The Jamie Oliver Group has responded to Australian vegetable growers in a letter, but according to their peak body Ausveg, the celebrity chef has missed an opportunity to support Australian farmers.
The group said its grievance over a new 40c a crate levy Woolworths is charging growers to fund the Jamie's Garden marketing campaign was with Woolworths and not Oliver.
However, Ausveg rejected Oliver's claim in a letter that he cannot influence Woolworths' business decisions.
The letter said: ''Jamie, naturally, is concerned when he hears about small producers suffering financial hardship and your letter will be discussed with Woolworths further at our next senior-level meeting to ensure farmers are completely clear about the aims of the program,'' according to a Fairfax Media report.
“As I'm sure you know, Jamie is essentially an 'employee' of Woolworths and as such he has no sway regarding the commercial direction or negotiations that the Woolworths business takes.''
In the letter, Oliver also asked Ausveg to help create ''real change in the shopping habits of Australian consumers so they can cook more fresh food'' according to the report.
''We would very much hope Ausveg would support Woolworths in this extremely important ambition.''
In response, Ausveg public affairs manager, William Churchill said he was disappointed in the “lacklustre” response from the Jamie Oliver Group for not taking a stronger stand on the issue.
“This is in stark contrast to the position Mr Oliver took in 2012 where he signed an open letter to The Times objecting to the price of milk. It’s sad that a similar stand has not been made here,” said Churchill.
According to Ausveg, growers say they have been unfairly pressured into committing additional money to the Woolworths campaign with many fearful of retribution should they not comply with the retailer’s request.
“It’s unfair, unreasonable and un-Australian for Woolworths to expect that growers should wear the additional costs of this marketing campaign, particularly when their margins are already wafer thin,” said Churchill.
“Growers have seen this levy by Woolworths as a slap in the face and a double dip into their wallets and are rightfully outraged.”
