Free Range/Ethical frugal eating

terra_ferma

ragz wrote: »

I think the 'priority' is a big problem though, many people on minimum incomes think it's more important to buy their kids a new video game/have sky tv/top up their mobiles/ buy fags etc than to buy decent food.
Of course it's personal choice... but it is interesting what some people prioritise and then claim they can't afford decent food.

I will only buy free range chicken (£5 each in Lidl!), MIL an SIL are not at all bothered, although they have bigger incomes.
I will only buy British sausages with a decent meat content, many people I know are happy with value ones...

Choice... or ignorance?

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

It is ok if you can afford to be ethical, but if you are on minimum wage cost has to take priority.

It's not just about income.
Everybody has a choice, within limits.
I don't have a problem if someone doesn't go for the most ethical products because they can't afford them, but still make an effort when they can.
On some other threads you read posts from people who can't afford to eat meat regularly, and have to stretch a chicken to feed a family for days, or bulk meat with oats.
I would not blame anyone in that situation for buying the cheapest the can find. But most people don't need to do that in this country.

A lot of people could buy less meat but better quality, and wouldn't need to spend more. They would probably end up eating better.
However if you can't give up your meat and two veg twice a day, you are making a clear choice.

I too am struggling to find the money to buy better quality meat, personally I don't go for free-range stuff because I believe it's a marketing ploy and animals suffer almost as much, but I can't afford organic meat from riverford and I don't have decent butchers where I live.
this thread has given me the impetus to be a bit more proactive.

adelight

ragz either ignorance or they know but are of the "it's only an animal" school of thought. On that tv show with t*scos everyone was claiming they wanted free range but couldn't afford it, but it seemed more like they just didn't want to spend that much. I guess maybe they wanted fags and games instead. Some would argue that us enjoying our life through "luxuries" like that is more important than an animal having a good life.

I would LOVE to buy free range, keep chickens, grow my own and I have experience doing them all but I can't. I can't afford it, it's not available, I don't have space, I can't afford/get space, there are no reasonably priced grocers/butchers/farm shops. It's quite upsetting and drives me crazy when people (not this thread or on here!) lecture to me that I'm such a bad person not buying organic local stuff and how I would be so much healthier if I grew my own veg. I can't! If they want to give me the money or space then I happily would. I envy anyone with reasonably priced local food sources. Believe me, if I had them i would use them.

Farway

anrutpea wrote: »

We eat a lot of Bream, Coley, Pollock and Cobbler which we tend to find loads of in the reduced section of the supermarket.

if trying to be ethical do a search on cobbler and you may change your mind about using it

Like a lot I am able to afford a choice of what I buy & eat, so always free range chicken & eggs, I try & buy British free range pork but find it hard to source apart from Waitrose

I have avoided lamb /sheep meat since it was revealed the majority of it, [including new Zealand and Waitrose] is killed using Halal rituals. There is not a local butcher to buy from, and the local deli had no idea if the ham they sold was from free range pigs or even where it came from, some deli that must be

So I am limited to supermarkets and reading the labels

PS when I eat out the ethics have to mainly be left behind, although I mostly stick to fish dishes

kerrypn

ragz wrote: »

I think the 'priority' is a big problem though, many people on minimum incomes think it's more important to buy their kids a new video game/have sky tv/top up their mobiles/ buy fags etc than to buy decent food.
Of course it's personal choice... but it is interesting what some people prioritise and then claim they can't afford decent food.

I will only buy free range chicken (£5 each in Lidl!), MIL an SIL are not at all bothered, although they have bigger incomes.
I will only buy British sausages with a decent meat content, many people I know are happy with value ones...

Choice... or ignorance?

Ouch! Bit of a sweeping generalisation isn't it?

I would love to afford ethical food, but the price tag is almost prohibitive, especially chicken :eek:

I do try and buy free range eggs though

anrutpea

I totally understand it's about budget. Like I said I love chicken but because I won't buy cheap battery chicken I rarely eat chicken now and it's an enjoyable treat when i do.

I get that there are skint people (I don't have much money) but if you had the choice of buying battery chicken breasts for £2.50 or diced braising steak for £2.50 how many people would go for the braising steak and make a slow cooked curry or casserole?

A lot of people are used to only using chicken to make curries or fajitas when there are other affordable meats around that are reared a lot more ethically than deformed crushed chickens pumped with water.

Once you know what is in the battery chicken meat - the amount of nutrition in it isn't even going to fill your belly very long before you are hungry once more.

It's really interesting seeing how many people do care and want to raise awareness

Ken68

Hi, I've spent the last week or two protein counting as opposed to calorie counting and surprised to find I don't need to buy meat and fish.
I litre of skimmed \uHT long life milk per day acccounts for 34 protein g's (out of 55). Plus own fruit and veg (beans)and home made yogurt . And liver (chock full of protein, only need a little per day) is £1 a kg, freezes OK.
Edit...Warning liver has lots of chloresterol.

~Chameleon~

Ken68 wrote: »

Hi, I've spent the last week or two protein counting as opposed to calorie counting and surprised to find I don't need to buy meat and fish.
I litre of skimmed \uHT long life milk per day acccounts for 34 protein g's (out of 55). Plus own fruit and veg (beans)and home made yogurt . And liver (chock full of protein, only need a little per day) is £1 a kg, freezes OK.
Edit...Warning liver has lots of chloresterol.

You'd be far better off using full-fat milk than skimmed, it is a low-fat product in itself after all and the health benefits are far greater. Plus, it's a complete myth that foods high in cholesterol such as eggs and liver will raise our own blood cholesterol levels, in fact liver actually helps to lower cholesterol levels. It's the high levels of vitamin A you need to be aware of if eating lots of liver regularly, otherwise it's a great source of protein containing around 27g/100g and also rich source of iron and B vits

Btw, I eat 2 eggs daily and have done for well over a year and also eat liver frequently and both my HDL (good) & LDL (bad) cholesterol levels are well within healthy ranges (the LDL is actually very low!)

Mojisola

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

You'd be far better off using full-fat milk than skimmed, it is a low-fat product in itself after all and the health benefits are far greater.

Too right! "Full fat" milk is usually about 5% fat, maximum. Any other food with this level would be classed as low fat.

Ken68

Thanks Cham, ...might go full fat milk, now price is similar, but like the keeping qualities of UHT.
And my chloresterol shot up after over- eating liver, which prompted the protein research.
So just not buying meat and fish for the future a BIG moneysaving.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/pork-products/2196/2

~Chameleon~

Ken68 wrote: »

Thanks Cham, ...might go full fat milk, now price is similar, but like the keeping qualities of UHT.
And my chloresterol shot up after over- eating liver, which prompted the protein research.
So just not buying meat and fish for the future a BIG moneysaving.

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/pork-products/2196/2

Assuming you weren't eating several kilos of liver a day, I can assure you the liver won't have affected your blood cholesterol levels and even if you were you'd be at a far higher risk of vitamin A toxicity than raised cholesterol levels. I would advise looking at other areas of your diet and or exercise regime for clues and speak to your GP if you're concerned