Environmental Impact

Shit in Our Rivers

Bad for wildlife, companion animals, and people

75%

of UK rivers are in poor ecological health.1

55,000 tonnes

of manure is produced every day by the ten biggest factory farming corporations.2

Ten

of the UK's largest cities produce just half this amount.3

What It Is

A 2023 study found that farmers in the UK are responsible for ­more river pollution than water ­companies.4 Manure from the billions of factory-farmed animals, alongside the chemicals needed to grow the vast amounts of feed they eat, get into our waterways where they cause serious damage.

The chicken industry is a major culprit. Industrial-scale chicken farming in Herefordshire and the Welsh borders for the billion-pound-a-year company Avara Foods is harming the River Wye’s ecosystem and the local economy. Avara is being sued for the damage it has (allegedly) caused, and is still (allegedly) causing, but it’s not as if the company was oblivious to the impacts of its business. Cargill (which co-owns Avara) has already been sued in the US for polluting waterways there.5

Of course, it’s not just the chicken industry. A 2023 study found that most UK dairy farms simply ignore pollution rules and that vast amounts of the manure they produce is spewed into rivers.6

Filthy factory farms are making our rivers filthy, too.

What They Do

Sensitive Content

This video contains content that some people may find upsetting

Impact

Wildlife

suffers and dies as oxygen in the water is depleted due to the pollution.7

Dogs

can get sick and even die if they swim in these toxic waters.8

People

can get sick too if they take part in water-based recreational activities like sailing, swimming, or paddleboarding.9

Hall of Shame

Moy Park Avara Foods Arla Banham Poultry Bernard Matthews

Investigation and Reports

Report

Stink or swim: The ten factory farm corporations producing more toxic excrement than the UK's ten largest cities

A report by Food for the Planet on the pollution impacts of factory farming corporations.
Policy and Law

Water quality in rivers

A House of Commons Committee report, with recommendations for cleaning up Britain’s rivers.
Article

Citizen testing finds 75% of rivers in Britain in poor ecological health

A Guardian article revealing worrying data about the state of Britain’s rivers.

References

  1. 1. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jun/24/citizen-testing-rivers-britain-poor-ecological-health-pollution
  2. 2. https://www.foodfortheplanet.org.uk/stink-or-swim/
  3. 3. https://www.foodfortheplanet.org.uk/stink-or-swim/
  4. 4. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/farms-now-responsible-for-more-river-pollution-than-water-firms-clean-it-up-fw72g2v58#:~:text=An%20analysis%20of%20Environment%20Agency,from%20untreated%20wastewater%20run%2Doffs
  5. 5. https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/high-court-to-decide-if-23-million-chickens-are-killing-the-river-wye
  6. 6. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/19/most-uk-dairy-farms-ignoring-pollution-rules-as-manure-spews-into-rivers
  7. 7. https://earthwatch.org.uk/blog/water-pollution-in-the-uk-the-causes-and-effects/#:~:text=High%20levels%20of%20nutrients%20trigger,adding%20to%20the%20dire%20mix.
  8. 8. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/aug/16/blue-green-algae-poses-blooming-danger-to-paddling-pets
  9. 9. https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-committee/news/160246/chemical-cocktail-of-sewage-slurry-and-plastic-polluting-english-rivers-puts-public-health-and-nature-at-risk/

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