Heinz unveils Fortnite island to highlight soil degradation

Tomato and bean producer Heinz has unveiled a new community-built Fortnite island that highlights soil degradation. Named ‘S.O.S Tomato Island’, players will be able to explore a reconstructed Heinz tomato farm.

Fancy learning more about Heinz tomato production? Need an excuse to jump back into the marketing juggernaut that is Fortnite?

Heinz has announced a new playable community-built island called ‘S.O.S Tomato Island’, where players can learn about soil degradation and tomato production.

Made in collaboration with events organisation Druid Gaming, this playable map incorporates a faster ‘storm’ limit than Fortnite’s regular modes, whereby the safe zone shrinks much quicker in order to reflect the ‘rapid rate in which soil health is declining.’

This means you’ll need to be extra strategic if you want to be victorious – while also considering the ramifications of poor soil health, of course.

In a press release, Heinz said that S.O.S Tomato Island ‘demonstrates just some of the sustainable and regenerative practices that [we] support in the real world.’ In addition, the company explained that ‘according to environmental experts, our soils are at risk and could be gone in as little as a generation if we don’t act.’

So, what is Heinz doing to help preserve soil health?

According to its website, Heinz aims to grow 100% sustainable ketchup tomatoes by 2025. Three years ago, the company pledged to improve its tomato processing, purchasing, and growing techniques, joining the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform.

In Spain, for example, the company intermittently planted different crops to improve topsoil conditions, doubling tomato yields in eight years. Heinz also says that it is ‘future-proofing’ tomato yields, developing seeds via its research centre that can handle drier conditions.

Alongside its plant research, Heinz has vowed to contribute to the protection of an extra 13.5 million squared acres of soil. It says that it has made ‘additional funds of $100,000 USD available’ for this island map, and that the money raised comes as a ‘direct result of this game.’