#ethicalmeat

It seems a long time ago now since we changed all of our farming practices towards an organic future. The farm has changed, the life on it has improved dramatically, there is more wildlife, happier livestock and healthier soil.    With so much discussion around greenhouse gases and climate change I think ruminant farmers do have a responsibility to ensure that their practices do not cause further harm to the environment, I at least want to make sure my operation is truly beneficial and that is why we are producing Pasture For Life meat.

It is certainly frustrating as a producer of the best beef in the world to have to continually listen to the mainstream media going on about eating less meat and turning vegan.  I know there are a lot of people that believe it is not humane to eat meat and avoiding meat is best for sustainability and the planet but we need herbivores and that is the exact reason I farm and produce pasture for Life meat, building a case and solid reasons for people to choose mine over all factory-raised meat, that i certainly do not support.  

I certainly do not wish to be classed as the enemy in the battle against climate change, i am an environmentalist and I believe my animals at Herons Green Farm are carbon neutral, as the wonderful cartoon above demonstrates, grazing animals are beneficial for the soil, the work they do in carbon sequestration is amazing, "chewing the cud", as we say, stimulates new grass growth, the manure and urine they leave behind works microbes into the land, increasing the biodiversity of the life under the ground which helps in the process.  We therefore store more carbon in the soil than our cows emit during their lives, the permanent pasture that makes up the farm and 70% of the nations farmland acts as a massive carbon sink.  

At Herons Green Farm and The Communtiy Farm I have certainly seen a change in the soil diversity and its productivity since we have not routinely wormed our cattle or applied any artificial fertilisers since 2003.   Agriculture is probably the most vulnerable industry to climate change, we are dictated by the weather, floods, droughts as our animals, environments and landscapes are too.  However we are also in a unique position as we can correct it and sequester 50% or more of current greenhouse gas emissions in our soil.   It is however not without its additional costs to the farmer and this obviously needs to be recognised and we need the consumers support for these farming systems that mitigate climate change and build residences to its impacts.

The Case for Eating Meat - There’s a Story behind everything we eat

So back to the argument of eating less meat and or turning vegan.  I love the fact that extinction rebellion, XR are raising the bar on environmental issues that the governments have ignored for a generation.   However the intensification of agriculture, the use of biofuels from cereals are all supported by big corporate finance, so is the vegan market, more plants, more agro-chemicals to grow them, more machinery, more for their shareholders.   We have been reported to by the media with the wrong information, biased flawed science and so we have reached this juncture with millions of people reaching the wrong conclusions.  It seems that if a point is presented as environmental then we are supposed to support it regardless of the consequences, a move to greater reliance on plant based protein for example will not benefit climate, ecology or human health and certainly not rural communities.   As an organic farmer i believe we are offering solutions however we are being unfairly tainted with a brush that says a plant based diet is the answer?  The disconnect with our population looking for environmental answers is huge.   I want to stay open minded about the future, but people also need to investigate the truths more and look into the misrepresentations as regenerative farming cannot be pigeon holed along with other industrial led agriculture practices.

Is a vegan diet really more sustainable from a land use perspective.  Most land is not suitable for vegetable production and therefore protein from animals is an important part of our diet and even more important from a land use perspective.    It is a shame that other studies are not truly reflective of the meat industry as a whole, it mainly includes factory-raised meat in the figures which has a massive effect on the environment when you consider these cheaper factory produced animals are fed protein in the form of grain and soy that is imported from Brazilian rainforests and other countries.  I found an interesting info-graphic which helps explain the environmental impact of pasture-fed beef.  

http://rxprimal.com/2016/02/19/infograph-meat-and-the-earth/

For the first time, consumers have the knowledge to choose to, or choose not to, do their part in helping mitigate climate change.  The production of these emissions can be reversed if people only eat regeneratively produced meat and vegetables.    We have been doing it for it years but at last it has come to this juncture that we can ask our customers to buy more meat and vegetables from us and other producers that are farming in this way.  

There is a snippet in the Guardian article which provides some common ground on which we can build: “

The large variability in environmental impact from different farms does present an opportunity for reducing the harm without needing the global population to become vegan”.  

How 100% Pasture fed livestock is better for You

At the story you will be pleased to note that we have become members of the PFLA, Pasture Fed Livestock association because we believe that you will reap the benefits of meat that is reared in this way.  The Health benefits of grass fed meat is huge not only to you but also the environment and the future of our food supply.  

It is no secret or new thing but the emerging trend is that people are trying to source better meat and that usually means slowly reared and on grass fed diets.  The new research proves that red meat reared on pasture based diets contains more omega 3, fatty and cancer properties.  

The Story are giving you access to something very few people have as you can not only visit our farms to understand more about pasture fed livestock and what it means to how we rear our animals but you can also pick up some of the finest meat in the country at our butcher shop in Blagdon.  

You will find that the meat far outweighs the grain fed non-organic mass produced meat that you can buy elsewhere.  At Story butchers we ensure that our non-organic meat is also sourced from farms that do not feed grain as a substitute and because it is also hung for 30 days it easily gives you an unrivalled taste and tenderness.  

Naturally we ensure our quality is maintained by using an Abbatoir that is close by at Langford, Bristol University because reducing the effect of stress on the animals during transit is paramount to the animals health and well being but also the end quality of the meat and hence taste.   We ensure 28 days minimum of dry ageing process and hanging  which enhances the meat further.