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Greenpeace targets Tesco over Amazon deforestation

GREENPEACE campaigners plastered Tesco stores with giant posters yesterday in protest against the supermarket’s sale of meat from land cleared for cattle farming in the Amazon rainforest.

The action in Greater Manchester follows a nationwide protest last weekend in which more than 30 stores were targeted.

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven also wrote to Tesco’s new global chief executive Ken Murphy.

He wrote that customers want the chain “to drop forest destroyers from their supply chains and reduce the amount of meat they sell by at least half – starting from phasing out industrial meat.” 

Martin Porter of Greenpeace Manchester said: “The Amazon may be 5,000 miles away, but that doesn’t mean this is someone else’s problem.

“The Amazon rainforest affects the global climate and is being burned to put meat on the shelves of our supermarkets. 

“Tesco’s new CEO Ken Murphy is one of the few people in the world who can help end this. 

“Tesco must stop buying animal feed from forest destroyers and stop selling industrial meat.

“Protecting the Amazon is essential in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, protect the homes of indigenous people and wildlife, and reduce the risk of future pandemics.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “We share Greenpeace’s aim to end deforestation in the Amazon. 

“It’s why we’ve set challenging public targets committing to zero deforestation; why we’ve committed to a 300 per cent increase in the sales of plant-based meat alternatives; why we don’t sell Brazilian beef and why we support action to ensure all food sold in the UK is deforestation-free.”

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