River campaigners are calling for urgent action from Tesco to immediately raise standards within its poultry and egg suppliers in the Wye valley, as they say the river is at risk of ecological collapse.
The supermarket giant is the largest customer of the main egg and poultry producers based in the area. Campaigners say it holds the key to saving the river from irreparable ecological deterioration caused by high phosphate levels from excrement produced by intensive chicken farming.
In a letter from its lawyers to senior Tesco executives, the campaign group River Action said: “It is unacceptable for a national retailer like Tesco to support (and indeed require) intensive chicken production at the expense of, and without regard to, the health of local environments, including the rivers on which communities including their farmers depend.”
Tesco is the biggest customer of Wye valley egg producer Noble Foods and chicken producer Avara Foods. The environmental campaigners say since the supermarket giant switched to Avara as its main supplier of poultry in 2019, the food supply company has expanded its poultry factory in Hereford to meet the demand. Avara last month applied for permission to expand its hatchery in Shobdon and is waiting for a decision in the next fortnight.
The Wye valley has become one of Europe’s largest concentrations of intensive livestock production. Poultry production has soared, with more than 20 million birds housed within permitted intensive poultry units alone, each of which holds more than 40,000 birds. Water quality throughout the catchment continues to fail current standards due to high phosphate concentrations. Evidence from Lancaster University research suggests there are 3,000 tonnes of excess phosphorus caused by agriculture in the Wye valley.
Paul Withers, professor of catchment biogeochemistry at Lancaster University, in evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, said the phosphorus surplus in the Wye catchment is nearly 60% greater than the national average, because of the large amounts of livestock manure being produced locally. Poultry is the dominant livestock in the area.
Leigh Day, lawyers for River Action, said in its letter: “Evidence demonstrates that if these problems continue to be ignored, the River Wye will face ecological deterioration beyond a state of repair. High phosphate levels creating algal blooms will continue to suffocate river life, destroying biodiversity and wildlife.
“With only a short period of time left to save it from ecological death, it is now clear to our clients that Tesco is playing a key role in what will ultimately become the death of the River Wye … it is paramount Tesco steps up and leads the way in driving change across the river catchment, rather than risking what could become a national scandal if time runs out to save the Wye.”
River Action said previous communications with Tesco 18 months ago had not led to any action from the supermarket giant. It is calling for Tesco to raise the environmental standards of its supply chain. It wants to see Tesco give a commitment to reach Leaf Marque standards – a global assurance system that recognises sustainably farmed products – in its poultry supply chain by the end of 2022, and to audit all suppliers against agreed standards by the end of 2022.
It is also calling on Tesco to publish its environmental risk assessments relating to its poultry supply chain, and gain commitments from suppliers to change their practices to ensure pollution ceases in the immediate future.
Charles Watson, founder and chair of River Action, said: “The company does not seem to have registered that this river is facing ecological collapse due to the nutrient pollution caused by the intensive poultry industry. Tesco must not allow itself to potentially contribute to the destruction of one of the nation’s favourite rivers by continuing to procure its poultry products without requiring major environmental improvements from suppliers.”
High levels of phosphate in rivers cause algal blooms, which reduce oxygen levels, destroy wildlife and biodiversity, causing species loss.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “Protecting and maintaining water quality and biodiversity in our supply chains is an important element of the work we do with our suppliers, and we want to play our part in ensuring the protection of the River Wye, alongside other actors across the food industry.
“Together with our partners WWF, we have directly funded the work of the Wye & Usk Foundation to tackle water pollution in the area. They work directly with our suppliers on implementing nature-based solutions, including tree planting, as well as supporting farmers to test soils and implement on-farm best practice that all help reduce pollution in the River Wye.
“We continue to engage with suppliers and stakeholders across all agricultural sectors in the region.”
