The UK’s Green MEPs have written to leading supermarkets asking them to carry out an audit of their supply chains to identify products on their shelves that have come from the Brazilian Amazon [1]. The call comes in the wake of the 70,000 destructive fires that have swept through the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
Commenting on the letter, Molly, who is head of the UK delegation of Green MEPs, said:
“We know that many people have been heartbroken at the destruction taking place in the Amazon. But this has been accompanied by feelings of powerlessness. That is why we want supermarkets to audit their supply chains and provide customers with the information they need to make informed choices and to boycott products that are there as a result of deforestation in the Amazon. Primarily, this means products containing Brazilian beef or beef fed on Brazilian soya.”
Alexandra Phillips, the Green MEP for the South East of England, who sits on the European Parliament’s Environment Committee, added:
“We have witnessed in horror as the planet’s most important carbon sink goes up in flames. Losing the Amazon rainforest could lead to runaway climate change and the end of life on earth as we know it. The fires are not accidental or natural but a deliberate policy, encouraged by the Bolsonaro regime, to enable the expansion of beef production and the growth in the profits of the beef producers and exporters.
“Supermarkets have a key role to play in stopping this destruction by enabling customers to avoid products that can be directly linked back to deforestation.”
The letter has been sent to Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Lidl, Aldi, Budgens, Booths