A proposal by the Blue Mountains Food Co-op to start selling meat for the first time in its 37-year history has led to infighting among its ranks, with vegan and vegetarian members expressing disappointment and distress.
The plan led to a snap demonstration on Saturday, September 1 outside the co-op’s shop in Ha’penny Lane, Katoomba, where more than 30 people gathered at midday for a peaceful protest.
The discord follows an email sent to co-op members on August 23, titled ‘A change for the co-op is in the pipeline’, which outlined the prospect of selling meat.
It stated: “A decision was made at this week’s board meeting that: in principle, the co-op is open to the idea of selling meat and will begin a research process to determine whether we are able to offer better quality and more ethical organic meat than is currently widely available in the Mountains.”
The email explained that the co-op conducted a survey in 2015, completed by 403 of its approximately 2500 members. It said 75 per cent of respondents agreed to the co-op selling meat “or don’t mind either way”, while 25 per cent were against it.
“Given the clear survey results in 2015, the board was comfortable to vote on this issue rather than take this question to the membership again.”
Co-op member and Mount Victoria resident Clare Mann claimed the process went against the very nature of the co-operative movement.
“I thought this was a co-op – such a stance sounds more like the principles of a capitalist venture that says, ‘Where there is demand, we must supply and this justifies production despite the [consequences]’,” she said.
Ms Mann – a psychologist and the author of Vystopia: The Anguish of Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World – took umbrage with the concept of ‘ethical meat’.
“‘Ethical meat’ is like saying, ‘ethical slaughter’,” she told the Gazette. “These words should never go together. ‘Ethical’ gives us the illusion that something decent, kind, considerate and moral is happening. Anyone who has dared to look inside a slaughterhouse of any sort knows that nothing humane happens there.”
She said that if the co-op sold meat, the quote on its website – ‘Where good food doesn’t cost the earth’ – would have to be removed “since the production of meat, whether in intensive ways or on local organic farms, has a deleterious effect on the environment, animals and people”.
Other co-op members said people seeking organic meat already had multiple options, including the Woolworths, Aldi and Coles stores near the co-op’s shop.
One member, Blackheath resident Gerhard Hassler, said: “The co-op is the only place in the Blue Mountains where I can buy food and groceries without having to encounter the sight and smell of dead animals.”
Mr Hassler also questioned the concept of “ethical meat”, calling it a misnomer like “clean coal”.
Co-op management reiterated that at this stage, they had only decided to undertake “a research process” into selling meat.
“The process will involve research into suppliers and their farming practices, processing methods, packaging, distribution, storage and other operational procedures,” said Halin Nieuwenhuyse, Manager of the Blue Mountains Food Co-op.
Ms Nieuwenhuyse acknowledged that some members had concerns about the impacts of meat production – but said the co-op would attempt to accommodate those concerns, and that it was ultimately up to consumers to make their own decisions.
“Our aim is to source products from small, local farms that practice regenerative, organic farming and humane animal welfare principles,” Ms Nieuwenhuyse said.
“We seek to provide our members and the broader community with information about the products we sell, to support them to make their own informed choices.
“We will continue to respond to our members’ needs and concerns while celebrating great food and inspiring our community to nourish themselves and their families as consciously and sustainably as possible.”
