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How green is your meat
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If you're a meat-eater, you need to consider carefully the source of the meat you buy
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t’s an emotive subject and there’s no doubt that the demand for meat is in decline. We’re regularly being told that gasses given off by our cattle herds are contributing to global warming, and that it’s environmentally unfriendly eating meat, although a recent programme on BBC Radio 4 had an expert talking on this issue, he stated that in terms of the traditional rearing of cattle which grazed off the land, there wasn’t really much wrong with this environmentally. He said the real issue was that we corrupt this natural process by feeding livestock with all sorts of supplementary food stuffs, such as soya, corn, etc., primarily to boost growth. Without wishing to appear indelicate, the analogy is that it’s akin to feeding someone a meal of baked-beans!
The past few years have seen a decline in the sales of meat for many reasons vegetarianism and veganism has been on the increase, primarily in the 18 to 35 age group. Many of these cite environmental issues, as well as animal welfare and health reasons as other concerns. But it’s probably true to say that we’re all concerned about what we eat today, and we know that eating meat can carry baggage.
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CONTENTS
GREEN & NATURE
VISIT
Food miles As with many food stuffs, one of the most salient environmental factors is that of ‘food miles’. I was on a Brittany Ferries trip over to France last year and in the on-board restaurant they’d provided information about the source of beef used within their meals - France and Argentina! What you may ask, is wrong with British beef? Don’t we have trade agreements with Europe? The additional worry is how do we police foodstuffs imported from far-flung countries such as Argentina, where we have little or no control over how food is grown. This is an area where we very much rely on our supermarkets to ensure what is brought in is fit for our consumption. Undoubtedly the pursuit of locally grown foodstuffs will really come to the fore in the future, although many farmers say that supermarkets make production difficult or unviable because of their iron control of the market and pricing.
FOOD & DRINK
THINGS TO DO