Greenpeace has staged a comedy "roast" between a human-sized turkey and potato in its alternative Christmas ad.
The exchange of burns is set in a comedy club and starts out with the two trading barbs about things such as turkey’s reputation for being dry and the bland nature of the potato. But, eventually, the potato turns things up to 11, laying down uncomfortable truths about the environmental impact of growing animal feed to support the UK’s demand for Christmas turkeys.
The film was created by Nice and Serious. It was written by Jack Barry, who also stars as the turkey, and the production company is Villager.
Greenpeace said turkey production in the UK was linked to deforestation in South America. Two-thirds of the soya imported to the UK comes from South America and is a leading cause of deforestation there, according to a report from IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative. More than half of the soya used there is fed to poultry.
Chiara Vitali, forest campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: "In our film, turkey is well and truly roasted. But, let’s be clear, this isn’t all his fault. He’s not even that old – six months tops – so he doesn’t know any better.
"But the factory farms fattening turkeys for Christmas will know the feed they use is linked to forest destruction. Supermarkets do too. Did you really want your roast with all those forest trimmings?"
She continued: "We can all make a choice to eat less meat. The world’s top scientists say it’s vital to prevent climate breakdown. But supermarkets like Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, who’ve all pledged to remove deforestation from their supply chains, bear a significant weight of responsibility.
"This isn’t about switching from one type of feed to another. They need to listen to the science and replace most of the meat they’re selling with plant-based alternatives and they need to do it fast."
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