Local meat comes at a price

As the horsemeat scandal broke last week I listened to a discussion on the Today programme in which a well-meaning and well-spoken woman was quite aggressively telling listeners that they must only eat meat produced close to home.  Somehow she seemed to be implying that to do otherwise would be morally wrong, and indeed it was somehow our own fault that we now find hidden horsemeat on the menu.

Safe, but how affordable?

This resonated with me because a week or so ago, in search of good local produce,  I went to Brook Farm just outside Lavenham to buy a joint of beef for a special occasion. I was slightly disconcerted to drive between serried rows of Red Poll cattle, busily eating their hay, on my way to the farm shop, which is open on Saturday mornings.  The cattle looked so appealing with their glossy coats and long eyelashes it seemed somewhat callous to be intending to turn one of their relatives into lunch.  However, this is to digress from my main point.

The beef, which is now safely in the freezer, will be very delicious and, for a product carefully reared and presented, great value, but it was also quite costly.  It was not something I could afford to buy every day and indeed it would be beyond the means of some people.  To put it in perspective the price of such a joint would absorb a meaningful proportion of the basic old age pension for example.  

Food is now something of a political and moral issue, as was demonstrated by the lecturing tone of the woman on the Today programme.  As incomes fail to rise in real terms and food prices increase what we eat will absorb a larger part of all our incomes.   It is therefore increasingly important that we can be confident about what we are eating.  Buying locally is one way to obtain peace of mind, but this is not an option for all.  We therefore have to look to Government bodies to make sure that large food manufacturers keep to the rules.

Knowing this I do get rather irritated when the well intentioned lecture about what people should and shouldn’t do.  Insistence on  ‘close to home’ food is one example, shopping in supermarkets is another.  

 It is lovely to have the time and means to shop in local food shops, and it was very sad when the last greengrocer closed in Sudbury recently (particularly since his prices were reasonable on the whole),  However, times are hard and many busy families depend on not just the lower cost but also the greater convenience offered by the one stop shop.   We should not make people feel guilty about having no choice.