Greenpeace says KFC boxes destroy Indonesia forests

Greenpeace on Wednesday accused global fastfood chain KFC of using paper packaging made using wood from Indonesian rainforests which it said was endangering the habitat of the Sumatran tiger. The environmental group said the chain's trademark chicken buckets and French fry boxes contained timber products from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which it described as the country's "notorious forest destroyer". To illustrate their cause, activists placed a giant KFC French fry holder depicting company founder Colonel Sanders holding a chainsaw in his hand and the words "KFC junking the jungle" written below on deforested peatland in Rokan Hilir, Riau province on Sumatra. Two activists dressed in tiger costumes lay "dead" in front of the packaging and held a banner saying "Stop APP destroying forest tiger home". "KFC and its parent company Yum! are linked to this destruction through their use of APP's paper for packaging," Greenpeace Southeast Asia forest campaigner Rusmadya Maharuddin said in a statement. "Indonesian people shouldn't be forced to choose between protecting tigers and eating at KFC," he added. Greenpeace urged KFC to suspend its contracts with APP and implement a zero deforestation policy across its whole supply chain. "Rainforest fibre was found in KFC's packaging products. KFC should stop getting supply from APP and turn to many other responsible paper suppliers which source paper from plantations not forests," activist Zamzami told AFP. KFC is one of the most popular fastfood brands in Indonesia with more than 400 stores across the country. Greenpeace has in recent years waged highly successful campaigns against APP, prompting more than a dozen major international companies, such as Barbie-maker Mattel, KFC and Walmart, to drop paper packaging contracts with APP. Deforestation accounts for 70 percent of carbon emissions in Indonesia, the world's third-biggest emitter, according to UN data. Estimates of the number of Sumatran tigers remaining in the world range from 300 to 400. Several die each year as a result of traps, poaching or other human actions.