Red Tractor ad banned for misleading environmental claims

Television advertising by Red Tractor, the UK's largest agricultural certifier on supermarket shelves, has been banned for exaggerating the scheme's environmental benefits and misleading the public.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ruled that the organization provided “insufficient evidence” that its farms comply with key environmental laws to substantiate the claims in its advertising.

Environmental group River Action, which lodged the complaint in 2023, said the decision showed the scheme was a “greenwash” and called on supermarkets to stop using it.

But Red Tractor called the watchdog's decision “fundamentally flawed” and said the scheme's focus was on animal welfare rather than environmental standards.

In 2021, Red Tractor aired an ad that said, “From the field to the warehouse, all our standards are met. When there is a Red Tractor, your food is grown with care.”

You can watch it below.

Environmental charity River Action took issue with the advert, which ran for a further two years, and complained to the watchdog that it suggested to consumers that Red Tractor farms would “provide a high degree of environmental protection”.

The charity pointed out EPA report released in 2020which looked at the number of violations of environmental legislation at Red Tractor farms over the previous five years. The report concluded that these farms “are not currently indicative of good environmental performance.”

After more than two years of investigation – one of the longest – the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld the complaint.

It said Red Tractor failed to provide “sufficient evidence” that its farms complied with “core” environmental laws and had good environmental records to substantiate the claims made in the advertisement.

He also ruled that the result was that the advertising was “misleading” and “exaggerated” the benefits of the scheme.

River Action welcomed the ASA's decision and called on supermarkets to act.

“This shows that Red Tractor is misleading the public and its suppliers with its environmental credentials,” said Amy Fairman, campaign director at River Action. “So we're looking to suppliers like supermarkets to really look at and take stock of what's on their shelves.”

She added that combating such advertising is important because of the environmental risks associated with agricultural pollution.

In 2022 The Environmental Audit Committee concluded that agriculture was one of the most common factors inhibiting river health, affecting 40% of them. Environmental risks include slurry and pesticide runoff.

But Red Tractor, which serves 45,000 farms in the UK, is strongly fighting back, calling the ASA's findings “fundamentally flawed”.

Jim Mosley, Red Tractor's chief executive, told the BBC: “They think we're implying environmental claims. There are no actual environmental statements in either the voiceover or the images.”

He argued that the ASA found that only a minority of people would think the advertising meant Red Tractor Farms had good environmental standards, when in fact the scheme focused on other issues.

“Red Tractor's primary focus is food safety, animal welfare and traceability. Although we have some environmental standards, they are only a small part. And as a result, we leave this task entirely to the Environment Agency to ensure compliance with environmental legislation,” Mr Moseley said.

When asked if this meant that Red Tractor did not know whether its farms complied with environmental laws, he replied: “Correct.”

However, many supermarkets cite the environmental benefits of Red Tractor farms.

Natalie Smith, Tesco's head of agriculture, said last month to mark Red Tractor's 25th anniversary: ​​”Certification schemes play a key role in providing confidence to customers and over the last 25 years Red Tractor has established itself as a mark of quality, symbolizing… environmental stewardship.”

On Morrison's website it states: “100% of the fresh pork, beef, lamb, poultry, milk and cheddar cheese we sell in our stores comes from Red Tractor certified farms or an approved equivalent scheme, giving customers a guarantee… of protecting the environment.”

Both supermarkets were asked if they supported the Red Tractor logo.

Morrisons did not respond to requests for comment.

A Tesco spokesman said: “We recognize there is still a lot to be done and it is important that government and industry work together to make change.”

He also advised the BBC to contact its industry body, the British Retail Consortium.

The consortium said that “retailers remain willing to work with the Red Tractor”, but the organization itself is the owner of the scheme.