As part of its commitment to be directly supplied by ‘zero emission’ British farms by 2030, Morrisons has launched its own line of carbon neutral eggs – the first UK supermarket to do so.
The hens producing the new Planet Friendly Eggs on Morrisons’ farms are provided with a soya-free diet of insects – from a mini insect farm, developed and powered by Better Origin – which are fed on bakery, fruit and vegetable waste. The retailer says that this ‘circular waste’ feeding scheme reduces deforestation caused by soya production and negates the carbon emissions emitted from transporting soya.
The retailer is working with its farmers to create net zero carbon ‘models’ that look at neutralizing emissions through the entire lifecycle and footprint of the farm. The first batch of Planet Friendly Eggs will come from a farm with a large wind turbine, 50kWh solar panels and a carbon sequestration programme to offset any remaining emissions, with 20% of its land planted with trees.
We know our customers consider the environmental impact of the food they eat and want affordable zero emission produce
The carbon-neutral status of the Planet Friendly Eggs has been confirmed by a University of Cambridge report and the eggs are set to be the first to feature a green version of the British Lion Egg stamp.
“This is our first carbon neutral product and there will be many more to come” says Sophie Throup, head of agriculture at Morrisons. “We know our customers consider the environmental impact of the food they eat and want affordable zero emission produce. Eggs are a regular weekly purchase for most households and so we’re thrilled that after 18 months of hard work with our farmers – these eggs are finally hitting our shelves.”
Ian Bamford, commercial director, Centre for Industrial Sustainability, at the University of Cambridge, adds: “We were very pleased to have the opportunity to review and analyze the approach that Morrisons have taken to calculating the carbon impact of several of their egg producers. It was clear that the mitigation actions that had been put in place by the first farm to produce carbon neutral eggs enabled them to meet that goal.”
Earlier this year, Morrisons became the first supermarket to commit to selling its own milk in carbon neutral cartons.
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