Meat Cost v Ethics

Kool_Kool

A no brainer for me, I don't buy organic meat as it's too expensive for my means, if I could I would buy it only if reared here.

voiceofreason

smooser wrote: »

Consider....the amount of meat wasted because it is past its use-by date and simply cannot be sold and the rising cost of obesity for the NHS. The best thing you can do is become vegetarian!

Assuming that all meat-eaters are wasteful pie-eaters, of course.....

Horace

I buy meat from my local butcher - he isnt a cheap butcher like the other one in the village as he sells meat that has been frozen, thawed out and then tells you to freeze it again. My butcher sells wonderful meat that tastes divine plus he knows where the meat comes from and I feel sure that if I ask he will know the name of the beast that produced it.

I have also been known to visit the local prison to buy meat - don't scoff, they have their own farm shop selling meat and veg that are organically grown on site. Their meat can be a bit pricey but I think you get what you pay for. If I want a pie - then I go to the farmers' market where one farmer sells pies made on his farm using his own meat, these are great.

I have eaten meat from abroad and to be honest with you our meat is best. If you go to a butcher in Spain or France for instance - how do you know that the meat you are getting is in fact beef? Very often it could be horsemeat:eek: Their meat doesnt taste as good as ours and in Spain particularly their meat is horrid but then I think that is due to the dry climate.

Personally, I think that we should support British farmers rather than buy from abroad, if more of us did this then I feel sure that our economy would improve and not be in such of a mess. Oh and I never throw meat out either - leftovers are made into other meals.

Purple_Sparkles

I've recently changed to buying as much organic/free range produce as possible including meat. It is a lot more expensive but the taste and texture are much better and I feel that I am providing a better quality diet for myself and my son. We are trying eating different meats such as pheasant and venison rather than just beef, pork, chicken etc...

We now buy less food, eat better and have no waste so in a way it's saving us money by not buying on impulse and we're not eating any junk.

We also have about 4 meat free meals per week.

So for me it's all part of our big picture in reducing our carbon footprint and also supporting local British businesses and animal welfare.

If I could only get this by having my food imported I'd rather go without.

Rolandtheroadie

I get my butcher meat from the farm 5 miles from my home. It's sent to slaughter (dont know where) and butchered approx 10 miles away. It is not organic but the taste compared to the supermarket stuff is absolutely different class. I also feel it's cheaper.
Vegetarian? Cant see it myself.

greenbee

I happily eat plent of meat-free meals. When I do eat meat, I like it to be fresh, local organic meat. I buy from my farm shop where possible, so I know where and how it has been reared (and am quite likely to have met it :rolleyes: ), how far it has travelled to be slaughtered, where it was slaughtered and where it was butchered.

The meat is delicious, and I don't feel that any of my values are compromised as a result, but it does limit me to a couple of sources. It probably saves me money overall too...

The more you look into ethical considerations, and the clearer you are about your values, the more restricted your choices become. If, however, you are as indecisive as I am... this is a good thing :rotfl:

MoradoJess

I personally don't eat meat, If I did eat meat it would have to be free range as does eggs. However I understand for some people this isn't financially viable. Supermarkets need to bring prices down and stop selling factory farmed foods. Another problem is ingredients, I only eat free range eggs but how can I be sure of the sources of eggs used in products I buy or restaurants? I have to try and forget about this as I would have to home cook all my food which is highly impossible and impracticle.

However I do feel people should eat less meat,(trying not to be full of myself, up my own !!! veggie) not cut it out altogether as thats a personal choice. Eating less meat can be better on the enviroment, concience and depending on what you buy your purse strings. E.g. buy a load of reduced veggies, use to make a big batch of soup, freeze into individual portions, taa-daa whole weeks worth of lunch.

Overall I think being enviromental will always be difficult and you will never be able to be as enviromental you want to be and at that sometimes your views will contradict themselves, for example i try to conserve energy but I'm not about to give up my tv and laptop. At the end of the day I think it's important to do the best you can and be content with it as beating your self up about it isn't good for anyone.
:j
*thats the longest post I've written on here*

spandangled

scotsman4th wrote: »

I get my butcher meat from the farm 5 miles from my home. It's sent to slaughter (dont know where) and butchered approx 10 miles away. It is not organic but the taste compared to the supermarket stuff is absolutely different class. I also feel it's cheaper.
Vegetarian? Cant see it myself.

This is what we do. It's not organic, but it does taste so much better. I justify it not only because I can't stand supermarkets (I get irate with a trolley) and animal welfare, but also in the sense that it is cheaper because I'm not paying for water, or salt, or sugar, or whatever else has been added to it.

The most obvious example of this is sausages and bacon, the bacon I buy from my butchers doesn't shrink and there is nothing escaping the sausages! If I'm buying something by weight, I'd like more of the stuff that's tasty, than everything else they bulk it out with.

The other major difference we made was actually weighing meat on digital scales. My family have always wanted the biggest bit of meat they could get, regardless of how many of us there are. Getting especially my mother, out of that mindset, has been difficult, but with a few tricks like lentils and stuffing, she's getting there.