Are you what you eat?

Witch

Witch

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Robyn
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OK - a bit of a crusade here. We have a thread running on the boards about dangerous dogs. we recently had a bit of a spat regarding Fox-hunting. My views on either of those subjects are written elsewhere and NEITHER of those subject are relevant to this thread, so it might be sensible if that's the last mention they get.

So - why bring them up at all? Well, it's clear that people feel strongly about animal cruelty - rightly so - we have a responsibility as decent human beings to see that our fellow creatures on the planet are treated well in as far as is possible. Can I ask though, how many of those who describe themselves as "animal lovers" buy their meat in the supermarket? Or pick their ordinary, standard basic eggs off the shelf in Tesco without a second thought? cruelty to domestic animals gets a fair amount of coverage, but the welfare standards for farm animals far less so. Yes of course we all know that UK farms are regulated to an extent, but if it's not regulated under a scheme such as the RSPCA's freedom food scheme, REAL traceability is unlikely to be present. By traceability I mean the knowledge of EXACTLY where a steak, leg of lamb of a chicken has come from. Until a couple of years ago, Tesco sold meat with the freedom food logo on it - now they have withdrawn that and apparently have "their own welfare standards" but when you ask them exactly what these standards are, no-one can tell you in any detail or indeed even generally understands what traceability is.
So - eggs then....ordinary standard eggs. taste alright, although nothing special. Nice and cheap. From BATTERY hens. Caged all their lives, with barely room to move around. basically they are nothing more than egg-laying machines. many lose their feathers through stress.

You've probably guessed by now this is something feel really strongly about. I certainly feel I'm an animal lover, but try to make sure that i think beyond dogs, cats and hamsters. It IS possible to make sure that the meat you buy is from a happy (or at least happier) animal. Get to know your local butcher if you have one. Find out if he can tell you where the meat comes from and what their standards are. If you are restricted to buying in a supermarket at least make sure what you buy is British - stuff that's been imported from abroad might have been reared in any old conditions and there's no real way of telling. If your supermarket of choice doesn't do freedom food then badger them to do so - if enough people ask about it then they'll go back to it. Farmers markets are a brilliant resource. They are often perceived as being too expensive but go along to a few and you might be pleasantly surprised. What's more the people selling actually want to talk to you and explain WHY their beef, lamb, pork etc is so good. Have a look at www.farmersmarkets.net to find out where your nearest one is or just do a google search on "farmers markets" and the name of your local town or city. while you're wandering round your foarmers market it will also give you the chance to see what other produce is produced locally to you - again, I bet you'll be surprised!

*climbs down off soapbox.....*
 
It is something that in my old age... I've become more concerned about. We get our eggs from the farmer down the road who has about 20 or so hens running around her garden (also pest control). We get our meat from the local butcher who only buys local animals live at the auctions and ships them to the abattoir themselves. But since we live in the dales this is pretty easy I mean I live next door to our lamb and our milk (that'd be busterboy!). So what do people do who live in cities who can't guarantee where their meet comes from or eggs.

I've done some research into the so called free range eggs and there just has to be a hole in the side doesn't say anywhere the chickens actually have to be able to get out the whole and the dominant hen usually keeps the lower ones from leaving. So if I do have to buy from a grocery store I only buy soil society (I think that is the name) approved ones. You can't get them at Tesco or Asda. I think only Waitrose, Sainsburry's and maybe M&S. Plus don't forget about the premade food you eat.

I'll get off my soapbox also!
 
Nice to hear that there are others making the effort. we made our New Year's resolution last year to try to eat as far as possible British food. So we now buy seasonal british veg when we do have to use tesco. Obviously things that don't grow well here are a different matter - I'd miss bananas too much if I boycotted those but on the other hand I refuse to buy Dutch mushrooms. No reason for anywhere to be selling anything other than British mush - they're grown by the tonne locally to here but still our local supermarkets sell those from Holland or Belgium!

We have a veg box on order starting next week - I wasn't fussed about it being an organic one but I couldn't find any ordinary ones so organic it'll be! It'll be interesting to see how that works out - the people delivering it are only three miles up the road too so truly local!

Went to the farm shop today for my eggs - normally drive past the fields of hens on the way in but it was so wet today the lass on the counter laughingly told me that when they'd opened the henhouse that morning the hens all looked at the farmers wife like she'd gone barmy and snuggled back into their straw!
 
Well we're planning on ordering a regular veg box when we move next week (If I can find a local supplier).
A couple of years ago, I hit a ridiculous amount of weight, so ended up drastically changing our eating, which meant I learnt to cook properly, starting buying fresh fruit and veg and having proper home cooked meals.

This sort of waned off a little, but when we do buy, we usually prefer to buy from our local butcher. It may be a little more expensive, but it does taste so much nicer.
As for the eggs, that's one thing we do buy from the butcher. We used to buy cheap smartprice eggs from asda, (about 15 for a quid), but they were tiny, and as you say, the conditions of battery hens is appalling.
I watched a documentary either last year or a couple of years ago, about supermarket food. It was like an expose. It showed the conditions of battery hens that provide the supermarkets with their eggs, and chickens etc, and it was digusting. Telling you what to look out for in the supermarket etc.
Put us off shopping there for fresh meat.

As for veg, we did start buying from our local market, but with the decline in healthy eating in our house again, it kinda of dwindled. Again, when we move, it's a fresh start and a complete regime change again. Back to the markets for us.

I do buy seasonal from the supermarket at the moment, as I tend to buy the cheapest (not as a consciencious decision really...I'm just tighter than cramp), and the out of season stuff is usually dearer :D
 
Ever since I became pregnant for the first time, back in the 1980's, I started to read labels and think about where my food came from and what was in it. I stopped eating sausages and meat pies and burgers after being told some awful stories about them. "Organic" was almost unheard of then, but people like Pamela Stevenson challenged farmers about spraying apples with pesticides and so on and gradually peole (or at least, me) became much more food aware. Every pregnant mum I knew then bought the book about E numbers and you could see peole reading it when in the supermarkets!

My children were not allowed "junk" food for years...........but I honestly don't know if I made any difference to their health. Today, I probably have my fair share of fast food, convenience food etc, but the main difference is that even junk food now is from better sourced origins. BSC was terrible, but at least today we can be more certain that meat is somewhat better produced, even if its not organic. I now trust that little tractor symbol you see on supermarket produce to guide me. I hope my trust is not misplaced!
 
We'll have to compare notes on our Veg box experiences then Marcel! Good luck with the move, by the way - glad all that worked out for you!

The cost element is one thing where people NOT buying seasonally is so frustrating - they would actually save themselves cash by buying the seasonal stuff, and yet still they spend their money on our of season imported nonsense! We no longer eat strawberries or raspberries in the winter - there's a decent length growing season and nothing quite like that first punnet of English strawbs - they smell so much nicer than their spanish equivalent and you just KNOW that summer's arrived! (y)

If you want to find your local Veg Box scheme by the way use this Linka-de-doo-dah!
 
photostar_1 said:
I now trust that little tractor symbol you see on supermarket produce to guide me. I hope my trust is not misplaced!
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Not misplaced, no. The red tractor scheme IS good, but it's not quite as good in terms of traceability and unannounced inspection visits as Freedom Food. Better to buy meat with that logo though than without. :)

Have some links....

Red tractor
RSPCA Freedom Food
 
Witch

Already there on the meat & poultry front, the wife gets ours from

The Well Hung Meat Company

(Aheem no sniggering at the back please......)

There monthly meat boxes are great, service is second to none and we know where all the stuff has come from. Just need to sort out a veg box from somewhere, impressed with this thread well done. (y)
 
Mr THX said:
Witch

Already there on the meat & poultry front fella, the wife gets ours from

The Well Hung Meat Company

(Aheem no sniggering at the back please......)

There monthly meat boxes are great, service is second to none and we know where all the stuff has come from. Just need to sort out a veg box from somewhere, impressed with this thread fella well done. (y)
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Fella - pah! How DARE you sir!! If I were a fella I'd be a wizard wouldn't I! :LOL:

Well Hung are in Devon aren't they? They had a stall at an event we chanced upon in Cambridge last summer, selling burgers, hot dogs (can't really call 'em that - sausages in sticks really!) etc, and most excellent they were too. I'll pay their site a visit and see how their prices lok I think so thanks for that.

No excuse on the veg box front via my link above either! :D

It's a subject I feel really strongly about. In just over a month the country will be getting excited about supporting England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales in the Rugby world cup (Yes, alright, those of us supporting England aren't getting so much excited as distinctly queasy, but still!), but plenty of those people who are cheerfully being "patriotic" are nothing short of Anti-British when they hit the supermarket for their weekly shop. Those same people will lament the picture of the starving puppy or drowned kitten, whilst cheerfully picking up battery eggs for their breakfast or an intensively farmed Chicken for Sunday lunch.
 
That's a great link Mr THX. If I couldn't get my meat local I would definitely do that.
 
ooo good thread.

I have been veggy my whole life and cant ever see myself eating meat. Granted I didnt make the choice not to eat meat when I was young, my parents are both vegges, but I have had many chances to try meat and could never actually bring myself to eat a dead animal. So on the meat side I don't have to worry about where it comes from :p

I do eat dairy though, and you do hear some awfull storied. We use to get our eggs from a local farm before we moved earlier in the year, and those were propper free range chickens, who just wandered around the farm. But now we have to rely on Sainsburies Organic FreeRange eggs being what they say on the box - and to be honest Organic eggs do actually taste better than normal ones (sadly the only time I have found this with organic stuff :( ) Even when I was at Uni and on a tight bugget I still bought Tesco Free Range eggs, just couldnt bring myself to buy the cheap battery farm ones.

I do like the way a lot more products now use free range eggs, and hopefully they are all propper free range. But erm...yeah anyway.....forgot where I was going with this :D
 
I'll put in my bit... I'm veggie, but that's only because I'm too mean to pay the price of organic meat when Quorn etc is so much cheaper! Like most veggies, I have NO PROBLEM at all with people eating meat. But I DO have a problem with hypocrasy... i.e. people who don't want to know how that bit of flesh has ended up shrink-wrapped in a little box. Or those who would abhor battery farming but deliberately do NOT educate themselves to they can keep on buying cheap rubbish. Sometimes I want to shout at people in the supermarket! :embarrassed:

Happy animals for happy meat is fine with me. But don't get me started about bloodsports... :annoyed:
 
Are you what you eat?. Reminds me of a Bernard Manning joke
 
Venomator said:
So ... you don't feel strongly enough about it to be a vegetarian then Witch ... :cautious:
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I feel strongly alright - but no, I wouldn't be a vegentarian in a million years!

Having said that, the other half eats FAR more meat-free meals now than he did before he met me, I can quite happily eat a couple of meals a week with no meat in sight.....when I smell bacon cooking or a nice free range chicken roasting though, ahhhh!

And whaddaya mean scarey?! :bat:



;)
 
Mr THX said:
:eek: Opps ..please accept my humble apologies. :bonk:
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No apologies, humble or otherwise, necessary!

I work in the building trade and my real-life name is Robyn - I'm VERY used to people ringing me and expecting to speak to a fella! :LOL:
 
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