where can i buy reasonably priced higher welfare meat?

cooking-mama

Thanks juliageorgiana,I know freedom food isnt as ethical as free range/organic,but im trying to do what i can afford and still feed my family reasonably healthy diets,the freedom food i was looking for was in relation to beef and pork as i already buy only free range chicken and eggs.
Moonpixiewitch,thanks for the links,one of those farmers markets is only a 10 min drive from me(i think the farm its on may own some of the cows that i see in the fields near me)but to be honest it is very very expensive,I once bought 2 croissants and a sourdough loaf and it cost £5.25....I always say to OH,if i mention the farmers market,remind me of the 5 quid loaf:rotfl:
saying that...its on the first Saturday of every month(ie this saturday)....youngest and OH are going to the football and im on a day off from work,sooo..?

heretolearn_2

Beef is pretty ok. Cattle are overwintered in sheds for their welfare (most breeds not very hardy) and to protect the land, but they go out in summer. They are in barn areas with space to move about, not in little individual stalls. You certainly don't get battery beef in the way you get battery chicken.

I volunteer at an organic farm in summer which free-ranges everything, but even their cattle come in over winter. I've heard that beef with yellowish fat has been recently grass fed, don't know if that's true or not.

Pork - I try and buy the freerange stuff. You have to be careful though - 'outdoor bred' will be freeranged up to a few weeks old then brought indoors for fattening! If I can't get/afford the freerange pork and have to get bog-standard I only buy British, as even though it has been intensively farmed, it still has higher welfare standards than the rest of Europe. I Never touch Danish pork/bacon as their standards and conditions are awful.

henmuffin

Hello,
You could have a look here:
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/your_food/default.aspx
They have a guide to animal welfare. Another way is to eat more meat substitutes such as quorn. It's cheaper than meat, quick to cook and nice for a change.

leo~saphira

eslick wrote: »

in the winter cattle are brought in doors, they need to be looked after. try a good local butcher, most will know where their things come from and how to handle it rather than a supermarket which...............

for eggs chickens need something like 12 hours day light to lay.

Where did that 12 hour thing come from as its totally wrong. my 5 hens all came into lay early last month. With only about 8-9hours of light (if your lucky with the dark rain clouds)

pruney

dogstarheaven wrote: »

Asda's have their version of this (tho' not sure whether it's RSPCA's approved). I buy their free-range and corn-fed chicken. Sometimes, Happy Eggs are £1 at all the s/markets, just have to catch the right offer at the right store! Morrison's Free range own brand eggs are quite cheap.

Happy Eggs were suspended from the RSPCA freedom food scheme for mistreatment of the hens (see here http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2010/10/07/123883/VIDEO-Happy-Egg-Co-in-Viva-firing-line.htm). Some supermarkets suspended selling their eggs; this is probably why they're so cheap now.

cooking-mama

Thanks for all the advice guys... I found this company http://www.damndelicious.co.uk/ Turns out its a farm less than 10miles from where i live.It appears reasonably priced (Well the boxes seem to be better value for money), and I discovered they have their own butchers shop a 20min drive form me in Lanark..I went on Friday and got 1lb steak mince,+1lb stewing steak,(made from 1/2lb braising and 1/2lb shoulder)+800gm rolled brisket joint...cost was £17:eek: (altho its all Aberdeen Angus)...yikes,a bit more expensive than i expected,altho the diced steak was fantastic in a curry i made, the brisket we had yesterday,family loved it,im still undecided,because it was rolled(or because it was cooked in slow cooker),it wouldnt cut into slices very well,but it was very very tender,kinda strong beefy flavour(I prefer silverside,but couldnt afford that at £19.99 Kg....ive still to use the mince its in the freezer.
I fancy trying this meat box. http://www.damndelicious.co.uk/products/beef/24
But im a wee bit worried about their statement on the home page..

"Uniquely our animals live outside all year round, do not eat any manufactured meal and only graze FRESH green forage every day.
This 100 % natural FRESH diet of grass and clover in summer and in winter, FRESH kale and hay or silage not only gives the meat its amazing Damn Delicious flavour, taste and tenderness but increases the amount of ‘healthy’ fats (Omega 3) in the meat."

Surely they wouldnt leave the poor coos out in the harsh snowy winters weve had recently...maybe i should phone and ask them!

PS,does anyone else think the £79.99 beef box seems good value for money?,or is it very expensive?,ive never bulk bought meat like this before,I normaly get my diced steak and steak mince from Costco,but hate having to portion it up raw to freeze,this way its delivered fresh but vacuum packed in freezable portions(altho i want to pay for piece of mind/quality rather than just convenience.

Mojisola

cooking-mama wrote: »

Surely they wouldnt leave the poor coos out in the harsh snowy winters weve had recently...maybe i should phone and ask them!

If that's what they say on their website, then they should do.

Cattle will put on quite a thick coat if kept outside all the time and be quite happy over the winter. They're usually brought in to protect the land rather than the beasts. I can only think that the farm is on very free-draining land to cope with the poaching that would otherwise happen.

If you do contact them, you could ask whether the cattle are out in the fields or on a yard and whether they have a shelter to go into if they want to get out of the weather.

mardatha

Aberdeen Angus might well winter outbye. I know there's Whitmuir Organics, not too far away from me. But I have never been to the farm shop, just always wanted to go.

cooking-mama

Thankyou Mojisola and mardatha,..The company have a "contact us/enquirey" box onsite,so ive sent a question asking if the cows either have access to shelter,or in severe conditions are they brought into barns...in the meantime I just got the remainder of our butcher meat from Costco,all Scottish beef,apparantly traceable...but how?,this has always confused me too,aparantly tracability is a good thing,but it seems to be only the butchers have access to this info...Anyone know how we can trace meat bought from places like Costco?

liam8282

Morrisons meat is 100% British if that helps, I have no idea how it is produced though?!

http://www.morrisons.co.uk/corporate/press-office/corporate-releases/Now-all-fresh-meat-at-Morrisons-is-100-British/

We have recently started shopping at Morrisons a lot more lately, and IMO the quality and price of the meat is much better than other supermarkets.