General Mills sustainability campaign

[Guest]

I don’t understand , they have been advertising that they are on a sustainability crusade but I saw a General Mills sign in a field of peas with fresh sprayer tracks and obvious brown grass in ditches from roundup ?
So WTF ? Or do they spray some and not others ?
Or is just another bullshit story to gain customers like the horseshit A&W is spewing

[grassfarmer]

I don’t understand , they have been advertising that they are on a sustainability crusade but I saw a General Mills sign in a field of peas with fresh sprayer tracks and obvious brown grass in ditches from roundup ?
So WTF ? Or do they spray some and not others ?
Or is just another bullshit story to gain customers like the horseshit A&W is spewing

I don't think their "sustainability" rules prohibit pesticide use, rather they will monitor for pesticide residues and ensure they are within regulatory limits. As far as their supply chain goes my guess is that it's similar to the "beef sustainability" process - ie producers have to jump through some hoops to prove and document how they are doing things which allows the processors to "green wash" their operation's sustainability in the eyes of the consumer at very little cost to themselves.

Saying that General Mills has spent a bit on their "soil health academies" aimed at encouraging regenerative ag practices - bringing in Gabe Brown, Roy Archuleta etc which is a positive move.

[Guest]

Ok , i was under the impression if you signed a contract glyphos was out ? Maybe im wrong ?
I know they wont buy oats that are dessicated

[grassfarmer]

An update to this discussion caseih.

Sounds they are talking up the non-sprayed product but are continuing to use sprayed for 95% plus of their supply. Going by the picture it looks like they would be a good outlet for a poor crop sample too!

http://investigatemidwest.org/2019/08/16/general-mills-launches-pesticide-reduction-plan-after-traces-found-in-cereal/?fbclid=IwAR0xLhyq3xqxHg3efKDCNRP4nwshef1Q3SGVdiZZ KcXeCzFmKgG7jeSXhN4 http://https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/08/16/general-mills-launches-pesticide-reduction-plan-after-traces-found-in-cereal/?fbclid=IwAR0xLhyq3xqxHg3efKDCNRP4nwshef1Q3SGVdiZZ KcXeCzFmKgG7jeSXhN4

[Guest]

thanks grass
looks like the same snow job A&W is pulling with beef , funny they post a pic like that . those oats in pic are rotten sprouted unsaleable oats , which is what we get in this country quite often when we try to swath
to listen to their ads you would think they only buy beautiful white, pristine, undessicated oats
i would prefer a one billionth part of roundup in mine i think over those rotten stinking oats in their pic

[woodland]

Those oats look like they’re mostly from the “wild side”.😎

[walterm]

Please tell me that is a picture of dockage. It's about 90% wild oats.

[tmyrfield]

I don’t understand , they have been advertising that they are on a sustainability crusade but I saw a General Mills sign in a field of peas with fresh sprayer tracks and obvious brown grass in ditches from roundup ?
So WTF ? Or do they spray some and not others ?
Or is just another bullshit story to gain customers like the horseshit A&W is spewing

nothing screams sustainable like a single serving plastic container

[grassfarmer]

thanks grass
looks like the same snow job A&W is pulling with beef , funny they post a pic like that . those oats in pic are rotten sprouted unsaleable oats , which is what we get in this country quite often when we try to swath
to listen to their ads you would think they only buy beautiful white, pristine, undessicated oats
i would prefer a one billionth part of roundup in mine i think over those rotten stinking oats in their pic

To be fair that isn't a picture of GM oats (get it?) it's a USDA picture used by the investigative journalist who wrote the article.
I agree though it's the same as happens with the beef side - the McDonalds sustainability crap is only a very small amount of what they buy but they imply that it covers all they sell in their advertising. Of course they blame it on the producer - not enough cattle verified sustainable but in fact primary producers are very responsive - show us the money and we will produce. Pay a decent premium and as much product as you want will be delivered. They just want to pay regular price and steal the good reputation farmers have with the public and use that reputation to sell more to the consumer at inflated prices.

[Bowerpower]

I have heard General Mills is working toward a sustainable oat premium from a buyer in the industry What exactly the details are I do not know. But will involve soil health aspect and non glyphosate preharvest oats. 🤷🏻*♂️