Tesco suppliers must raise standards to avert death of River Wye, say campaigners

theguardian.com:

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