Greanpeace protested against Tesco earlier this week by projecting an image which said ‘Every Little Harms’ with a clawmark through the supermarket’s signage on the Old Shredded Wheat Factory.

%image(15642656, type="article-full", alt="Greenpeace volunteers project a jaguar on its way to Tesco's HQ in Welwyn Garden City to raise awareness of the supermarket's part in the destruction of forests like the Amazon. Picture: Suzanne Plunkett")

They also showed large projections of an animated jaguar from Greenpeace UK’s new film ‘Monster’ onto the buildings of Tesco’s HQ.

A spokesperson for Herts police said: “Police were called at 6.57pm Monday, November 23 to reports of a protest in Shire Park. It was reported that a light projector was being aimed on the side of Tesco HQ. Officers attended the scene and upon arrival found two vehicles and four people on public land. Words of advice were given, including the COVID-19 restrictions. The group dispersed and no crimes have been reported.”

The activist group are trying to raise awareness of the supermarket’s ‘part in the destruction of forests like the Amazon’.

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Greenpeace Unearthed has linked retailers including Tesco and McDonalds to fires on farmland in the Brazilian Cerrado.

%image(15642659, type="article-full", alt="Greenpeace volunteers project flames and a message saying" Every little harms" onto a Tesco's HQ in Welwyn Garden City to raise awareness of Tesco's part in the destruction of forests like the Amazon. Picture: Suzanne Plunkett")

Last week, the UK Government announced a new ‘due diligence’ law designed to curb deforestation in the UK supply chain. But the new law will only tackle deforestation deemed illegal in the country of origin, which Greenpeace believe will allow UK companies to continue buying from bussinesses that contribute to deforestation.

Elena Polisano, Greenpeace UK forests campaigner, said: “Tesco sells huge volumes of industrial meat that’s fuelling deforestation and they’re trying to hide it behind the government’s new toothless law that will let them continue business as usual. It’s wreaking havoc on forests’ unique wildlife, on Indigenous Peoples and on the health of our planet.”

A Tesco spokesperson said: “Setting fires to clear land for crops must stop. Working with our suppliers, we met the 2020 industry-wide target of certified ‘zero net deforestation’ for our own direct soy sourcing a year early. But there is more to do, and so we’ve set an additional industry-leading target for the soy we use in the UK to be from entire areas that are verified deforestation-free by 2025.

“We also recognise that we can’t transform the system alone, and we are working with partners including WWF to build the industry-wide support needed to deliver this. We’ve played a leading role in convening industry and government to protect the Cerrado, including committing £10m to protect the region’s biodiversity. We need our suppliers, industry, NGOs and governments to work with us to end deforestation and protect our natural environment.”

%image(15642660, type="article-full", alt="Greenpeace volunteers project a jaguar on its way to Tesco's HQ in Welwyn Garden City to raise awareness of the supermarket's part in the destruction of forests like the Amazon. Picture: Suzanne Plunkett")