Monday 6 December 2021

Morrisons to feed chickens insects to achieve carbon-neutral eggs

Morrisons has announced it will replace soya with insects to feed chickens at 10 of its farms, as it looks to make own-brand carbon-neutral eggs by 2022.

It claims that the switch of food source will remove more than 5,700 tonnes of carbon emissions and save more than 56 hectares of South American land from deforestation each year in the process.

Better Origin ‘Mini Farms’ will be installed on the 10 egg farms, which will see insects fed on waste from Morrison’s fruit and vegetable sites provide the source of nutrients needed for the hens.

The move will create one of the UK’s first circular waste feeding schemes, with more than 30 tonnes of fruit and vegetable waste recycled each week.

Up to 70% of the emissions from the UK’s supply chain come from feed, of which soya is a major contributor. Soya currently makes up 20% of the hens’ diet according to the supermarket chain and its removal will make a big difference to the carbon footprint of the farming cycle.

Sophie Throup, Head of Agriculture at Morrisons, said: “Reducing soya from livestock feed is one of the key challenges for farms needing to lower their carbon footprint and we wanted to help find a solution.

“An insect diet could suit our hens better - they seem to enjoy it - and the nutritional and added health benefits are notable. We’re also finding a good home for our fruit and veg waste. We think that this could be part of the future of egg farming.”