{"id":4156,"date":"2020-02-14T17:47:33","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T17:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/?p=4156"},"modified":"2020-02-14T17:47:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T17:47:33","slug":"chicken-from-uk-supermarkets-and-fast-food-chains-fuelling-mass-forest-loss-in-south-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2020\/02\/14\/chicken-from-uk-supermarkets-and-fast-food-chains-fuelling-mass-forest-loss-in-south-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicken from UK supermarkets and fast-food chains \u2018fuelling mass forest loss in South America\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The production of chicken to be sold in UK&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Supermarkets\">supermarkets<\/a>, restaurants and fast-food chains is destroying wildlife-rich&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Forests\">forests<\/a>&nbsp;in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/SouthAmerica\">South America<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Greenpeace\">Greenpeace<\/a>&nbsp;investigators claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Swathes of forest&nbsp;are bulldozed each year to grow&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/soya\">soya<\/a>, which is used to feed poultry in the UK and the rest of the world, a report by the charity says. The land used partly includes the world\u2019s most biodiverse savannah, the Brazilian Cerrado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">South America\u2019s forests are home to rare wildlife species and are a major absorber of damaging greenhouse gases, so eradicating the trees accelerates the climate and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/biodiversity\">biodiversity<\/a>&nbsp;crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in failing to monitor where their animal-feed crops come from, Britain\u2019s high-street brands are \u201ccontributing to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/deforestation\">deforestation<\/a>\u201c \u2013 some of which is illegal, it\u2019s claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consumers swapping red meat for chicken and other poultry are also fuelling the demand, and supermarkets and fast-food chains are pushing up sales with special offers on chicken, according to the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The UK imports more than 3 million tonnes of soya every year from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Argentina\">Argentina<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Brazil\">Brazil<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Paraguay\">Paraguay<\/a>, official&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.efeca.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/UK-RT-on-Sustainable-Soya-baseline-report-Oct-2018.pdf\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">figures<\/a>&nbsp;show, the bulk of it to feed factory-farmed animals, mostly chickens.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report, called Winging it: How the UK\u2019s Chicken Habit is Fuelling the Climate and Nature Emergency, says that meeting Britain\u2019s annual demand for high-protein soya requires 1.4 million hectares of land \u2013 an area larger than Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenpeace, which is calling on food giants to set meat-reduction targets, surveyed 23 UK supermarkets and fast-food and coffee chains about their chicken sales and soya usage. It says it found:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Some supermarkets are buying their soya from commodity giants including two that have been fined for trading in soya from illegally deforested areas in the Brazilian Cerrado<\/li><li>UK supermarkets account for two-thirds of the UK\u2019s soya imports \u2013 the vast majority for chicken feed<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tescoplc.com\/sustainability\/downloads\/soy-policy\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tesco<\/a>&nbsp;alone admitted using a sixth of the UK\u2019s soya \u2013 99 per cent of it for animal feed&nbsp;<\/li><li>Some leading supermarkets claim to support production of sustainable soya \u2013 or have a plan to switch to no-deforestation sources \u2013 but this means buying credits to offset their soya use<\/li><li>None of the companies surveyed could guarantee the soya they used for meat production was deforestation-free.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/mcdonalds\">McDonald\u2019s<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/KFC\">KFC<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/burger-king\">Burger King<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/nandos\">Nando\u2019s<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/Subway\">Subway<\/a>&nbsp;refused to disclose their meat sales or soya use altogether<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Supermarket promotions of chicken legs more than doubled last year, and price cuts trebled, according to market research by Kantar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But a Roundtable on Sustainable Soya report, also last year, found that just 2 per cent of the UK\u2019s imports come from zero-deforestation areas. And Greenpeace says not a single company it contacted was able to show it tracked the full amount or origin of the soya used as animal feed in its supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/amazon\">Amazon<\/a>&nbsp;is protected from further expansion for soya production by a 2006 ban but other areas with vital ecosystems such as the Cerrado and the Gran Chaco \u2013 South America\u2019s second largest forest \u2013 are still being exploited, the report shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Cerrado Manifesto, launched in 2017,&nbsp;calls on companies to voluntarily pledge to curb further deforestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cattle ranching is also a big cause of forest loss but most Brazilian beef is consumed in the country, leaving soya \u201ca more significant component of many countries\u2019 deforestation footprint\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Greenpeace UK forest campaigner Chiara Vitali said: \u201cConsumers cutting red meat are clearly trying to do the right thing for the right reasons but supermarkets and fast-food restaurants are keeping them in the dark when it comes to the precious forests being destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA straight swap from beef to chicken effectively amounts to outsourcing emissions of our meat consumption from the UK to South America.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The world cannot continue to consume industrially produced meat at current levels, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Analysis by the charity of EU figures suggests soya causes even more forest loss than palm oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leah Riley Brown, of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: \u201cRetailers are working together to tackle deforestation and drive greater uptake of certified sustainable soya in their supply chains.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe BRC has publicly called on the Brazilian government to stop Amazon deforestation for soy production and is working with other stakeholders to ensure soya sources meet customer expectations on sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Tesco spokesman said:&nbsp;\u201cWe agree with Greenpeace that more must be done to stop deforestation linked to food production. This is why we will source all the soya we use as animal feed from verified zero-deforestation areas by 2025 and are leading efforts to develop the Funding for Soy Farmers in the Cerrado initiative, which will protect biodiversity by preventing any new land being cleared for soya production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">McDonald\u2019s said it aimed&nbsp;to eliminate deforestation from supply chains by 2030. \u201cWe are prioritising by the end of 2020&nbsp;the raw materials our suppliers buy in greatest volume and where we can have the biggest impact: beef, chicken (including soya in feed), palm oil, coffee and the fibre in packaging. We are committed to sourcing soya for chicken feed that does not contribute to deforestation, and have identified the regions with high deforestation risks. In 2018, approximately 74 per cent of the soya used in the feed of chickens supplied to our restaurants in Europe was covered by a combination of ProTerra and Roundtable on Responsible Soy certification,\u201d a statement said.\u201cIn 2017, we became one of the first companies to sign the statement of support for the Cerrado Manifesto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Nando\u2019s spokesperson said:\u200b&nbsp;\u201cWe\u2019re proud that for four years, all our soya has been responsibly sourced under the Round Table on Responsible Soy, ProTerra or equivalent standards. This is not just the soya we use as an ingredient but also in our supply chain, which means we buy credits to cover the volume of soya fed to our chickens. We\u2019re always striving to do more. In 2017, we joined over 60 companies in signing a statement of support for the Cerrado Manifesto&nbsp;and we\u2019re proud to be an active member of the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Burger King spokeswoman said most of itschicken was sourced from the UK and Europe, and only some from Brazil. \u201cHowever, we hold supplier commitments that neither the poultry&nbsp;nor the feed it is raised on is former rainforest land. We are working with our suppliers on an ongoing basis to review the systems they have in place to ensure these accreditations can be upheld.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Subway spokeswoman said the chain had a sustainable soya policy. \u201cWe therefore require our franchise owners\u2019 suppliers to comply with this policy and to continually increase the amount of RTRS-certified soya used in Subway&nbsp;products with the ultimate aim of achieving 100 per cent certified sustainably sourced soy by the end of 2020. The Subway&nbsp;brand has a zero-deforestation policy. Suppliers are required to source all raw materials from areas which haven\u2019t been subject to deforestation, or from areas of high conservation value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A KFC spokesperson said it had been in touch previously with Greenpeace over the&nbsp;issue, and would welcome further discussion. \u201cKFC UK and Ireland supports long-established policies against deforestation and a commitment to work with our supply chain partners to sustainably source key produce and commodities, including chicken and soya. We are actively engaged in this issue and looking at how we strengthen our policies to do all we can to eliminate deforestation risk, working with our global teams and partners such as WWF to ensure that any sourcing decisions we make are informed and sustainable ones.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The production of chicken to be sold in UK&nbsp;supermarkets, restaurants and fast-food chains is destroying wildlife-rich&nbsp;forests&nbsp;in&nbsp;South America,&nbsp;Greenpeace&nbsp;investigators claim. Swathes of forest&nbsp;are bulldozed each year to grow&nbsp;soya, which is used to feed poultry in the UK and the rest of the world, a report by the charity says. The land used partly includes the world\u2019s most biodiverse savannah, the Brazilian Cerrado&#8230;. <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/2020\/02\/14\/chicken-from-uk-supermarkets-and-fast-food-chains-fuelling-mass-forest-loss-in-south-america\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4157,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4156\/revisions\/4157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/theamericasblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}