Thoughts On The Horse Meat Scandal

With horse meat dominating the headlines, now seemed like an appropriate time to kick off my blog. I have had a few questions on twitter (www.twitter.com/MynameisElie) about the horse meat scandal.

If you don't know what I am talking about then where have you been hiding?! To cut a long story short, many UK beef products have been contaminated with horse meat. It's a current story so the facts are ever changing, but The Guardian has a pretty conclusive FAQ round up: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/15/horsemeat-scandal-the-essential-guide

The BBC is very good too:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21457188

So for those that have asked, and also I guess for those who haven't but who have somehow ended up on this page, here are my musings on the horse meat scandal....

I'm not going to go into too much detail about business strategies and farming politics because it would be foolish for me to comment upon a subject in which I am not educated enough to make accurate or valuable contribution. I will say though, that the level of consumer betrayal committed by the companies implicated in the scandal, contradicts any spirit or morals I have ever seen or felt in the farming community. Never once have I met a farmer who was more interested in making a quick buck, than the quality of his produce. The UK has a strong, proud agricultural history and stories such as the horse meat scandal tar many good people with a bad brush.

Following on from that idea, now seems like an opportune moment to mention the importance of buying a -British and b- local produce. When looking to buy British, look for the Red Tractor Stamp . This indicated that the meat has been produced under some of the highest hygiene, welfare and quality standards in the EU.(http://www.redtractor.org.uk/home). The NFU has just launched a major campaign highlighting the stamp (http://www.fwi.co.uk/articles/15/02/2013/137668/campaign-aims-to-counter-horsemeat-headlines.htm). I hope it goes some way to counteracting the poor publicity the agricultural industry is battling right now!

I do wonder how many people are aware of the Red Tractor stamp. It seems like consumer education might be something to look at. It is very easy to forget that the meat you see on supermarket shelves started life in a field somewhere. Save for a few hanging pictures of grazing cows and the astro-turf fake grass sometimes put behind the butchers counter, supermarkets detach us from the farming process. Shrink-wrapped and priced up, we forget that someone, somewhere, spent hours producing that beef/pork/lamb. There is no such thing as magic food produced from nothing but thin air and fairy dust,  whatever you're eating, you can always thank a farmer!


I wish I had some sort of valuable and philosophical insight into the whole thing, but it just seems like there is a remarkably simple antidote : education on food standards, and an increased consumer loyalty to British and local produce. I'm not saying we should make little children visit slaughter houses for their annual year 4 school trip, not am I advocating a permanent national boycott of supermarkets. I am simply advocating that people use this scandal to have a little look around and see what else is out there. It's the weekend, so go out and explore your local area. Let me know what you find!

Peace, love and mud,

Bunny
xxx



P.S I know I shouldn't laugh... but...