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Buying British Beef
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British beef is produced to some of the highest welfare standards in the world.
No growth-promoting hormones are fed to beef cattle in the UK and any antibiotics are administered only under veterinary direction.
Britain’s beef industry is the envy of the world: breeding from livestock and genetics from our native breeds are much sought after by farmers in other countries.
Britain’s cattle passport system means that each animal can be uniquely traced to its dam (mother) and place of birth.
British beef travels less far from farm to shop so regardless of how carbon footprints are calculated it self-evidently has a lower carbon footprint.
Choosing British beef means supporting British farmers whose work helps to keep the British countryside the way we want it to look: no cows – no countryside!
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Breeds to look out for |
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It is important that we protect our great native livestock industry buy buying the real thing, not an imported substitute. Note that beef sold by breed name, for example ‘Aberdeen Angus steaks’, can be a product of another country.
Breeds to look out for include:
- Aberdeen Angus: a native British breed dating back to the 1800s and arguably the best known and most numerous beef cattle breed in the world. Its beef is well marbled with creamy-white fat interwoven throughout the close-grained texture, preventing it from becoming hard and leathery.
- Hereford: one of the oldest and most important cattle breeds in British livestock history. Its beef is of the highest quality and has a distinctive flavour – it is tender and very well marbled giving a depth of flavour to the meat.
- Lincoln Red (original population): developed to thrive on the cold marshes of Lincolnshire. The flesh is well marbled and so the meat has an excellent flavour.
- North Devon and South Devon: produce meat with perfect marbling and fat coverage that, when hung for the appropriate length of time, produce very tender and flavoursome beef. Some herds are referred to as ‘Red Devon’ or ‘Red Rubies’ because of the breeds’ red colouring.
- Sussex: one of the oldest and purest breeds of British cattle. The Normans found Sussex cattle in the south of England at the time of the conquest in 1066.
In recent years, foreign breeds of beef cattle have become popular in Britain. They include Simmental, Belgian Blue and the French breed, Charlais.
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