“Making our food system more transparent and sustainable.”
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Andrew Green. member of the Farming and Rural Business team at Everys Solicitors in Sidmouth, penned this blog post last year:
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Podcasts and The Future of Farming…
We all know that farming is going to change. The question is not when but how it will change. The Agriculture Bill and the Environment Bill both set out a direction of travel towards a more sustainable form of farming. As always, the big question is who is going to pay for it…
John Coles describes how he diversified his farming operations into the meat trade, qualifying as a slaughterman and establishing a low throughput abattoir on his farm. There were 20 such abattoirs when he started, now only four remain. In his podcast, John describes how he rears, slaughters, butchers, retails and cooks his own meat at East Hill Pride Farm Shop, near Sidmouth. If we really are concerned about traceability and shorter supply chains, then we need to support John Coles’ business to ensure small abattoirs survive, despite the overly prescriptive approach of the Food Standards Agency.
farming Archives – Everys Solicitors
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This is from the Herald from 2011:
Farmer’s top-notch abattoir earns him 2nd BBC show | Sidmouth Herald
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And this is from the Sustainable Food Trust from this week:
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The importance of localised abattoirs
Pressure is building to make our food system in the UK more sustainable and transparent than ever. But with concerns over feeding a nation, especially during this Christmas period, it is clear that a change in tactics is urgently needed to improve the balance between productivity and sustainability. In the UK meat industry, for example, one answer to improve this balance, according to recent Sustainable Food Trust findings, is to increase the number of local abattoirs in the supply chain.
I spoke to the following farmers, butchers (many of whom run local, small-scale abattoirs) and consumers, the whole ‘field to fork’ journey, to hear why local abattoirs are important in making our food system more transparent and sustainable…
The importance of localised abattoirs – Sustainable Food Trust – Sustainable Food Trust
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photo: Fabulous Farm Shops in Devon