MEAT, EGGS AND DAIRY: many products in the UK are produced intensively, with little or no regard for animal welfare (CIWF). This results from the increasing demand for cheap products. Buying from factory farms is really from mistreated animals, who pay an enormous price. As long as people do this, there will never be major reform. Ethical choices will result in institutional change. Certified organic is the most expensive, but the highest welfare. I think the answer lies in buying from people you trust. Ideally from a local farm, where you know the animals have access to pasture all day. Talk to the farmer directly and ask him about his practices, or buy from a farmer’s market. You could also ask for high welfare meat or eggs at a butcher, who shares your values, or find it on line. Log on to supermarket and brand websites, and check out their ethical commitments. Look up shops, organic farms and restaurants in your local area. Cafes, fast foods and takeaways will most probably use the lowest welfare products, unless they state otherwise.
Pork: since there is no definition of free range, buying pork labelled as this, might not guarantee a fully free range product. Organic (best) should guarantee free range, if you can afford it, or outdoor bred and reared/straw finished or RSPCA Assured. If you buy pork, bacon, sausages or ham, from pigs reared indoors, look for ‘straw bedded’ or ‘deep bedded’ on the packaging (rather than the pig raised on concrete or metal). Straw provides opportunities for pigs to root and forage, and is good for thermal comfort.
Chickens turkeys and ducks: buy organic (best) or free-range. Organic chickens live 81 days or free-range 56 days, both with access to outdoors, rather than 42 days in intensive conditions. Local butchers often sell high-welfare poultry. If you can’t afford this, buy higher welfare indoor chicken. RSPCA Assured standard gives birds a better quality of life than the Red Tractor standard (according to CIWF). Some retailers have their own higher welfare indoor standards too. (See earlier re-duck welfare).
Beef: most British beef cattle are reared outdoors and have access to pasture. Look for ‘organic’ ‘grass fed’ or ‘access to pasture’ on the packaging.
Lamb: buy British and certified organic lamb, such as ‘pasture for life, ‘grass fed’ or ‘access to pasture’ on the packaging, otherwise they may have had no outdoor access.
Veal: buying British veal (or beef from animals born into the dairy industry) helps ensure that more male dairy calves are reared in the UK, and not shot at birth, or exported on long journeys to continental veal farms. Rose veal produced in the UK is indicative of better nutrition and welfare for the calf (whereas imported white veal is reared inhumanely). Compared with EU standards, British law gives veal calves bedding, and more space as the calves grow (usually slaughtered around 6-8 months). The best veal is organic (longer/better life). See CIWF summary at www.ciwf.org.uk/yourfood/knowyourlabels/default.asx.
Eggs: according to the UK Egg Industry (Nov 2016) 56% of all eggs produced in the UK were free-range (including 1% organic), 42% cage eggs and 2% barn eggs. The UK has the strongest legislation for free-range eggs in the world. Eggs must be stamped with the method of production by law: 0=Organic…1=Free range…2= Barn…3=Cage.
Cage: if you want eggs laid by ‘happy hens’ avoid these, because they are really reduced to being egg-laying machines. These eggs are a cheap food, but a cost to the hen. However, if you do opt for those, make sure they bear the British Lion symbol, which means they are British laid and have been vaccinated against salmonella. Some EU countries flout the law and continue to keep hens in battery cages, and millions of hens outside the EU are also still kept in battery cages. Their eggs are incorporated into food products for sale in the UK, so it is important to support British farmers. Due to declining demand, retailers such as Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, the Co-op and Marks & Spencer, no longer sell eggs from caged birds.
The Human League (THL) is a non-profit organisation that works to reduce the suffering of farm animals through online advertising, meatless Monday campaigns and corporate outreach. For example, since February 2015 it has been involved in 67 successful campaigns, to convince corporations to use eggs from cage-free hens. These victories include Costco, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.
Barn: eggs are poorly supported by customers. The reason for this is uncertain. Perhaps they fall into two camps, those that support free range egg production, and those that don’t prioritise animal welfare and place value for money at the top of their list. You might see eggs from ‘free run hens’, which means they have free run of their environment, which is mostly a dark shed with no access to outdoors.
Free-range: is not a guarantee that hens have a happy, healthy life. Just one look at the famous Happy Eggs brand, should tell you that is not always the case. They belong to Noble Foods, one of the UK’s largest free-range brands who supplies almost all the major supermarket chains (accredited by the RSPCA Assured food label) and came under fire when inspections revealed poor conditions. Birds were kept indoors and shocked into compliance by electric wires, to prevent them smothering each other (symptom of overcrowding) and deter them from defecating near feeders and drinkers. Parasitic infestations were rife and dozens of birds had lost their feathers due to being pecked at. Free-range hens are usually beak trimmed, but you could buy the free-range British Blacktail eggs marketed by Waitrose, who pay farmers a premium for birds that haven’t undergone the procedure.
Organic: eggs are the most expensive because more land is required to keep them. To be sold as organic in the UK, they must come from a farm that has been approved by a certification body. Buying organic isn’t always a guarantee of perfect conditions, but standards are generally higher than free-range farms. To avoid eggs laid by beak-trimmed hens, buy those certified organic by the Soil Association, which does not support the practice. Waitrose stores stock them, many health food shops, organic box schemes and some greengrocers.
Milk and dairy products
The picture on a milk carton might seek to promote a happy, healthy cow, but the gulf between this facade and reality is huge, since most milk sold in British supermarkets comes from the long-suffering Holstein dairy cows, who have their calves torn away from them, which we don’t see. We know the milk is not produced without cruelty, and could even come from ‘zero grazed’ cows, we have no way of knowing (low welfare) .
Organic dairies account for 4% of the UK market with yoghurt being the largest single product. Although organic farming is nearly always carried out on an industrial scale, a key difference between organic and non-organic is how the calves are treated. Conventional dairy farming normally requires the removal of calves from their mothers little more than 24 hours after being born. Under organic standards, feeding of the calves must be based on natural milk, preferably maternal for 3 months. A calf can only be weaned when it is taking adequate solid food to cater for its full nutrition.
Cows in organic production produce about a third less milk. SA organic standards, benefit the life of cows on dairy farms. They have never allowed male dairy calves to be killed at birth or exported to the continent for veal. Their standards since 2010 have specified that farmers must have a plan to avoid this. Options are raising male calves for ‘rose veal’. They would have plenty of space and light inside suitable buildings over winter and outside on pasture the rest of the year, a varied diet and the care of a foster cow when available.
However, according to Viva! problems inherent in the dairy industry still exist under some organic methods and other certification schemes. For example, artificial insemination being allowed, fertility hormones may be used to induce labour, or bring a cow with failing fertility into heat, disbudding is permitted in calves up to three months old, and castration with a rubber ring is allowed in the first week of life, using anaesthetics.
They say cows on organic farms may still be impregnated every year to provide a continuous supply of milk, also endure the dual load of pregnancy and lactation and have their calves taken away within 24-72 hours. The practices of conventional farming which are prohibited is highly invasive ones, such as embryo transfer and ovum pick up and the use of fertility hormones to synchronise calving.
SA organic standard or RSPCA Assured standard, ensures cows have access to pasture in the grass growing season and lower stocking densities when housed (CIWF). Cheese, ice-cream and chocolate contain milk, and the cows that produce this milk should also have a good life. Organic milk and cheese are labelled separately. Non-dairy milks such as soya, almond and rice milk are available as well as non-dairy versions of cheese, margarine and soya ice-cream.
Reduce your consumption of meat and dairy: it is difficult to alter habits, but you could do it at a measured pace. Consider a more meatless diet such as reduced portions of meat and more vegetables or meat free days, such as 6 days a week this month and 5 days the next. Small goals create motivation. Many institutions have adopted Paul McCartney’s meat free Mondays. Eating one or two vegetarian meals a week, will not only reduce your meat consumption but make it easier to afford ethical meat, and farming will be de-intensified. It has been said that if meat is reduced by one meal per week, a billion cattle would be spared.
Cutting Waste: we could check the products of sell-by dates and ensure we eat them. Use leftovers for other dishes. Wasting food definitely feels unethical.
Embrace meat substitutes: the market for plant-based protein has increased. Supermarkets are supplying their own brands of meat substitutes for almost everything, fresh and frozen.
VEGETARIAN/VEGAN: in UK there are over 3 million vegetarians and over half-a-million vegans, and these numbers are increasing especially amongst the young. People follow a particular diet for health, religious or ethical beliefs. But the primary objection is probably because this lifestyle contributes towards less animals and birds being bred for food. Perhaps they think the way animals are farmed and killed is wrong. Paul McCartney said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls everyone would be vegetarian.”
A vegetarian diet can also cause a number of deaths and suffering. Rabbits, mice, moles and other small animals die in the cultivation of vegetables, grains and pulses. They get run over or the farmer will use the cheapest method available to kill the animals and these pesticides can cause them to die a slow painful death. How can we defend essential food supplies whilst respecting the interests of animals? Perhaps develop more humane methods.
There are different types of vegetarians. Vegetarian (no meat)…semi-vegetarian (consume dairy products, eggs, fish and chicken)…pesco-vegetarian (consume dairy products, eggs and fish)…lacto-ovo vegetarian (no meat, but dairy and eggs)…lacto-vegetarian ( dairy but no eggs)… ovo-vegetarian (eggs, but no dairy)… vegan (exclude all animal products such as down, leather, wool, fur, silk, honey, milk and eggs). Many world class athletes are vegan.
Vegetarian restaurants are proliferating. As the numbers of vegetarians increase, more restaurants and supermarkets will cater for their needs.
Is a vegetarian diet healthier than a diet that includes meat? Some meat eaters might worry it lacks essential elements. A large number of studies show that a balanced and varied 100% plant based diet is ideal for optimum health. All grains, vegetables, legumes, beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds and soya products contain every one of the essential amino acids. Our biggest and strongest animals eat plants (elephants, giraffes, rhinos). There is an increasing general awareness that as far as lifespan, obesity and avoidance of some major diseases go, it can be a healthier option. Most meat tends to be higher in fat than plant protein, which means you have a higher risk of getting heart disease. Meats high in saturated fat have been linked with bowel and breast cancer. Factory farmed meat has more saturated fat and less protein than higher welfare. In UK food for ‘vegetarians’ will be marked or have the ‘V symbol’.
For anyone who wishes to adopt these options contact Viva! who give advice including recipes (website: www.viva.org.uk) or Animal Aid (website: www.animalaid.org.uk) amongst others, provide starter packs. These are helpful, because going against the normal, is not the easiest option. Some try vegetarian first, then vegan, but may eat out vegetarian. The Vegetarian Society UK educate and support vegetarians. They have a comprehensive advice and information section at www.vegsoc.org. The Vegan Society will give advice on going vegan at www.vegansociety.com. You can search for vegetarian and vegan products at the www.gocrueltyfree.org site by selecting the Vegan/Vegetarian Society approved options.
Christians Caring For Gods Creatures 