Where can I buy ethically reared meat in Britain?

Mojisola

Brand_X wrote: »

The "Wild Beef" store looks quite good, but I'm still not seeing anything more than regular meat raised to a moderately higher standard. It's a start, but to put things in perspective I'm happy to pay x5 times those prices, maybe even up to 10 times the price. I don't want cheap meat.

What exactly are you looking for?

missbiggles1

Mojisola wrote: »

What exactly are you looking for?

Somebody who's taken a dislike to their pet lamb, by the sounds of it!

Mojisola

Would this - http://wagyu.co.uk/about-highland-wagyu/ - be the sort of thing you're looking for?

martinthebandit

I would have thought any wild game would be the most ethical you can get and any decent local butcher can provide that when its in season

Brand_X

Mojisola wrote: »

What exactly are you looking for?

Ideally I'm looking for meat that has come from animals that have been treated like pets and allowed to live much longer than normal. Beef cows for example are slaughtered at 18 months, and I seem to recall that by EU law they have to slaughtered by the age of 2 years. Cows have a lifespan of about 20 years, and in the old days way back when, they were slaughtered at 5 years of age, which is still too young, but if I could find beef slaughtered at 5 years old, that would be a good start.

GwylimT

As someone who comes from a farming family I can tell you the only cows slaughtered at five are dairy cows who are no longer producing enough milk or stud bulls who are failing to produce quality speem, cattle bred for meat have always been slaughtered at around 18 months of age.

Even then these animals are normally sent for pet food as the meat is poor quality.

Mojisola

missbiggles1 wrote: »

Somebody who's taken a dislike to their pet lamb, by the sounds of it!

Brand_X wrote: »

Ideally I'm looking for meat that has come from animals that have been treated like pets and allowed to live much longer than normal.

Beef cows for example are slaughtered at 18 months, and I seem to recall that by EU law they have to slaughtered by the age of 2 years. Cows have a lifespan of about 20 years, and in the old days way back when, they were slaughtered at 5 years of age, which is still too young, but if I could find beef slaughtered at 5 years old, that would be a good start.

You were spot on, missbiggles!

Brand_X - you really wouldn't want to eat meat from a 20 year old animal!

Some farmers sell mutton which comes from older sheep rather than lambs but it's much tougher.

Otherwise, buying wild game - as martinthebandit suggested - would be worth trying. The animals haven't had a pampered life but they have lived a natural one until being shot in the field so there are no stresses associated with being driven miles to an abatoir.

missbiggles1

Brand_X wrote: »

Ideally I'm looking for meat that has come from animals that have been treated like pets and allowed to live much longer than normal. Beef cows for example are slaughtered at 18 months, and I seem to recall that by EU law they have to slaughtered by the age of 2 years. Cows have a lifespan of about 20 years, and in the old days way back when, they were slaughtered at 5 years of age, which is still too young, but if I could find beef slaughtered at 5 years old, that would be a good start.

Told you so!:rotfl:

Tigsteroonie

Having just read the articles on BBC News about people who lived a self-sufficient life following The Good Life on telly I think you need to find people who have small-holdings, whose children have hand reared the animals and given them names, that kind of thing. I don't know if there is any kind of forum for people who have small-holdings ...

Gigervamp

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

I don't know if there is any kind of forum for people who have small-holdings ...

Indeed there is. Check out Downsizer.net.