Not made in Britain - just where exactly does our food come from?

[Callisto]

Following on from the Bernard Matthews threads, thought you might like to read this article from the Sunday Telegraph about where exactly our food comes from and how hard it actually is to buy ethically:

Not made in Britain

I find this really frustrating. My life would be so much easier if I could go to the grocers to get my meat and veg and so on and so forth. But to make sure I get quality produce I have to go to the butcher, the farmers market, its time consuming. What makes me angry is that I know most people don't have the time or inclination to do this. I think everyone should have access to local food. There must be a way to make it more affordable to people whos budgets don't stretch very far. That supermarkets would deliberatly mislead their customers with labeling is inexcusable.

I particularly like the irony of banned antibiotics, hormones etc. Not allowed into the country if the meat is live or raw but fine if it is cooked. WTF is that all about?

Its ridiculous! They would rather exploit loopholes then give us a good product.

I find it's much cheaper to go to the butcher & greengrocer than it is to go to the supermarket. Better too. Food only has to be cobbled together in this country to be labled 'british'. Yuck.

OMG, I have fallen for the 'Oakham chicken' one - I assumed it came from Leicestershire

I think the comment in the article on Lincolnshire sausages and Scotch eggs is a bit silly, though - who really assumes Scotch eggs come from Scotland?

Might be worth pointing out, though, that local shops can be no better than supermarkets in terms of sourcing: I recently bought celery (in season in England) from the greengrocer and it turned out it came from Israel, and also some lamb shanks from the butcher (a Rick Stein food hero) which turned out to be New Zealand (not that I mind that as they would have been shipped frozen, not air freighted). Agree about better quality and price, though.

Actually, Marks are about the best of the lot. They do source British when they can and only use sustainably caught fish.

I must admit that I would be very p**sed off if I caught my local butcher selling NZ lamb.

It was lamb shanks, Callisto, and I am guessing that it was because they are such a trendy cut there was more demand for them than they could meet from local meat.

Interesting about the sustainably caught fish. I bought some skate wings from the fish quay in Scarborough the other week and later discovered that skate is on the MCA 'don't eat at all' list. Pity as they were divine.

There's no simple answer, is there?

I know. Eating fish is a total minefield these days. I generally get fish only at Marks as I know for sure it has been sustainably caught plus they sell delicious grown-up fishfingers!

I can't remember which fish are on the critical list any more as more are added every day, but I do know that the EU was advised to cut fish quotas by 80% and cut them by 14%. Really intelligent stuff and of course the Spanish fleet's lobbying power had nothing to do with it. Our effing govt is just as bad though. GRRRRR.

Lamb shanks used to be seen as a poor person's cut of meat. Funny how they are suddenly fashionable again. Did you do the Jamie recipe (wrap them in tinfoil with white wine and veg and leave them to steam for a couple of hours)?

Thanks for the tip about the grown-up fish fingers - I have been looking for something like that for days when we can't be bothered to cook properly.... Also v useful to know about Marks for ethical fish.

I did Hugh Fearnley-W's citrus-braised lamb shanks from the River Cottage Meat Book and they were a huge success.

According to someone on tv (think it was Antony Worral-Thompson), this year cheap cuts of meat are going to become fashionable, which I suppose is because so many people are now buying more expensive organic meat and trying to save money by choosing a cheaper cut. We are into scrag end of neck at the moment and it only costs a pound a pound (used it for HFW's Lancashire hotpot, which was another triumph) - wouldn't like it to become trendy all of a sudden....