Tesco grows vegetables using fire extinguisher waste and algae at minimal cost

Tesco has grown 70,000 tons of products such as lettuce, carrots and potatoes as part of its green manure trial. Credit: i-Images Photo Agency/Tesco

Tesco's vegetables will be grown using fire extinguisher waste and algae after the war in Ukraine sent fertilizer prices skyrocketing.

The UK's largest supermarket announced a significant expansion of its «green» network. a fertilizer trial that uses products made from food waste, fire extinguishing powder, algae and chicken manure to grow lettuce, carrots and tomatoes stored in stores.

Tesco is working with its suppliers to increase the use of fertilizers. eight non-traditional fertilizers, six of them made in the UK.

From next year, farmers supplying Tesco will grow hundreds of thousands of tons of vegetables on an area of ​​13,000 hectares using these products.

This is as farmers and grocery store owners struggle to find an alternative to the industrial fertilizers traditionally used in British agriculture.

The cost of conventional ammonium nitrate fertilizers has jumped by as much as 140 percent. last year after the invasion of Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukraine were major exporters of agricultural products, and the conflict disrupted supplies.

Rising electricity prices after the war also forced the closure of the two remaining UK fertilizer plants last year.

< p>Rising prices and reduced supplies caused a rush to find alternatives. Last year, scientists suggested that human wastewater could be used to fertilize crops, but Tesco did not support the proposal.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said it was vital that the food industry do «everything it can to protect the shopping cart from the shocks of tomorrow.”

The supermarket has been experimenting with alternatives over the past 12 months, testing non-traditional plant-based products on 1,300 hectares of land used by vendors.

He has grown 70,000 tons of products such as lettuce, carrots and potatoes and found the new products to be just as effective.

Mr. Murphy also proclaimed the greenness of the new alternative fertilizers.

Speaking at the Reuters IMPACT event in London, he said that low-carbon fertilizers have «tremendous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil health and water quality, and provide greater cost confidence for farmers and create industry here in London.» UK.”

Mr Murphy urged ministers to ensure that net zero targets are maintained, saying: “The food industry is ready to invest but needs more stability and confidence when it comes to future policy.

«That's why it's so important that all parties, regardless of political persuasion, stick to their Net Zero commitments and deadlines.»

This comes amid growing Conservative Party concern over cost « green politics for voters. Rishi Sunak is urged to soften proposals to ensure families don't face a surge in spending.

Research from the University of Cambridge shows that manure and synthetic fertilizers emit more carbon dioxide emissions per year than the global aviation and shipping industries taken together. About half of the world's population lives on crops grown with synthetic fertilizers.