Morrisons is said to have become the first supermarket to launch its own line of carbon neutral eggs.
It comes as part of their commitment to to be directly supplied by ‘zero emission’ British farms by 2030, five years ahead of the rest of the supermarket industry. Earlier this year, the supermarket also became the first to commit to selling its own milk in carbon neutral cartons. The agricultural targets of Morrisons form part of the overall business plan to become ‘net zero’ for emissions by 2040, in line with the international Paris Agreement.
And now in a report by Cambridge University, they have confirmed the chain's carbon neutral status with the product now becoming the first to feature the British Lion Egg green stamp.
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Because of this, shoppers are being urged to look out for this marking and to, where possible, buy them as it indicates a lower environmental impact.
The eggs will initially be rolled out to 50 stores across Yorkshire as well as a new lower environmental impact store in Little Clacton. A national rollout will happen at a later date with it being planned for 2023.
Morrisons Planet Friendly Eggs, which can be purchased now, can be picked up for 30p each or £1.50 for a pack of six.
The eggs are said to come from Morrisons farms where hens are fed a soya-free diet of insects - which are in turn fed on food waste from its bakery, fruit and vegetable sites. This pioneering ‘circular waste’ feeding scheme, powered by Better Origin technology, reduces deforestation caused by soya production and negates the carbon emissions emitted from transporting this soya.
In addition to this, the egg farm, where the first stock of Planet Friendly Eggs will originate, has a large wind turbine, 50kWh solar panels as well as a carbon sequestration programme to offset any remaining emissions on the farm - with 20 per cent of its land planted with trees.
The report by Cambridge University has confirmed the carbon neutral status of Morrisons new Planet Friendly Eggs, having analysed all carbon emissions in the eggs’ production and those which are offset on Morrisons first carbon neutral egg farm. The report considers the holistic production of the eggs, including the Better Origin X1 insect growing unit and food waste transport, the sourcing of locally grown grain and the hen housing and care.
Sophie Throup, Head of Agriculture at Morrisons, said: “This is our first carbon neutral product and there will be many more to come. It’s all part of our drive to be directly supplied only by ‘zero emission’ British farms by 2030. 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, added: “We were very pleased to have the opportunity to review and analyse 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.”
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