– The oil industry and the food industry should get together to find solutions on how the Norwegian share of food on the continental shelf can be increased. There is a need for initiative and cooperation here, says Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp). The background is increasing pressure on Equinor and the rest of the oil industry to serve more short-distance meat on the shelf. Today, Norwegian oil companies can import foreign meat duty-free to the Norwegian continental shelf. In practice, this means that up to 80 percent of the meat that is served on plates in the North Sea comes from everywhere other than Norway, and that Norwegian offshore workers alternate between beef from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and lamb from New Zealand. Every day, this is about two tonnes of meat. – The oil industry and the food industry should come together to find solutions on how the Norwegian share of food on the continental shelf can be increased, says Agriculture and Food Minister Sandra Borch (Sp). Here together with Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap). Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB – The Prime Minister is far too cautious – Short-traveled meat contributes to maintaining jobs and housing in the whole of Norway. That should be enough for the offshore industry to want to serve Norwegian food, says Anne Ekornholmen, who is political editor at the newspaper Nationen. Alfred Bjørlo is business and food policy spokesperson for the Liberal Party. – The minister is far too cautious and servile towards the oil industry when she only calls for cooperation. Here she should knock on the table and say that this is simply not possible, he says to news. He says it is “completely unacceptable” that the oil company “shuns normal social responsibility” and instead imports meat from the other side of the world. – If the oil companies have an understanding of the climate and nature crisis and of the reputation of their own industry, they will immediately stop buying climate-destroying meat at the cheap sale, he says. Sweden and Denmark have a target of 60 per cent organic food in their kitchens by 2030. There are 86 fixed platforms on the Norwegian continental shelf, of which 71 are built in steel and 15 with concrete foundations. Photo: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate Equinor replaces “some red meat” Per Steinar Stamnes is union leader on the Norwegian continental shelf for Industri Energi Equinor, which organizes 2,241 employees. He calls it “a cross of thought” that the oil and food industries have overlapping interests, but that they still cannot find each other. – Our members want more Norwegian food in the galley. We have taken it up with the management in several rounds, and feel that we are being listened to. But it is not going as quickly as we would like, he says. Vår Energi sent out a press release last year stating that four of their offshore installations set stricter requirements for local subcontractors and short-haul food. Via NTB, the Equinor management announced at the same time that they are replacing “some red meat” with fish, chicken, pork and game. – The Norwegian share of meat purchases for the continental shelf is low, but we are working to increase it in collaboration with our suppliers, says Gisle L. Johannessen in Equinor. He points out that they invest in seasonal Norwegian meat and “a shift towards a more plant-based diet and more use of fish and lean meat”. – There is a shift towards a menu that is more sustainable and adapted to new generations of employees, while at the same time we take care of all employees offshore, he says. (Read the extended answer below.) Equinor: – We are working for more Norwegian food Gisle L. Johannessen, Equinor – It is true that Norway’s share of meat purchases for the continental shelf is low, but we are working to increase this share in collaboration with our suppliers. All cold cuts and stuffing such as sausages, meatballs and meatballs are produced in Norway. We also invest in seasonal Norwegian meat, and mark this offshore. We serve reindeer on the Sami day, and of course we have Norwegian lamb on the mutton day. We also serve Arctic beef from Northern Norway. Together with our trade unions, we work for more Norwegian food and more Norwegian suppliers, both for meat and other raw materials and product groups. When it comes to meat, there is also a balance in relation to availability. We are also working with a shift towards a more plant-based diet and more use of fish and lean meat. We achieved our goal of reducing the consumption of red meat by 10 per cent in 2022, and will continue with this work going forward. There is a shift towards a menu that is both more sustainable and adapted to new generations of employees, while at the same time we take care of all employees offshore. – Our members want more Norwegian food in the galley. But it’s not going as fast as we would like, says Per Steinar Stamnes, who is union leader on the Norwegian continental shelf for Industri Energi Equinor. Photo: Rolv Christian Topdahl – The cheapest is not always the best Sofie Marhaug in Raudt believes that good intentions are not enough, and calls for more active use of the state’s ownership in Equinor. – The cheapest is not always the best, neither for the stomach nor for Norwegian farmers, she says. Høgre says that imported meat is the price for Norway’s access to other markets and that a “more nuanced debate” must be based on this. – The selection on the shelf should reflect what we have access to on the mainland. So a combination of own production and imports, says Ove Trellevik (H). (Read more reactions to the Storting below.) – The oil companies should be given one last chance to clean up Hilde Marie Gaebpie Danielsen, SV – On the Norwegian continental shelf there should be Norwegian raw materials. When you see the 80/20 fraction, it should be reversed. This is an economic choice that Equinor has made, as imported raw materials are cheaper to purchase. It is also positive that Equinor wants to cut down on red meat by introducing a meat-free lunch once a week and having a vegetarian option for every meal. But the sum of all raw materials in purchases shows that they have a long way to go. Equinor must take value added, show dynamism and choose short-traveled Norwegian raw materials. It will be the only right thing going forward. Alfred Bjørlo, Venstre – The oil industry is both a “climate change” and an industry with very high profitability. It is completely unacceptable that the oil companies “avoid” showing normal Norwegian social responsibility by buying healthy, Norwegian food at the same prices everyone else in the country has to pay – and instead import large quantities of meat from the other side of the world at an artificially low price and with a high climate footprint. If the oil companies have the slightest bit of understanding of the climate and nature crisis and of the reputation of their own industry, then they urgently stop buying climate-destroying meat at the cheap store, and switch to Norwegian, varied quality food: Both meat, fish and vegetables in line with professional advice on a varied and healthy diet. Sandra Borch is far too cautious and servile towards the oil industry when she only calls for cooperation. Here she should knock on the table and say that this is simply not possible! If necessary, we must take political initiative to put an end to the oil companies being allowed to import meat duty-free, but I think they should first be given one last chance to clean things up. Ove Trellevik, Høgre – Everything is connected with everything. This is quickly a result of trade policy. We want market access for our fish with the lowest possible tariff rates, the demand from New Zealand will then quickly become that they should sell lamb meat to us. Such a debate as is proposed here must be more nuanced, and not just deal with one element: meat on platforms. It is a value choice to fish the fish in the sea, to farm and sell this out in the world so that people have work along the coast, and to buy back some product that other countries want to sell. I think the selection on the shelf should reflect what we all have access to on the mainland. This means a combination of own production and imports. Terje Halleland, FRP – When we see so many struggling with sky-high food prices, we would like to have customs freedom on the mainland as well. Norway has world-class healthy and good food. Vår Energi has that when they serve Norwegian-produced meat to their employees. I hope that will be an example for the other companies on the Norwegian continental shelf. Rasmus Hansson, MDG – The crew on the oil platforms should probably eat more fish from the sea and more potatoes and vegetables from the coast. And it is not very logical that permanent installations on the shelf should be allowed to import tax-free foreign food. But for the MDGs, the most important thing is to reduce the oil sector’s contribution to boiling the globe. We are not going to get involved in what people on the platforms cook for dinner. Sofie Marhaug, Raudt – It seems that “capacity” is used as an excuse to save money. The cheapest is not always the best, neither for the stomach nor for Norwegian farmers. On the other hand, it is perhaps not so strange that Equinor keeps costs down with imports, but that a company in which we own so much does not take political instructions is unfortunate. Anne Ekornholmen, Nationen – Norwegian raw materials are competitive in terms of both production and quality. Shopping and using short-traveled, Norwegian meat also contributed to sustaining jobs and housing in the whole of Norway. The understanding of this should in itself be enough for one to also serve Norwegian food to all employees offshore. It builds under Norwegian agricultural policy, is sustainable and socially conscious. In 2019, the national meeting of the trade union Safe ordered that their own union board should work to promote Norwegian meat and raw materials for all players on the Norwegian continental shelf. Before Christmas, the work was crowned with an exemplary victory when four platforms – Goliat, Balder, Ringhorne and Jotun – began to set stricter requirements for short-haul food. Union leader in Safe, Hilde-Marit Rysst, says it is only a small beginning. – Vår Energi looks positive. But in general, the industry has a long way to go to take a wholesome responsibility and to use Norwegian quality goods. Vår Energi: – 79 per cent Norwegian meat Jan Eirik Heigre Gjerdevik, Vår Energi AS – In the catering contract, we have a clear expectation of sustainable solutions, and specify, among other things, that food and product must be short-distanced and that local subcontractors must be used. Six months after the contract was signed, the latest report shows that 79 percent of the meat we use in the offshore catering comes from Norwegian suppliers. It is a good example of what is possible when we work together on common goals. The use of local subcontractors in offshore catering has a good effect, and at the same time creates positive ripple effects in Norwegian communities. Before Christmas, four platforms – Goliat (pictured), Balder, Ringhorne and Jotun – began to set stricter requirements for short-haul food. Photo: Jan-Morten Bjørnbakk / NTB scanpix
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Argument over the dinner plate on the Norwegian continental shelf – news Vestland
