Money Saving Vs Ethics.

stingy_rach

Hi guys,

Random question stemming from a conversation with a friend of mine on the weekend.

I am a fervent fan of MSE and spend waaay to much time on here! I plan my meals weekly and using internet research have managed to get my weekly food bill down from £50-60 to £25-30. My OH and I are both meat eaters and we buy a minimal amount of meat from either my local butcher or from supermarket if it is on offer. I then make this go further by bulking out with chickpeas and beans (haricot or cannelini).

My friend on the other hand refuses to buy anything other than free range organic meat for animal welfare reasons and so spends a fortune. Whilst I would not buy cheap meat from the supermarket (i.e. factory farming) I cannot understand paying so much.

Does anyone else consider where their meat comes from or is price the only factor?

Pink.

Hi stingy rach,

Many Old Stylers are very aware and careful where their meat comes from, others need to watch every penny at the moment so don't have the luxury of being able to buy the more expensive free range options.

I try to reach a happy medium by eating meat that has been ethically reared but as it is generally more expensive, we just eat less of it.

Given the choice, my family would be big meat eaters but I have been cutting back on meat for a couple of years now, gradually introducing veggie pasta sauces, pies, quiches. bakes etc and I really don't think that they are aware that now three or four days a week they are eating vegetarian food.

These earlier threads from the Old Style board may interest you:

Chicken - moneysaving or ethical?

Can OS be ethical?

and also these threads from the Green and Ethical Board:

Cheap and well cared for meat? Can we have it all?

Meat Cost v Ethics

Eat less meat!


Pink

stingy_rach

Fab, thanks for those links. Hope no-one thinks I'm asking to be judgemental, am honestly just curious after listening to my freinds arguement.

Cheers!

valk_scot

I have the luxury of being able to afford to make a choice about where I buy my meat, yup. If I was really struggling to feed my family on a very limited budget then I'd be less fussy. I expect your friend might be as well, though of course there's the option of not buying meat at all rather than "unethical" meat.

hotcookie101

Having worked on intensive farms, and in slaughterhouses, I will buy free range/organic chicken, and fr/org/outdoor bred (minimum standard) pork. I buy organic dairy also for welfare reasons. Beef and lamb-I'm not massively fussy-lamb doesn't tend to be intensively reared, and beef in this country is mainly grass fed, not feed-lot style as they have in the US
I will make the choice to eat veggie rather than buy intensive farmed meat. I am almost more particular over pork than chicken, and buy little meat from the supermarket (TBH-supermarket meat is often "factory farmed" especially pork and bacon, so I buy organic (british) or FR pork from there, or pork from local farm shop)
I check labels when I buy, but I am lucky enough not to be OS as I have to feed us for pennies, but because I like to cook, eat well, and not have ready meals. yes money comes into it, but as I said, would prefer to eat veggie a few nights than knowingly eat intensively farmed meat
(but i won't preach to others and if I go to friends I'm not going to check provenance of their meat, but I do check in restaurants)

MrsE_2

Pink-winged wrote: »

I try to reach a happy medium by eating meat that has been ethically reared but as it is generally more expensive, we just eat less of it.

:T:T:T:T:T
I think thats the way to go, plus its better for you too:money:

geordie_joe

stingy_rach wrote: »

Does anyone else consider where their meat comes from or is price the only factor?

It's price and quality for me. I buy almost all of my meat from Morrisons, so it's usually good enough for me. I don't give a second thought to what was happening to the animal before it was killed, but I do care about what happens to the meat after the animal is killed.
.

minniepoos_2

We worry about the 'animal' a lot, and used to only buy organic free range (we don't eat red meat at all though). We even got to the stage of rearing our own chickens so we knew that up until D-Day they were happy and healthy, but we had to stop when OH and I both took on 2nd jobs. Was a shame, as we corn-fed them, and they were so much better than any we had ever bought in supermarkets. We are very short of money at the moment, so I'm very sad to say our standards have dropped. We eat less meat now but even so we find ourselves forced to buy what I wouldn't have looked at before. When every penny counts your priorities change, but as soon as we are back on our feet again, any meat we buy will be 'happy' meat again.

Penelope_Penguin

stingy_rach wrote: »

Does anyone else consider where their meat comes from or is price the only factor?

To be ethical we should also eat all of the animal - no turning noses up at liver, heart, trotters or brawn

Penny. x

MrsE_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

To be ethical we should also eat all of the animal - no turning noses up at liver, heart, trotters or brawn

Penny. x

Not all of us like these cuts, but its great that some do, as it is ethical to make the most of it.

misskool

I don't always have the time nor the budget to buy the more expensive meat but I always make sure that we eat as much of the animal as possible. We also eat a lot of game.

I don't believe in the "organic" part but rather the free range option where meat tastes better because it's been turned into proper muscle.