MasterChef, one of Australia’s favourite cooking shows is under fire for its claim that the show is “going greener with renewable gas” following its sponsorship deal with the Australian Gas Network.
Greenwash campaign group Comms Declare has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate its claims by the AGN through the show and has engaged the Environmental Defenders Office to prepare and lodge the complaint.
Campaign founder Belinda Noble said that the complaint focuses on MasterChef host Andy Allen in Episode 4 saying: “And I’m excited to say this year, MasterChef is going greener with renewable gas.”
“We believe that hundreds of thousands of MasterChef fans are being deceived into thinking that the gas used in the program is good for the planet,” Ms Noble said.
“The biomethane and grey hydrogen used in the MasterChef kitchen is not renewable, not low emissions, not commercially viable and not available in ordinary Australian homes.
“We call on MasterChef producers to drop this polluting sponsor and move to induction cooking, like their counterparts around the world.”
Saturday Paper’s morning news podcasts has chimed in saying that the network’s use of “bait and switch” was ominous.
“What AGN and the other pipeline companies want to do (with hydrogen and biomethane) is – they want to harvest it, mix it in with regular ol’ gas and pump it around to homes in that way.”
However, the technology is expensive and would require an overhaul of gas networks to homes.
Environment Victoria’s climate campaign manager Joy Toose said these alternative gasses would require the “replacement of every single gas appliance”.
Expert commentators such as Tim Forcey whose Facebook group My Efficient Electric Home now has nearly 120,000 followers, said hydrogen was still polluting and unhealthy. But the gas industry was under pressure as it could see its end days were coming so was spending a lot of money to prop up its product via advertising.
He said he called the show “Gasterchef”.
“We shouldn’t be surprised – the gas industry has known for more than 10 years it doesn’t have much of a future and it’s spending a lot of money to turn this around and turn us to the wrong direction.”
The gas distributors were using money from connections to advertise and “getting people who pay for distribution to pay for their advertising”.
It was sad that current gas users were paying the price for these ads, he said.
Ms Toose said: “It’s no coincidence that as the Victorian government looks to give more households access to electric appliances and phase out gas, the gas network owners are paying MasterChef big bucks to create confusion about the need to electrify. It’s a cynical attempt to stall progress to preserve their massive profits.”
– with Tina Perinotto