Cheapest supermarket for organic meat?

Debt_Free_Chick

jenniewb wrote: »

Just wondering if you knew of any way to tell which meats were Halal and which are not? Currently they are not labelled and as a result the vast majority of meat from Supermarkets is Halal, partly because its cheaper for them to do but possibly for reasons I do not understand.

Possibly because there are more Halal abbattoirs? (Dunno, just guessing).

Abbattoir regulation changed about 10 years ago and a huge chunk of our traditional slaughter houses closed down as a result!. EU regulation, natch :mad:

Debt_Free_Chick

terra_ferma wrote: »

I don't seek out halal meat in particular, but all this fuss about it in my opinion is a diversion from the real issue. The problem is not the debate about how much animal suffer at the end of their life, but DURING, and having read a bit about how cruelly animals are treated, true organic, outdoor bred meat is much more humane, regardless of halal or not halal.

Spot on

But a good butcher - not one that simply buys from a wholesaler - will also source naturally/traditionally reared meat too. The key is to talk to the butcher and let him tell you where the meat was reared and how. If he can't tell you, then don't buy.

terra_ferma

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

Spot on

But a good butcher - not one that simply buys from a wholesaler - will also source naturally/traditionally reared meat too. The key is to talk to the butcher and let him tell you where the meat was reared and how. If he can't tell you, then don't buy.

organic and meat standards in general are very important to me too:

animal welfare: outdoor rared, small producers, (preferably organic). Supermarket welfare and organic standards are just a tick box exercise.
Humane slaughter (regardless of halal of conventional methods) is a must, but should not detract from the issue of humane farming, as lots of farmed animal suffer terribly throughout their lifetime.

health: outdoor reared, organic meat from small farms is my preferred choice. Ditto but not organic is the second. Supermarkets will do the bare minimum to qualify as organic, regardless of animal welfare/health/quality issues. A lot of labels/standards are just for marketing, like also 'special' eggs and milk etc.

cost: well the theory is good enough, but when money is tight I may end up buying any meat, but I try to buy British or from countries with decent animal welfare laws (lots of chicken come from thailand and eastern europe).
I believe that if you buy non organic/free range etc, you can be 100% certain that the animal has suffered greatly, and really halal or not halal is not the main issue. It sells papers and it keeps attention away from other issues, so we'll probably hear more about it.

Finally: If you buy food with high animal meat content, you can bet that they will put in anything that customers would not want to buy as fresh meat if it's stated on the packet, so don't discount that in your search for better meat.

jm2926

My local Lidl does Scottish free range chickens for £5.50 - £6 for a bird around 1.7kg. Their organic veg is nice and well priced as well.

flloydhow

check mysupermarket. they have an organic shelf and you can filter it to present meat. this way, you can compare prices from all supermarkets