The dirty secret that's killing our rivers | Stop Killing Our Rivers

[@elizabethburns3126]

Thanks for your footage keeping me updated on all your organisations. Does. I am one of your sponsors. Kind regards Elizabeth Burns from Derry Northern Ireland 🇮🇪 x ⚘️🌈🌎🙏❤️

[@nicksherwood8025]

Good film congrats, however although Cargill gets a passing mention and the importation of soy from deforested land in Brazil is hinted at, the film drops the ball in answer to its own question 'who's to blame?' The answer is, that deliberate Tory UK govt policy of opposing regulation and defunding the Environment Agency presented Cargill with an open door to profitmaking. A lucrative contract with Tesco plus sweet-talking the emasculated local authority from about 2013, no environmental impact assessments or carrying capacity assessments required, and hey presto doubling in a few years of the number of intensive poultry quickly resulting in catastrophic damage to the Wye. Unforeseeable? Nope. Cargill did exactly the same to the River Illinois from the 1990s and was successfully prosecuted in US courts from 2005, so when it was schmoozing the UK authorities 10 years later it knew exactly what it was doing here in the Wye catchment, and also what it was doing in Brazil deforesting ecosystems there to grow soya to feed poultry in Herefordshire. Cargill didn't care and despite greenwash still doesn't. How else do you end up with so many billionaires on your board of directors? By ruthless exploitation of ecosystems and right-wing politics that gives you the green light to do this wherever you please around the world. Herefordshire is privileged imo to have a ringside seat onto the operating realities of global corporate capitalism, and an opportunity to Make Polluters Pay. #CargillKnew

[@SoilAssociation]

Hi Nick, this is something we delve into more in this article - soilassociation.co/4adrn1f and you're totally right. Our Governments have not acted to prevent Cargill doing the same thing they did to the River Illinois here in the UK.

[@JulianBishop-r9o]

It needs urgent Govt action to change legislation and and reduce/remove subsidies for this food system & add a biodiversity tax or similar so so customers pay the true price, one which relfects the damage caused also. Also urgent consumer action to eat significantly less chicken/meat and of a higher quality, this will help those farmers doing it the responsible and nature friendly way. If anyone feels this type of animal welfare and the destruction of the rainforest is also a terrible thing then understanding food systems and changing your eating habits is such an easy win. 30% of global CO emissions are via food systems.

[@quillo2747]

Something needs to be done but what is the answer? We need food, crops need fertilising. Low impact organic or regenerative farming is fantastic, but food is expensive and we have 80 million people to feed, 700 thousand new mouths to feed arived last year alone.

[@SoilAssociation]

It's a great question, and as with anything like this, the answer is complex. In brief and answer lies in greater diversity of diets, equally diverse production to fulfil shifted diets, less waste, less consolidation of food supply chains, more local, more support for nature-friendly farming from Government and supermarkets, better knowledge sharing on the ground etc. If you're interested in the detail, there is a model on our website which maps out how a transition to fully agroecological farming in the UK IS possible, enabled by diet change. This results in 40% less greenhouse gas emissions and eliminates artificial fertiliser use. The model also takes into account a growing population. See here for the detail www.soilassociation.org/causes-campaigns/a-ten-year-transition-to-agroecology/iddri-report-ten-years-for-agroecology-in-europe/

[@Grown-in-Tyrone]

Surely a lot of this chicken meat is for export? Here in NI we are facing the same problem, gov policy 'Going for growth' is actually "Going for greed".

[@garyfleming6441]

The government will not act on this issue because there is too much money to be made. We need to vote in a more sympathetic party and not one full of rich land owners.