Greenpeace warns over hidden climate cost of ‘eco-friendly’ chicken

British consumers swapping red meat for chicken as part of a greener lifestyle may be unwittingly contributing to the razing of rainforests, Greenpeace said yesterday.   

With sales of chicken rising in Britain, the environmental pressure group warned of the hidden climate impact of raising the birds whose feed was mainly grown in South America. That, says Greenpeace, means rising consumption could further endanger rainforests which are already shrinking by millions of hectares each year. 

“I really don’t think consumers are aware of this link to the extent they should be,” said Chiara Vitali, lead author of the report. “The message that has been coming across so far is that we need to be cutting red meat so it’s ‘OK’ to switch to something like chicken and unfortunately that is not the case,” she added, urging consumers instead to eat more plant-based food. 

Over the past 20 years, the demand for beef, lamb and pork has fallen steeply in Britain, according to Greenpeace analysis of official household purchase data, but that has been offset by a 20% increase in consumption of chicken. A survey by Leatherhead Food Research published last September found consumers were buying less red meat due to concerns over health and impact on the climate. 

But Greenpeace said the demand for soybeans used to make poultry feed was helping to drive destruction of South American forests that act as carbon sinks. “A survey of 23 leading British supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and food companies found none tracked whether soy used for animal feed in their supply chains was linked to deforestation,” it said. 

“68% of Britain’s soy imports come from South America, according to data from a government-led initiative to encourage sustainable soy. About 90% of soy the European Union imports is used to feed livestock. British shops were working to combat deforestation and increase the use of certified sustainable soy in supply chains,” said British Retail Consortium in response to the report. 

UK Hospitality, the industry group that represents restaurants and cafes, was not available for comment. 

Global Canopy, an environmental group that works with companies to halt deforestation, has said the loss of tropical forests created an estimated 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Sarah Rogerson, a researcher at Global Canopy’s Forest 500 initiative to rate leading firms on their action on deforestation, said the Greenpeace report underscored the failure of many businesses to be transparent about sourcing. 

“Quite a lot of companies have made commitments, but our evidence suggests that very few are actually providing enough transparency about what they are doing,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation. “The picture is even worse for indirect soy in animal feed. Manufacturers and retailers often have commitments or report only on soy that ends up directly in their products, so they are not looking at the deforestation risk in animal feed.”

(Reuters)