Much of the food we eat either comes from or is linked to the destruction of rainforests, putting the health of the planet at risk.
Yesterday, we revealed how nature is in grave danger with the WWF saying thousands of species are in decline, most severely in Latin America, home to the Amazon, where numbers have fallen by 94%.
The charity says the UK is “complicit” in the damage as it called for immediate action.
Dr Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF, said: “We have a now or never moment, we have got to legislate to get deforesting commodities off the supermarket shelves in the UK.”
It is difficult for consumers to navigate the complexity of supply chains, particularly for processed foods like ready meals and canned meat goods, such as corned beef.
But imported meat from Brazil is only part of the problem.
Every year, we need an area nearly the same size as the UK to meet our demand for soya and palm oil, controversial products linked to widespread deforestation.
Soya bean, a key driver of deforestation in the Amazon, is a main source of feed for British farm animals – three-quarters of the total we import.
The Daily Mirror travelled to the heart of the soya growing area in the state of Para, known as the Amazon’s Wild West and a forest crime hotspot.
We flew over hundreds of miles of land that until recently was covered in lush rainforest – a vital carbon store for the planet. Now the landscape resembles the UK’s flat, farming counties.
Over the port of Santarem, the warehouse of US food giant Cargill – the largest direct importer of Brazilian soya to the UK – looms large.
It was the first time WWF Brazil director Mauricio Voivodic, who joined me on my trip, had seen the destruction up close.
Asked how he felt about it, he told the Mirror: “It is very depressing. It was much worse than I was expecting, in particular to see crimes committed inside the indigenous lands.”
He added: “This is not just a Brazilian problem, this is global.
“Everybody who is part of the supply chain has a responsibility to do something.” Destruction has surged markedly since the recent election stalemate left supporters of pro-deforestation president Jair Bolsonaro fearing a change in government. Last month I reported on the deliberate fires in the Amazon which is destroying the “lungs of the world”.
Land grabbers are responsible for many of the blazes, burning thousands of acres to make room first for cattle and then crops like soya for animal feed. Mr Voivodic said he feared more devastation and told of his concerns for environmental campaigners and indigenous communities that were being targeted by violent attacks.
Meanwhile, Dr Barrett called for a global switch from investment in unsustainable agriculture to
sustainable farming, for example, by rehabilitating abandoned land in areas south of the Amazon so it can be used for production.
He said consumers could play a role by trying to select products that do not have a deforestation footprint. But he added: “It is outrageous that we should have to go into a supermarket and make those choices.
“There should be nothing on the supermarket shelf that has driven deforestation, and that’s why we need legislation as soon as possible.”
The supermarkets shelving soya
Eating less meat and dairy is an obvious way to help reduce the demand for soya-feed imports into the UK.
Marks and Spencer has eliminated soya feed from its milk supply chain, while Waitrose became the first UK retailer to introduce soya for animal feed from Europe, reducing its reliance upon South American supply.
Iceland is aiming to become the first supermarket chain to stock the first mass market soya-free chicken.
Last year, Sainsbury’s said it would stop selling some or all beef products originating in Brazil because of concerns over links to deforestation in the Amazon.
Supply chains are messy but your voice is powerful. WWF asks readers to sign up to its action page via wwf.org.uk/hold-leaders-to-account and visit wwf.org.uk/myfootprint for ways to make a change.
