River Action UK has told Nando’s to prove that its chickensuppliers are managing their chicken waste properly and not polluting rivers.
In a social media video released on Monday, the group asked the restaurant chain to provide the details of its supply chain, which it allegedly promised to disclose “over a year ago”.
However, actor and campaigner Jim Murray, who fronted the video alongside a fake chicken whilst standing in a river, said “you’ve been ghosting us ever since”, which Nando’s denies.
The group further named Tesco and KFC in the piece, although it also drew attention to “all of you” – every major food retailer.
It comes as Nando’s supplier Avara Foods, a subsidiary and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water are facing the UK’s largest environmental pollution claim for allegedly polluting the rivers Wye, Lugg and Usk.
“Industrial farming is one of the biggest threats to our rivers,” Murray said. “Where there are millions of chickens, there are millions of tonnes of chicken shit.”
The Grocer understands Nando’s shared its water policy with River Action UK a year ago and has not received a reply, as well as attending and contributing to the group’s Water Strategy Workshop last September. However it has not shared its full audit as it contains commercially sensitive information.
“People increasingly want to know where their food comes from and what impact it has on nature,” added River Action UK head of campaigns Amy Fairman. “If Nando’s is confident its suppliers are managing manure responsibly, publish the audit and let customers see the evidence.”
River Action UK urged Ed Sheeran (one of Nando’s best-known customers) to push Nando’s to publish the report and called on the government to “stop the unchecked expansion of industrial poultry production”.
It also called on people to sign an online petition, titled Stop Big Chicken Choking our Rivers, due to be sent to Defra secretary Angela Eagle, which has so far received 17,074 of a targeted 20,000 signatures.
Responding to the criticism, a Nando’s spokeswoman said the multinational had a “strict water policy and hold all our chicken suppliers to it”.
“Over the past year we’ve completed a comprehensive, four-phase, independent audit of all the farms that supply us in the Wye catchment area,” she continued. “All are managing their practices responsibly and in line with their contractual commitments.
“There have been some learnings, and we are now rolling this audit programme out across our entire UK supply chain.”
Tesco and KFC were also approached for comment.
Summer of protest
Meanwhile, Pret a Manger has endured repeated protests for delaying its transition to slower-growing breeds until 2032, including one today at its new store in Rainham, Greater London.
Animal welfare group Anima placed a car-sized, animatronic Pret Wrap with a giant “Frankenchicken” outside the store as part of its £1m campaign against the business.
“Customers expect far better, and most can’t believe the promise to stop selling these birds was made eight years ago,” said Anima CEO Connor Jackson. “Pret can’t keep ignoring tens of thousands of people who’ve pledged to take a break, and the public figures standing with them.”
As previously reported, Pret said it has worked with Compassion in World Farming and The Lever Foundation to set the revised target, which it has promised to meet as a signatory of the Better Chicken Commitment.
“It is unclear to us why activists are spending such significant funds targeting a business trying to do the right thing rather than focusing on those who have abandoned higher-welfare reform entirely,” a Pret spokesperson previously said.
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