mapping-min_compressed.pdf?1579205603; p. 41
  4. ↑ https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333
  5. ↑ https://medium.com/@unpopularscience/the-regenerative-ranching-racket-fe6cce917a42
  6. ↑ https://whiteoakpastures.com/pages/savory-hub?_pos=1&_sid=8b39d043f&_ss=r
  7. ↑ https://twitter.com/allanrsavory/status/1368586780790906885?s=21
  8. ↑ https://plantbaseddata.medium.com/the-failed-attempt-to-greenwash-beef-7dfca9d74333
  9. ↑ https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/employees-working-in-slaughterhouse-3337332/
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