UK supermarkets are significantly off track to meet a 2025 goal of ensuring key food products such as soy, beef, cocoa, and palm oil are deforestation-free, according to a new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The environmental charity's latest annual assessment of progress towards halving the environmental impact of the average UK weekly shop by 2030 reveals a mixed picture, with retailers struggling to make systemic changes.
The report, based on voluntary data from 10 supermarkets representing over 90% of the market, found only 4.5% of soy entering the food retail chain is verified as deforestation-free, while the figure for cocoa is a mere 0.3%. Soy is primarily used to feed chickens, pigs, farmed fish, and dairy cows. Supermarkets are also selling twice the target proportion of meat and eggs, hindering efforts to shift consumers towards healthier, more sustainable diets.
WWF warns that since its initiative began in 2021, the world has lost 7.9 million hectares of tree cover—an area nearly the size of Austria. Progress on cutting deforestation from food supply chains has stalled, with major international traders failing to respond to calls for action and the previous UK government not delivering promised legislation. The production and distribution of food is responsible for 70% of global nature loss and a third of greenhouse gases, threatening food security through pollinator decline and climate-driven extreme weather.
Tanya Steele, chief executive of WWF, said: “Consumers should not have to worry about whether their food shop is fuelling the climate crisis or pushing precious wildlife closer to the brink. How we produce food remains one of the biggest threats to our planet. And while it’s positive that UK supermarkets have pledged to source their food responsibly, they must now follow through.” She urged the government to urgently introduce long-awaited regulations to tackle deforestation in UK supply chains.
WWF is calling on supermarkets to invest in monitoring high-risk farms for commodities like soy, beef, palm oil, and cocoa, and to stop sourcing from traders without credible deforestation-free plans by 2025. Retailers should also promote alternative proteins to halve meat sales in line with WWF's “livewell” diet, reducing demand for beef and soy linked to deforestation.
