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First Move with Julia Chatterley
Turkey Banning Syrians, Yemenis and Iraqis From Flights to Belarus; Johnson & Johnson to Split into Two Public Companies; European Airlines Call for Global Net Zero Target by 2050. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired November 12, 2021 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:38]
ANNOUNCER: CNN Breaking News.
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: Welcome to the show and straight to our breaking news this morning, Turkey banning Syrians, Yemenis
and Iraqis from flights to Belarus as Europe threaten sanctions over the migrant crisis. Two airlines have announced the same ban.
The E.U. says Belarus manufactured the crisis encouraging migrants to travel to the Polish border as payback for earlier sanctions.
Poland says Belarus is using migrants for quote, "propaganda," while rights groups criticized Polish pushbacks, at least 2,000 men, women and children
and are trapped along the border.
Poland says 223 people tried to cross illegally on Thursday.
Matthew Chance is the only international reporter on the Belarusian side of the border and he joins us now. Matthew, great to have you with us. Just
talk us through what you're seeing and what the people there are saying.
Okay, I think we just lost connection with him, but we can see him and I think the scenes behind him as you can see speak for itself. We'll just see
if we can re-establish connection with him.
Matthew, can you hear me?
You can see him there, of course, standing on the border talking to people and obviously we can see that he is talking to someone there, a gentleman
with a child on his shoulders.
Matthew, can you hear me now? Are we still trying to establish? Okay, Matthew, we've got you. Tell me what you're seeing. It is pretty evident
here.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I can hear you. I can hear you. It is just technically a little bit challenging, as
you can imagine. But there are thousands of migrants that have flooded into Belarus over the past several weeks, and 2,000 of them and there are many
more elsewhere have come to this camp on the border.
They set up a camp here right on the border with Poland. I was just speaking to this gentleman over here and his sister. He says his name is
Nord, there is a child on his shoulders, as you can see. Her name is Mary. Right, Mary? Mary. Yes.
And they are from Iraqi Kurdistan, as are many of the people that I've spoken to here. Let me just flip the camera around because I'm holding up
my camera. Let me flip that around. You can see right here, quite an interesting scene that is playing out, because you've got Belarusian
Security Forces trying to push the crowds back as the Belarusian Red Cross attempts to hand out food aid. They are just handing out simple food and
water.
But look, you know, there's such a scramble for sustenance among the people in this camp, that as soon as anything like food or water appears everybody
(AUDIO GAP) whatever they can, so the Security Forces are out here pushing people back, and one guy and he is not using his baton, but he is
threatening to use his baton just to try and control the unruly crowd of migrants, the desperate people as they try to get food and water to keep
them going during what are becoming increasingly cold nights here on the border between Belarus and Poland's international -- sorry, it is the
Belarusian Red Cross, by the way, that's distributing the aid here.
Let me just take you quickly through here. You can see the sun is just going down. So, I'm sorry if that's glaring a bit, but people have made
their makeshift camps here. There's lots of children here. Two hundred children according to the authorities, 600 women, the rest of them, the
2,000 are young men apparently. And just over here to show how close we are, you can see someone standing right there (AUDIO GAP).
You can see in the foreground here, the razor wire fence that's been erected by the Pols to try and prevent people sometimes in vain from
getting across into Poland, into the European Union.
So, you know, a pretty tense standoff here the border between Belarus and Poland, and of course, both sides are blaming each other. Poland, the
European Union, Western countries, the United States as well, saying this is a crisis that has been fueled by Belarus itself. It's been they say
encouraging migrants to come to Belarus. It's been urging (AUDIO GAP) this nation on the border as a means of putting pressure on the European Union
and in some way sort of punishing the E.U. for the stinging sanctions that the E.U. has been imposing on Belarus for its various maligned activities
inside the country.
[09:05:16]
CHANCE: Its oppression of opponents, for example.
The Belarusians, on the other hand, backed by their allies in Moscow, and in fact, some other international agencies as well, they are saying that
some of the blame should be shared by Poland, which is not fulfilling its obligations they say, much of the time under international law, that's
something that Poland rejects.
But nevertheless, there are numerous reports of migrants once they get to Polish territory, being pushed back into Belarus. And you know, of course,
that's not to say the Belarus are any saints either, they are pushing people the other way.
And so the poor individuals from Iraqi Kurdistan, from various other parts of the Middle East, from Afghanistan, from Syria, and elsewhere. And you
can see, and you can get a sense of how deep this camp is running right across that border. They're the ones paying the real price.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, you're absolutely right, Matthew, and actually, it's them that I want to talk about now. I mean, you were showing the scenes at the
beginning of people sort of queuing, but pushing towards the people from the Red Cross to try and get food disbursements. Do we know how often
that's taking place? How hungry these people are?
And then I guess my other question would be from the people that you're speaking to, what did they believe would happen when they came to Belarus
and they came to the border? Did they believe that they were going to be let across the border into Poland? What are they saying at this moment?
CHANCE: Well, I'm just going to have to change the shot a little bit because my arm -- it is a little bit too much. But look, yes, it's a good -
- it's a good question.
Look, firstly, on the food aid. All I can say is that, you know, they're not getting enough. I mean, the people here are hungry. They're desperate
for firewood. I've witnessed some scenes just a few moments ago, before we came to air with people scrambling to get firewood off a truck that had
brought some chopped logs into the camp, so they can light these fires to keep warm, because even though it's not particularly cold right now, as the
sun goes down, as the night draws in and as we are in, of course, in the middle of winter here, or the beginning of winter, anyway, it's extremely
cold.
There's already been a number of people that have reported to have died because of hypothermia here in this camp as they attempt to get across the
border into Poland and into the European Union. Of course, that's what they want to do. They came here with the expressed purpose.
Now, were they encouraged by Belarus? I think there's plenty of evidence that they were, but they came here with the expressed (AUDIO GAP) to find a
better life in the European Union. Many of them have said they want to go to Germany through Poland. In fact, you see crowds of people here sometimes
chanting "Germany, Germany, Germany," others people say they want to go to Britain, the normal destination country for migrants inside Europe, if not
now, the European Union.
And I think there's a bitter a sense of disappointment amongst many of the people here that that is not happening as quickly as they hoped it would.
And remember, this has not been a cheap, cost free exercise for these individuals. From the migrants that I've spoken to inside Minsk and
elsewhere, thousands of dollars, three, four, five thousand dollars (AUDIO GAP) or whatever you want to call them to transit right from their home
countries through to their destination countries as well.
There is more, because -- I mean, there's literally more in terms of refugees, because what the Belarusian authorities tell me is that there are
2,000 people in this camp, as I mentioned, but by the end of the week, there could be as many thousands, perhaps as many as 10,000, in the weeks
and in the months ahead.
And so the Belarusians are warning the European Union and warning specifically Poland that this crisis is going to get a lot worse if this
standoff continues.
CHATTERLEY: We've heard now that a number of the airlines are not bringing refugees in some of the nations that you mentioned and you introduced us to
Mary at the beginning there, an Iraqi Kurdistan. What do we think happens to the people there? Are they willing to wait until a solution is found
because we also know the E.U. is going to meet on Monday, the Foreign Ministers are going to talk about potentially more sanctions on Belarus,
but that doesn't address the immediate crisis that you're bringing to us there. Are those people prepared to wait?
CHANCE: Well, I don't see them going anywhere (AUDIO GAP) camera around again for the (AUDIO GAP) very soon. And as I said to you, there's
certainly no sign of a letup in the amount of refugees 200 or 300 people coming in every day according to the Belarusian authorities are becoming
migrants every day and trying to get to this border every day, so that situation is getting much worse.
[09:10:06]
CHANCE: You're right, there is -- there are measures underway in terms of trying to curtail the amount of people that come in directly from (AUDIO
GAP) --
CHATTERLEY: Okay, I think we've lost the signal there with Matthew Chance, as you can see and I apologize for the connection that we had there. But
clearly, a very troubling situation there and we will continue to track Matthew and those refugees there, the migrants on the border between
Belarus and Poland. And we thank you to Matthew Chance there for bringing us that story.
For now, let's bring it back to business news today and global stocks ending a volatile week on an up note. Green remains the theme as you can
see across Wall Street. The Dow outperforming premarket and Johnson & Johnson announcing a surprise break up a plan, too.
Europe in the meantime, still on track for weekly gains and markets in Asia finished higher, with the Nikkei rising more than one percent.
Okay, let's get to the latest on Johnson & Johnson breaking up the Band- Aids and prescription drugs. The world's largest health products' company is splitting into two, and Paul La Monica joins us on this story. Not a new
concept. We've seen rivals like Pfizer, like Merck have done the same, separating the far less lucrative consumer part of the business from the
medical devices, from the drugs part of the business, and that's the decision today from Johnson & Johnson, too.
PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Johnson & Johnson, obviously a very well-known company in the Dow, whether or not the new J&J remains in
the Dow remains to be seen. They make a COVID vaccine that will remain part of the core J&J pharma and medical devices business. But yes, as you point
out, they are going to be spinning off that unit that is known for consumer products like Band-Aids and Sudafed, and others.
And this isn't just following the lead of what some other pharma companies have done. We've had this wave of big breakups. Just this week, GE, which
we've talked about, as well as Toshiba. So it seems like right now, companies around the world, these conglomerates might be deciding that
being more nimble is the way to go in 2021 and beyond.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I was looking at the breakdown of sales here. The drugs unit, 55 percent of sales in 2020, the medical devices 28 percent of sales,
that consumer business just 17 percent. So, if you want to focus your attention in your investments on the more lucrative side of the business,
this is the way you go.
Paul La Monica, thank you so much for that.
Fossil fuels focus on the final day of the COP 26, the latest draft agreement retains a reference to fossil fuels, but the language has been
weakened. Here is the exact line, the draft calls on countries to accelerate, quote "The phase out of unabated coal power and have
inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels."
Phil Black is at the Summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Phil, details like that, you could drive a bus through in a diesel or petrol fueled bus at that.
What do we make of it?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Julia, you have to remember, this is a consensus process. We've got some 200 countries closely
scrutinizing this text, intensely trying to get language that they believe perceive -- reflects their national interest. As an example of this -- so
for example, the text still does include some pretty strong clear language about the science, about why the goal should be 1.5 degrees Celsius of
average temperature, warming, why there is a limited time to achieve that because we've got to cut emissions by 45 percent this decade in order to
get there.
But when it comes to who should take that action, this is where we've seen a change. The original text talked about all parties taking meaningful
action in this critical decade. The new version talks about an accelerated action, but with reference to countries' specific circumstances,
capacities, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty.
So what you see there is the developing world, essentially saying not very subtly, and as we would expect, that they do not believe they can be
expected to take the same action as richer developed countries, so India and China cannot be held in the same way responsible, cannot be expected to
act this decade in the same way as say the U.S. and the E.U. would.
Crucially, there is still language there, which points to a next step because remember, we've got to cut emissions 45 percent this decade to get
to 1.5 degrees, and we are nowhere near achieving that. So, perhaps the most important language in this is the language that calls for parties to
go away, reconsider their individual emissions targets and come back next year with stronger ones.
The language there has changed slightly from urging parties to requesting parties that as seen as slightly weaker language and on the coal and fossil
fuels stuff, well, yes, again, more qualification. Instead of simply calling for an accelerated move away from coal and end to fossil fuel
subsidies, it calls for an accelerated move away from unabated coal, that is coal power without the controversial carbon capture technology attached
and to move away from inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, inefficient is highly subjective and open to some interpretation there.
So, we've got these key points. They're still there. This is only the second draft, we would expect it to change still on this final day --
Julia.
[09:15:20]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and to, this week, I believe the I.M.F. data says $11 million in minutes spent on fossil fuel subsidies, we have to do better.
Phil Black, thank you so much for that, COP 26 in Glasgow.
European airlines pushing for more ambitious targets to decarbonize the industry globally, they're calling on the U.N. aviation body to match what
European carriers have already pledged, namely net zero emissions by 2050.
One of them, easyJet is hoping to go further. It is working on an interim target to significantly reduce emissions by 2035. And Johan Lundgren is the
CEO of easyJet and Chairman for the Airlines for Europe Association, and he joins us from COP 26.
Sir, fantastic to have you on the show. For me, this is what -- two thirds of the European aviation sector, basically challenging the rest of the
world to meet in the middle over reducing emissions. What does it mean in practice? And what are you hoping for?
JOHAN LUNDGREN, CEO, EASYJET: Well, basically, what is this all about is that the A4E and its members here that I'm chairman of this year, set out a
really ground-making roadmap here in February where we said, we believe now that we can get to a net zero position by 2050, and we showed that through
the roadmap that was developed by independent research from touch base experts, and we believe that that can also work as a blueprint for others
to follow.
But I think it is worthwhile pointing out in your intro that to say that, look, there's been a tremendous also, you know, development among, you
know, the people in this industry in terms of the commitment that they're making.
Only a couple of years ago in 2019, four years after the Paris Summit, there was no airline committed to net zero. Now, we have some 300 airlines
in the world, which represent that 80 percent of the old flights that have been operating.
So now while they have done that and committed to do that, now the work needs to then really get on to in granularity, how do we make these things
that we have laid out happen? And that can only happen if government authorities and the industry are all coming together.
And one example would be, for instance, to have a common policy framework on carbon pricing as an example, and this demands global solutions, but we
don't use that as an excuse to not get going on the work that we have done here in Europe.
CHATTERLEY: There is a number of elements that we can look at here, but I do want to be specific, first and foremost.
I mean, you're an airline that is saying, look, we're going to do this by 2035. And, you know, I've looked at all the things that you're doing in
order to address this, just some of them are quite simple. No longer using paper documents on board, making sure you fill each flight so that you're
efficient, switching to electric ground equipment, including steps and bag trolleys.
Some of these are basic steps just to tackle the amount of energy that you're using, and to just on a very simple level, look at reducing your
carbon footprint. It feels like 2050, actually, for some parts of the world, United States, for example, isn't ambitious enough, and we're not
even there yet.
LUNDGREN: But I think first of all, it is good to see that the U.S. airlines are now following up with it, now that it was made here at COP 26
earlier in the week to reach net zero goals by 2050. But basically, the big buckets to reach net zero by 2050 consists of really four things.
One is the development and the implementation of really zero emissions technology, and if you're looking through the development now when it comes
to hydrogen, and then also electric particularly for petrol, it is extraordinary promising.
The second part is sustainable aviation fuels, and particularly e-fuels in the long run, but this is where we need a lot of government support to make
sure there are incentives to incentivize, which is going to be a huge industry going forward to make sure that the sustainable aviation fuel is
available in that supply that is so needed.
And also, Julia, that the cost of doing that doesn't prohibit early adopters to use that and then you have the third part, which is the
economic measures like what we have in Europe, the EHS and then also CORSIA, which is a global offsetting scheme, and we all need these things
to come together. And I think that's the most important thing to say that look, how can we now implement this on a global level that we're going to
see the impact on this? And that's why the roadmap that we set out here in Europe has been so important, and we're pretty proud of it.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, one of the game changes here I think would be greener fuels and you've alluded to it, too. But surely, that's somewhere
where governments have to coordinate in terms of how they promote and influence the adoption and the research into this.
If you've got a jurisdiction that gets the carrot, which is tax incentives and tax breaks and then others get the stick, which is like a mandate on
these kinds of fuels, which I know Europe is looking at, then surely you're going to end up with ticket price distortions and people are going to pick
and choose.
I mean, you have to try and be competitive with this at the same time as promoting greater reduction of carbon footprints.
[09:20:15]
LUNDGREN: I agree. I mean, you're spot on. I mean, it is -- look, I think it is pretty proven and that's one of the least effective ways on how you
can try to address how you can decarbonize aviation is through taxation. Because you're basically removing funds out of the industry, you're making
the flight more expensive, which basically means in essence, that you're going to have, you know, privileged and wealthy people that's going to be
flying. And, you know, the deregulation of the industry that made sure that that the millions and millions of people who can take uses of the product
and service that would be impacted.
It doesn't necessarily mean there will be less flights. There will be less load factors, less people on the planes who will pay more. And at the same
time you remove the industry, and at the same time, the amount of taxes that has been called sustainability taxes or green taxes, whatever you call
it, where it not has been ring-fenced that they actually go into initiative that helps us decarbonize and support the transition.
It has absolutely used a flawed aspect of the whole thing, and I would also argue that, you know, we are not on the tax from that perspective. Taxation
is a tool. It is a design that is there, but it has to be done and shaped in a much smarter and effective way than it is today.
CHATTERLEY: I'm glad we're having the discussion. Great to have you on the show with us, and hopefully, we'll talk to you again soon as well and we'll
talk about the recovery of the industry.
For now, sir, thank you so much. The CEO of easyJet there and the chairman of Airlines for Europe. Thank you.
Still to come on FIRST MOVE, the Thanksgiving price hike, the legendary Stew Leonard, Jr. on soaring crude prices and festive treats.
And a Friday trip to Havana. Cuba reopens next week after vaccinating its people with a home grown vaccine. We're live in the capital. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE with a look at some of the stories making headlines around the world.
Parts of Germany and Austria are expected to impose new restrictions on those who are not vaccinated for COVID-19. From Monday, Berlin will ban
unvaccinated people from many indoor facilities and in Upper Austria, officials plan to lockdown those who aren't vaccinated. Both countries
reported record infection numbers on Thursday.
CNN's Scott McLean joins us now with more.
[09:25:08]
CHATTERLEY: Wow, Scott. I think one of the first questions that comes to mind on this is enforcement. How are they planning to enforce these greater
restrictions particularly if we are talking about lockdowns for unvaccinated people? And why? Why do you this?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, two questions that are certainly tough to answer, and these are the questions that governments are grappling
with really all over Europe and who would have thought that a year later -- almost a year after the first shots went into arms in Europe, we would
still be talking about lockdowns.
Mass vaccination was supposed to be the silver bullet that made lockdowns obsolete, but increasingly, governments are saying, Julia, that look, not
enough of the population is actually vaccinated to make enough of a difference to prevent the virus from spreading quickly. And so Austria
definitely falls into that category.
You mentioned the possibility of lockdown. So, Austria actually signed off on a law back in September or a policy back in December that said that once
30 percent of ICU beds are occupied by COVID patients, that will trigger a lockdown but only amongst unvaccinated people.
You asked about enforcement, they're promising to enforce it by police, just like it was at the height of the pandemic where you were only allowed
to leave your house to go to work or for the absolute essentials.
Austria, I should mention, by the way, Julia, right now that number stands at 21 percent, so the Austrian Chancellor is saying this lockdown could
happen within days. The Austrian Chancellor also saying that the vaccination rate in his country is shamefully low. The infection rate is
also quite high, three times higher than it is in Germany right now.
Other countries are making similar calculations. Not too far away in The Netherlands, they may go ahead with another lockdown, a similar or a
different -- a slightly different one where the whole country would be barred from going to restaurants, bars, gyms, that kind of thing
temporarily in order to get the infection rate down, which is surging right now. That's the recommendation that's been given by an expert panel. So the
government plans to make their announcement on what they will do later on today.
And Germany, also, tightening restrictions, state governments in Berlin, for instance, saying that as of Monday, you will no longer be able to get
into restaurants, bars, gyms, that kind of thing with just proof of a negative test, you have to prove that you have antibodies.
And Julia, this is really significant because Germany since the outset of the pandemic has always made a point of saying, look, we're not trying to
discriminate against people who don't get vaccinated. So they've always had that testing option. But now, it seems that as cases arising, they're sort
of running out of options as to what they can do. Officials today said that of the almost 50,000 people who were confirmed to test positive in new
cases today, well, 350 of those are going to end up in the ICU and 200 of them are going to likely die, they say.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, this is quite fascinating, isn't it? For me, in New York, it makes sense simply because that's what we've experienced the
whole way through now. If you're not vaccinated, you're not allowed indoor in many places.
It was the Health Minister for Germany, Jens Spahn that caught my attention, though. He made some comments about the situation in Germany
relative to Italy. He said, "If my vaccination certificate is checked more often in one day in Rome, that it is sometimes in four weeks in Germany,
then I think more can be done."
Very quickly, because Italy has some of the tightest restrictions on people who aren't vaccinated, what is the situation like in Italy at this moment?
MCLEAN: Yes, so they have a Green Pass very similar to the one in Germany, and obviously, according to the German Health Minister, enforced much more
strictly as well. You have to show that you have proof of vaccination, proof of natural immunity from having been infected previously, or you have
to prove that you had a recent negative test and that seems to be working for Italy right now. Its infection rate is right down with Portugal's right
now, its vaccination rate is well into the 80s.
Obviously, Italy right now might be getting lucky with the policies that it has in place, but maybe as those policies loosen up in the coming months,
they may start to have a problem if they can't boost their vaccination rates. So obviously, Italian authorities are hoping that they can get more
shots into more arms as we get into the winter months so that their pretty good situation right now stays that way -- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and they've had protests as a result, but it will be fascinating to watch the data. CNN's Scott McLean, thank you for that
update there.
The market opens next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:32:35]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. As expected, we've got a higher open across the board on Wall Street, but the major U.S. averages remain on
track actually for weekly losses. Stocks have had a pretty volatile week with rising concern over how the U.S. Federal Reserve might respond to the
ongoing spike in inflation.
U.S. consumer inflation now more than 30-year highs with red hot food prices, leading the way. The price of steak up 24 percent from this time
last year; bacon and pork chops not far behind. Milk, coffee, and flour also up some six percent from a year ago.
Rising food prices is something our friend grocery guru, Stew Leonard, Jr. knows all about and the President and CEO of Stew Leonard's is joining us
now from one of his stores in Connecticut. Stew, it is always a pleasure to have you on the show. I know you were listening to that, do those kind of
numbers resonate with what you're seeing there?
STEW LEONARD, JR. PRESIDENT AND CEO, STEW LEONARD'S: Great to be with you. No, they don't, and I'm a little confused listening to some of these
statistics. We're getting over a hundred trailer loads of product every week in the store. I'm talking to the ranchers, the farmers, and the meat
people, and right now, at least at Stew Leonard's, we get plenty of supply.
You are seeing prices go up a little bit, but I just heard for instance, like I've got a few props for you today, Julia, but even Brussels sprouts,
I heard were going to double in price, they haven't gone up in price. So it might be spotty across the country. But on the East Coast here around
Manhattan, we're seeing things increase a little bit, you're going to see five to 10 percent, but nothing up in the 20 to 30 percent like I've heard
on the news.
CHATTERLEY: So, this is so strange. What's going on? Because I think one of the things that people talk about most is the meat prices that are
arising. I can see, not meat, poultry, but I can see a very nice looking turkey there in front of you.
What are you seeing in terms of price rises for meats and poultry as well?
LEONARD: Okay, well, most of the meat and poultry is based on a lot of grain and a lot of feed. I mean, if you look at this turkey, you know 75
percent of the turkey weight is feeds, so corn prices have gone up. Obviously, that is going to increase the price of turkeys this year, not
that much. We've actually even lowered the price of one of them because we were able to buy local, but I would recommend that the people try to go
local like, these squash right here, same prices last year, we are buying them from New Jersey, so you don't have those transportation cost if you
shop at a store that buys local products.
[09:35:09]
CHATTERLEY: Oh, that's such a great point. So, I mean, we've discussed this with you many times, the fact that you source from local farms, you
have these conversations with people about what's available, how their prices are rising. How are they doing, and you actually, for that matter,
with labor? With paying people more to have to recruit them? And also with energy prices going up, too? The transportation costs are a critical
element here of how you have to adjust prices?
LEONARD: Well, basically, now, Julia, I hear four things from all of our suppliers. We've been working really hard on this, too, to try to get
everybody the best product at the best price for the Holidays now. But you hear supply chain disruption, our suppliers talk about the second big
issue, I can't get enough help. I don't have enough labor and the labor that I do have, I have had to pay more.
The third thing is the transportation costs. I mean, we all go to the fuel -- and see what the fuel costs are right now. Well, the farmers have to put
fuel in their tractors and then they've got to transport the product. Sometimes, our fresh berries come from California right now. So, the cost
has doubled to get the berries here to the store.
You're going to see some increases, but I hear that from all suppliers all the time, those issues.
CHATTERLEY: Right, so we're not talking about the kind of monster price rises that I was talking about though at the beginning of the show, at
least as far as you're concerned?
LEONARD: Well, you know, Julia, I think you have to shop smartly. And don't forget, Thanksgiving is the most inexpensive holiday meal of the
year. You know, I mean, if we're paying three to four dollars a gallon for gas right now, that might be the same level of say buying your rib roast or
something at the Holidays coming up.
But for Thanksgiving, it's like you're being able to buy gas at $2.00 a gallon. I mean, turkey prices are all in the $2.00 range right now. If you
want to go with something like this, a big tomahawk steak, you're going to start paying a lot more. This is now like almost $20.00 a pound for the
best cut of beef, and same with lobsters right now. These have doubled in price. So, stay away from those things, you know, and just stick to things
like ground beef hasn't gone up much, chicken hasn't gone up much.
You just have to bob and weave and adjust and look for the specials out there, and I think it can circumvent a lot of these, you know, scary, scary
of prices that people are hearing about on the news.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I had the U.S. Agriculture Secretary on actually last week as well, and I asked him about the risk of turkey shortages, because
I'd read that headline as well. Again, you're saying, don't worry about that, but probably buy sort of a little bit earlier than you would have
done last year perhaps.
LEONARD: Well, you know, Julia, also don't forget you have to make a decision how many turkeys to raise on January 1st. So, you're really thrown
a dart. I mean, the order of turkeys, you know probably in July and so forth. So when I talk to our turkey farmers right now, some of them have
cut back on the number of turkeys they are growing like a big company, Shady Brook in Cargill there, they've cut our turkey order back 30 percent
because they didn't raise enough turkey. So it's really a supply and demand thing.
But then, we have a local farmer in New Jersey right now who grows all their own corn right on their property, their ranch, and they've been able
to actually -- they grew extra corn. So, we ordered actually -- we will sell 70,000 turkeys, and we're expecting that we're going to do more from
the local farmer in Pennsylvania right now.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, I love the way that you switch these things off as well and you're anticipating or at least planning ahead in order to have
everything in place. How many people have you hired?
LEONARD: I'm throwing darts.
CHATTERLEY: Oh, go on.
LEONARD: I'm throwing darts right now, because we don't know what's going to happen this Thanksgiving. We are seeing though that customers can go
online and order their turkey early and we're seeing that has gone up 400 percent, right, and also we have dinner for four and a dinner for eight.
Last year, the dinner for fours floated obviously because, you know everybody had smaller gatherings. This year, we've noticed dinner eight,
they are back on track again like 2019. So, we're dealing right now -- our customers that are shopping here at Stew's, they're planning on bigger
Thanksgivings this year and that's what we're betting on, too.
CHATTERLEY: And that gives me goosebumps. People are getting back together, which is great.
Now, I was going to ask you about how many people you have hired for the Holiday Season, but is there an upside down cow behind you over your right
shoulder?
[09:40:00]
LEONARD: Yes, actually I've got to thank Disney. I've got to thank Disney because I went down there and I said, how do you come up with these ideas?
I spoke to their head of all their creative down there, and so, one of the things he said to me is he said, gravity doesn't matter when you're at
Disney, and I said, what do you mean? He said like, break the rules and think of new ideas, so I said, well, that's cool.
So I came back and I said, let's put a cow upside down, and we have it in all our training rooms and everything. At Stew's, we want everybody to
think creatively as we can right now, but that cow is from Disney right there.
CHATTERLEY: I'll tell you what, if gravity does apply to that, you need some great insurance because that will take somebody down and actually
speaking of that, the last time we spoke to you, you had a sling on your arm. How's your arm? Are you all fixed and mended?
LEONARD: Oh, it is better. Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Okay.
LEONARD: You know what? I'm getting older and I'm getting injured, but I'm on all better right now.
CHATTERLEY: You don't have to hold the crowds back anymore.
LEONARD: Thanks for asking. Yes, my daughters are telling me to take it easy, Daddy, can't be climbing on things like you used to.
CHATTERLEY: No chance. No chance of you slowing down. Stew, great to have you with us. Stew Leonard, Jr. there, the President -- great to chat.
LEONARD: Yes. Thank you, Julia. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.
CHATTERLEY: To you, too, sir.
LEONARD: Happy Thanksgiving.
CHATTERLEY: The President and CEO of Stew Leonard's there.
LEONARD: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Thank you. Okay, up next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Restoring the land is a matter of survival. It's up to us to create an African dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: The voice of Africa's Great Green Wall Project on a brand new project leading art, blending art and activism, that's up next. Stay with
us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The future generation will hold us accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. It is the final day of COP 26, and as negotiators scrambled to forge a big agreement, activists are ramping up
their efforts, too. Among them is Code Green, a new coalition of artists and coders. Their plan is to use NFTs, non-fungible token auctions to raise
money for climate projects. They're planning to host the first auction at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
And joining us now is Somalian-French singer/songwriter, Inna Modja, she is cofounder of Code Green and a climate activist with many strings to her
bow. She's the narrator on a documentary about Africa's Great Green Wall Project, which aims to grow an 8,000 kilometer ribbon of trees across the
continent to restore the ecosystem. She is also a UN Ambassador on desertification.
[09:45:11]
CHATTERLEY: Inna, it's amazing to have you on the show. Welcome, welcome. Talk to me about the showing of this documentary because I know it was held
at the IMAX Cinema in in Glasgow. What was the reaction?
INNA MODJA, COFOUNDER, CODE GREEN: Hello, Julia. Thank you so much for having me. The reaction was incredible, and more and more people are
learning more about the Great Green Wall, and the impact, the positive impact that it can have on the whole world when it will be achieved, and we
have a lot of young people.
And for me, it is so important to include the youth, and we even have kids that came with their families to watch the film and it is very encouraging.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it is and it is great to have kids coming to see this and understanding some of the challenges, but also some of the benefits, I
think as well.
You traveled to five different countries in order to talk and understand about the impact of deforestation -- Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, just to name
some of them. Just help us understand what you saw -- the challenges, but also the positive impact that this kind of approach and planting trees and
rebuilding ecosystems can have.
MODJA: The reality of climate change is hitting really hard in this region of the Sahel and the Great Green Wall is from Senegal to Djibouti. And what
I saw traveling in the Sahel was that a lot of people have built a strong resilience, but their lives are so difficult, and all the issues around
climate change, I could really see and witness the impact that it has on the communities -- forced migration, education, the life of, you know, the
big poverty and the fact that in this region, 80 percent of rural communities live on some form or another of agriculture.
If they cannot leave and make a living where they are, millions of people are be are going to be forced to migrate. And just an example, the Lake
Chad Basin is around four countries -- Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad. And in the past 50 years, it has shrunk 90 percent, so all of the
communities around have become very vulnerable, and it gave an opportunity to armed groups like Boko Haram to really terrorize people and take over
that region.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I mean, there's all sorts of challenges here to your point. I know you also care about empowering women, which is a crucial part
of this and we recently spoke to Matt Damon, of water.org, and he was saying the millions of hours on a daily basis that women and children spend
just walking to get water, even giving them their time back and empowering the women in some of these communities, helping educate the women in these
communities has such a huge positive impact on everyone.
MODJA: Absolutely. It is going to be a huge change maker, because the Great Green Wall is not just about planting trees, it is really giving
opportunity -- job opportunities to the community, and knowing that in the Sahel, 50 percent of the people are less than 25 years, it is going to be a
huge, huge, huge change for this.
It's a double edged sword, but we are in this rush to make it happen so that we can harness really the power of this young people and give them not
just a make -- help them survive, but make them thrive. And for me, women are the backbone of this project. Traveling in the desert and in the
Sahara, what I saw is that women are really leaders in this project.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and in many projects around the world, we will say cheekily. You're also an artist and very much tied to this is what I
mentioned in the introduction, Code Green, the production of art hopefully going to be auctioned in Davos in 2022. What can you tell me about this
project and the kind of art that we're going to be seeing when it is produced and presented?
MODJA: Well, for me, the blockchain is the future, and we're all at some point going to be on the blockchain and the NFT community has been doing
amazing stuff, but the idea is really to make it more sustainable.
And so with Code Green, we help the NFT community to have a positive impact on the planet. So we can add donors, collectors, artists, and active
projects to a verified consortium of climate solutions on the ground and really connecting the artist to the people because for me, climate projects
are really, really important. But what is the most important thing is the people who are leaving on the frontline of climate change.
Community based project and grassroots project and the activists that are really making a change, so help tell their stories and help support them to
make a real movement of the work that they are doing and the Great Green Wall is a project that is created by Africans, but not just for Africa,
because in the end, when the Great Green Wall will be achieved, it will benefit the whole world because we would have built millions of hectares of
forest, so Code Green is really harnessing the power of creativity and help find solutions for the planet and help really communities.
[09:50:36]
CHATTERLEY: Yes, and another giant carbon sink for the world as well, which, as you point out, beyond anything else helps everybody, not just the
continent of Africa.
I can't wait to see the art. Thank you for what you're doing. I'm glad it went down well in Glasgow and continue the fight and we'll speak soon.
Inna Modja there, the singer/songwriter.
MODJA: Thank you so much.
CHATTERLEY: Co-founder of Code Green, great to chat with you. Thank you.
Okay, up next, Cuba has been off limits to tourists since the pandemic began until now. The country reopens next week. We're going to go live to
the capital, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE.
Next week, Cuba reopens to tourists for the first time since the pandemic began. The country desperately needs tourism. The sector generated 10
percent of the country's GDP back in 2019. Most of its population has now been vaccinated with a homegrown vaccine.
Patrick Oppmann joins me now. Patrick, what can prospective tourists expect to find when they journey to Cuba, and talk to us more about the homegrown
vaccine?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Julia, that has really been key to Cuba being able to reopen. Officials say they will be able to
reopen safely, more than 70 percent of their population are now fully vaccinated with these homegrown vaccines, vaccines that Cuban scientists
invented themselves. They have a long history of creating their own vaccines here, and we have seen the numbers of deaths and cases drop
sharply as vaccinations have risen.
Tourism is so important here not just for the government, but for the millions of Cubans who rent their homes, drive people in old cars or tour
guides and there has been almost no tourism throughout the pandemic. This island just had to shut down, and that has been very, very hard. The
economy is basically on life support.
But starting on Monday, people will be able to come here. There will be more flights from abroad. If you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated or have
had a PCR test in the last 72 hours, you will not need to quarantine which is what people -- visitors had to do up until now. So, that will be a big
difference.
Cuba, briefly last year, tried to open the tourism and we saw cases spike. So, that was something that they were not able to continue. But now that
they have carried out these vaccinations, even in children as young as two years old, Cuban officials say they are confident it is safe to move
forward.
[09:55:10]
OPPMANN: Things will look a little bit different. People have to wear face masks in the streets, but all the same, the Cuban government says that they
feel that now is the time to reopen and frankly can't come a moment too soon. They need to.
CHATTERLEY: Yes. Quite rightly pointed out. Patrick, great to have you on the show. Thank you so much.
Okay, and finally on FIRST MOVE, Iceland is known the world over for its volcanoes, its northern lights and of course for Bjork, and now, for a cold
as ice swipe at the Mark Zuckerberg Metaverse. Iceland saying, why? Put a headset on when you can experience the wonders of Icelandic nature
firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we call this not so new chapter in human connectivity? The Icelandverse. Enhanced actual reality without silly
looking headsets.
Completely immersed --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: As you might have guessed, that's a Mark Zuckerberg look-a- like in the video. It is actually more dynamic though, I have to say.
The ad campaign already getting lots of attention online, tens of thousands of people viewing it. Some calling the campaign, quote, "Olympic-level
trolling."
One commentator saying, "Now, I want to move to Iceland." I think that's a play on that suntan lotion, if you remember that he was wearing as well
that time.
Wow, cheeky.
That's it for the show. Stay safe. "Connect the World" is up next.
And we'll see you on Monday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
