If, like us you’ve been glued to your telly these past 2 weeks watching Channel 4’s Great British Food Fight, then you’ll be as delighted as we are that the subject of animal welfare in farming and food production has been in the spotlight for both pork and chicken.
Firstly, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall examined the poultry industry and called for industy wide adoption of more humane conditions for chickens through his Chicken Out campaign to raise minimum living conditions for intensiveley produced poultry.
Then Jamie Oliver looked at how we raise pigs in the UK and highlighted the apalling conditions in some EU pork farms.
Two main themes emerged from both programmes:
1. How can UK farmers produce meat humanely with welfare of the animal in mind and yet still make a profit if supermarkets demand low prices?
2. Just how much are people really willing to pay for quality meat which has been reared with the animal’s welfare in mind?
Compassion in World Farming and the RSPCA Freedom Foods both have active campaigns to improve the living conditions for animals raised for food – you can find out more by visiting their websites.
At Eversfield Organic, we put animal welfare at the heart of everything we do. In an organic system, as well as not using pesticides – the health and well being of the animal also has a direct impact on the quality of the meat produced. So, if you’re one of the many people who are now starting to question where your meat comes from and how it’s produced, you can buy organic meat from Eversfield safe in the knowledge that:
- All our animals are ‘free range’ living outdoors with the freedom to display natural behaviour. For cattle this means herding together to graze across large areas of meadow. For Pigs it means foraging or ‘rooting’ about in the meadows for grubs and vegetation. For sheep, they enjoy foraging for grasses and herbs to find the naturally occuring vitamins and minerals they need for their diet. For Chickens, it means having a good scratching place to dig up the dirt, room to move about and flap their wings to establish a natural ‘pecking’ order. Our Cows are brought inside and have straw bedding through the winter, whilst are sheep ar brought into lambing pens during March. The Pigs are outside all year round and have large pig acs to keep them dry and warm.
- We don’t castrate our pigs nor do we dock their tails. They live happy lives in natural groups with their mothers and siblings until they’re ready for slaughter.
- We breed both Rare Breeds (Aberdeen Angus Natives) and mainstream livestock, the aninals breed together naturally – not using artificial insemination.
We know our meat is the best you can buy, and we know our cows, sheep and pigs are amongst the most contented and healthy animals in British farming!
If you have any questions – youc an always call our office or email us:
01837 871400
