British Meat

British is best so why buy the rest?
It will not go away, in fact do we want it to go away.  Consumers questioning the quality and content of their meat is a good thing surely?

Leading supermarkets having discovered there is horse meat in their value beef burgers, lasagna and other ready meals.

It has caused uproar.  Is the backlash due to improper labeling or is it the fact that it is horse or potentially containing harmful drugs?  Maybe it is simply because it is Tesco's.  I'm not sure all consumers are that concerned in the current economic climate about animal welfare!

Whatever the reason for the outcry I think there is a significant opportunity here for the government to review what meat is imported and consumed in the UK.  It is often said there are more regulations on ingredients that go into dog food than into human food.  Let’s take the opportunity to strip out the cheap and nasty meat and encourage the British public to buy British!

Everyone is pointing a finger towards meat suppliers based outside of the UK in the EU and a recent article on animal welfare in the Herald Scotland by Rog Wood interested me.  Apparently 40% of the EU bacon and pork sold is illegal and the butchers selling it are not aware of this.  This is specifically linked the EU Welfare legislation that came into force on 1^st Jan 2013 making it illegal to keep sows in individual metal cages.   

I would add that UK farmers have apparently been compliant since 2009 (legislation introduced by a former government).

So welfare issues, meat content and harmful substances are the issues.  What if the UK taxed imported meats?  Bring them into line with the prices our local UK farmers and smallholders can compete with, who ultimately comply with legislation but are priced out.  I guess you could call it a meat import tax - Ultimately creating a minimum price per kilo but for imports only. 

Rog Wood suggests consumers pay lip service to welfare of animals.  Not all of us but ultimately vast majority of the UK population will shop with price in mind rather than the welfare of the animal.  A £3 chicken vs a £6.50 chicken on the supermarket shelf is for some a step up in price too far.

Unless we remove the supply of the cheap meat, it will still be consumed and ultimately produced.  The meat tax could go some way to achieving this, in conjunction with other legislation and grant funding to give UK farms and even smallholders a fair chance of supplying the quality local meat.

This is perhaps controversial, but I feel we should be doing more to support our local farmers and smallholders.

There are however implications such as our relationship with countries to whom we export meat, would they impose similar a tax?

I do appreciate incomes are being hit at present with the economy being in such dire state, but what is preventing families cutting the consumption of meat on a weekly basis to afford the slightly more expensive product.  Especially as there appears to be issues with health, one less meat meal could assist in cutting the nations waist line, but the monetary saving could be used to purchase quality humanely reared meat.  

I believe it is worth discussing the principal.  It gives the local farmers in the UK the opportunity to supply the meat and to achieve a fair price for animals kept is humane conditions.  It would help us become less reliant on imports and therefore consume less illegal meat, but ultimately mean that the UK could be leading the way and standing up for the farm animal such as the pig to ensure its life is a pleasant as it can be for the short period it is around.

Perhaps it is worth discussing regulation of the large supermarkets who ultimately drive the price down and then the quality and welfare of the animals?

Rog Wood's article 

www.heraldscotland.com/business/farming/buy-british-to-pay-the-price-for-better-animal-welfare.19889882

Thanks for reading

Curing Tamworth Ham

My Cured Ham

Well, it was not exactly timed to perfection.  I hoped for a ready cured ham of lovely Tamworth by 26th December 2012.  I did not start it in time unfortunately, so today the 4th January 2013 is the day.

I mentioned recently that I cured some belly pork to make streaky bacon.  This was a huge success and majority of the credit has to go down to the fantastic pork supplied by Liz Shankland at Tudful Tamworths.

I can vouch for the quality of the Tamworth as I have recently cured some supermarket belly pork using the same cure mix bought from www.sausagemaking.org.

Now the cure is great, but the supermarket pork is not nice!  I don't think I have been spoilt, I think I have been shown just what poor taste the fast maturing intensely bred pigs produce. Its no fault of the pigs, it is what we have done due to demand for the cheapest meat ever available.

As you can tell, I am converted to eating quality pork, in fact any quality meat.

I genuinely do not want eat supermarket pork again and would only eat rare breed pork monthly to ensure I am eating a tasty meat and helping in the survival of a rare breed animal.  

So, back to the ham.  I decided to use the bacon cure on a join to try and produce a ham.  It is looking rather good and will be boiled in cider and then baked in the oven in the next day or so. 

I'm sure I will be eating like a king for a while!

Thanks for reading.

Wyandotte Chicks Video & Curing update

I thought I would return to the subject I originally set the blog up for.  It's amazing how you can get carried away and write about almost anything.

I have been cleaning the chickens out today.  A mucky job the best of days, but today, although dry it was muddy!  By the time I had finished, I had mud all up my clothes and up my face!  At least I hope it was mud! :-/

I thought I would take the opportunity to let the chicks, Pinky and Perky, have a little free range time around the garden with my other hens, Custard and Pudding.

Last time I did this with Rodney the rooster there was an American Western type standoff between Pudding (the Bluebelle) and Rodney, the Rhode Island Red chick.  Treacle (mummy hen) was trying to act as referee.  To be honest she is better sticking to her day job of laying eggs!

Surprisingly it went rather well.  The chicks are only 8 weeks old, and Custard could not be bothered at all with them.  Pudding came over to them a few times, but left well along.  She had a peck at Treacle, but I think Treacle is used to it!

I took this video of them having a little meander.  You can get a feel for their size quite well.  Its not a long video only 1 minute 20 seconds.

They seem to be doing really well now.  Fingers crossed they are both hens!

I mentioned curing in the post title.  Well, I can't help myself and have to have another go.  So I defrosted some belly pork from my freezer (purchased some time ago from the supermarket).  It's curing now, and I'm sure it will be ok, but nothing compared to the Tamworth meat I have been eating.

I have also started curing a ham/Leg from the Tamworth meat.  I have used exactly the same cure as I used for the bacon.  I think it needs at least 9 days, which would take us to boxing day.  So that could be a nice treat, cooked in cider and then baked in the oven.

I will update my blog when I have made some more progress on these.

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoy the photos and video.

Guest Blogging on Curing bacon!

Katy from The Goodlife in Practice, has kindly offered for me to be a guest blogger on her site.  www.thegoodlifeinpractice.wordpress.com

My entry reviews my recent bacon curing experience.  Fun fun fun!


My cured bacon

I hope you find it interesting and I'm sure you will find the goodlife in practice blog an interesting read!

Just click on the link

Many thanks for reading.The Goodlife in Practice