Status: 14.12.2021 1:28 p.m.
REWE had advertised chicken meat as “climate neutral” – the organization Foodwatch accuses the group of deceit and awards its negative “golden cream puff” prize to the supermarket chain. REWE considers this to be unjustified.
The negative award “Goldener Windbag” from the consumer organization Foodwatch goes to REWE this year. Around 28 percent of the 63,000 votes cast online were for an allegedly climate-neutral chicken breast fillet from the Wilhelm Brandenburg own brand. “REWE expects meat with false CO2 certificates in a climate-friendly way and thus deceives environmentally conscious consumers: Inside,” criticized Manuel Wiemann from Foodwatch.
The product is not produced emission-free. In addition, a partnership project operated in this context in Peru to offset greenhouse gases does not protect the local forest or the climate.
According to its own information, REWE is offsetting the emissions resulting from the production of the chicken meat with a forest project in Peru offered by the provider Climate Partner. According to Foodwatch, however, this project does not meet the basic requirements for compensation projects.
“Generally misleading”
It is fundamentally misleading to advertise meat products as “climate neutral”, further criticized Foodwatch. According to Foodwatch, animal husbandry accounts for three quarters of all greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.
REWE changed packaging
The supermarket chain REWE called the award of the negative price “unjustified”. It is based on false claims by Foodwatch about the compensation project, REWE told the AFP news agency. A third-party review had “unequivocally refuted” Foodwatch’s claims. The packaging of the product has also been revised. The chicken breast fillet will continue to be sold in the changed packaging.
Every year Foodwatch awards the “most brazen advertising lie of the year” with the golden cream puff. In addition to REWE, products from the Danone (Volvic mineral water), Darboven (Mövenpick coffee capsules), Katjes and Naturally Pam by Pamela Reif brands were also nominated.
Foodwatch called for a clear regulation of “sustainable” advertising promises. “This greenwashing must come to an end,” demanded Wiemann. “Green advertising lies on non-ecological products must be stopped”.