Meats

Although a lot of the meat that finds its way onto our tables is reared using intensive farming methods, many British meat producers are attempting to buck the trend, rearing free-range, happy and healthy animals, and producing better quality meat.

Quality above costs

Much of the food eaten in this country will have been grown or reared 'to a price'. This means that the price has been decided first, and the produce reared or grown to meet this price. As consumers demand ever-cheaper food, it is inevitable that short-cuts are taken in production in order to cut costs.

Time, as always, is money, and so time is one of the first factors to be cut. Livestock reared with modern, intensive farming methods are often breeds, or hybrids, specifically developed to carry more meat. They are fed concentrated feed to enable them to bulk up quickly, and then they are slaughtered at an early age, having been forced to grow at an unrealistic rate. The meat is not then hung, as traditionally it would have been to develop flavour and texture, but butchered and sold almost immediately.

Meat produced so quickly does not have the same richness of flavour that traditionally reared meat has.

The meat producers we feature in our directory are trying to turn the tide. Many rear their animals organically, so that the feed must be of a high quality and animal welfare must be a priority. Many feed their livestock on home-grown feed, and most of the lamb and beef featured will have been grass-fed. These factors, many farmers insist, produce tastier meat, but they also help to reassure consumers who consider animal welfare to be an important consideration.

Free-range

We've found poultry producers who rear their birds truly free-range, giving the birds space to move around and forage, and who slaughter the birds at twice the age of intensively reared chickens. There are producers of free-range eggs who've discovered that commercial, high-protein feeds can taint the eggs with an unpleasant fishy taste, and so feed their birds home-grown cereals instead. This attention to detail, and a policy of rearing their animals with, often, old-fashioned methods, and only then pricing the produce, can make a big difference to the quality of the end result.

Endangered

Britain has many old and native breeds of farm livestock, yet a high proportion of these are deemed endangered, such has been the relentless decline in their numbers. The reason for this decline is simple; these breeds do not suit modern industrial farming methods.

More profit can be made with other types of animal, and so breeds such as the Large Black pig, Castlemilk Moorit sheep, and Red Poll cattle have been neglected. Not only does this compromise the biodiversity (natural variety) of our animals, it is also a loss in terms of eating quality.

Fortunately, there are British farmers who've made a firm commitment to rare-breed animals, rearing them slowly on traceable feed, with space to range and be active, often in closed herds. They slaughter them at a greater age, often locally, then hang the meat to mature on the bone.

Putting the emphasis on animal welfare not only means that spread of disease is less likely, but also that there are benefits for the environment - and for consumers' palates. A happy, stress-free pig is more likely to provide tastier pork. Traditionally reared meat has a richer, more complex flavour; it also looks different from most supermarket meat - beef tends to be less red, with a degree of marbling (fat in the meat), which contributes to a fuller flavour when the meat is cooked.

Native and regional animal breeds

Some well-known regional animal breeds include Norfolk Black turkeys, Aberdeen Angus cattle and Gloucester Old Spot pigs, but there are dozens of breeds, either native to this country, or established hundreds of years ago. These include:

Cattle

Ruby Devon (Devon)
Sussex
British White (associated with north and East Anglia)
Lincoln Red
Hereford
Gloucester
Red Poll (East Anglia)
Beef Shorthorn (originally from Aberdeenshire)