Kroger, the company behind grocery brands like Ralph’s, King Soopers, and Fry’s, is committed to sustainability. It has publicly agreed to achieving no deforestation from products in its private-label brand lines, and it aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 30% by 2030.
While these are important goals, Kroger’s sustainability ambitions fall short if the company continues to sell and promote meat and dairy from intensive factory farm companies, like JBS—the largest meat producer in the world. Factory farms are harming our planet by emitting millions of metric tons of greenhouse gases and destroying wildlife habitats.
Send an email to Kroger executives now—let them know that their no deforestation commitment means addressing the devastation caused by factory-farmed animal products.
Did you know that in the US, 41% of all land is used to grow feed for farmed animals? To feed the billions of chickens, pigs, cows, and turkeys suffering in factory farms, land is destroyed on a massive scale to make room for corn and soy farms, feed lots, and grazing pasture. In 2018, 2.6 million acres of native grassland in the Great Plains was converted to agriculture, primarily to grow corn, soy, and wheat to feed farmed animals.
This drastic conversion of land releases carbon into the atmosphere and destroys the habitat of animals who call it home, many of whom are listed as threatened or endangered. It’s also highly inefficient—for every 100 calories of crops fed to farmed animals, only 17-30 calories end up feeding people. Mega meat companies like JBS are expected to continue growing over the next several decades, driving even more land degradation, deforestation, and biodiversity loss if we don’t act now.
The grocery sector is one of the largest suppliers of factory-farmed animal products to American consumers. But these products are the result of an inefficient, damaging system that misdirects significant calories that could otherwise go to feeding our families and communities directly.
Kroger, with over 2,700 stores across the nation and $130 billion in annual revenue, is not making good on its commitments to source deforestation-free products until it addresses its meat and dairy supply chains. It has a responsibility to hold JBS and all of its suppliers accountable and push for creating a more humane and sustainable food system.
Act now: Send a letter to Kroger executives urging them to expand the deforestation-free policy to all of its animal products.
Kroger can also take immediate steps to protect the environment and wildlife habitat by reducing the amount of meat it sells in its stores and giving greater space and resources to more sustainable, plant-based proteins. It’s imperative now more than ever that we hold larger corporations, like Kroger, accountable in their practices and urge them to develop and commit to policies that factor in the health of our animals, communities, and our environment.