My horse was transported from South America to Italy in a boat load of horses. Most went to the meat market.I can't believe live cows are shipped from Uruguay to Turkey. That's such a long journey
Livestock carriers: 2,901 cows in distress | Robin des Bois
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As a former manager of farmers’ markets and having worked for several sustainable food / animal welfare (NOT animal rights ) organisations, I think I can safely say, very few people can / can afford to do that. If you can, great. And ‘local’ does not automatically mean good animal welfare.
Polo pony? I knew a Criollo who came over to the UK from Argentina by boat - think he was one of five or so that actually survived the journey, most of his companions died on the way.My horse was transported from South America to Italy in a boat load of horses. Most went to the meat market.
Not polo ponies. Meat ponies, reject (cull) criollos, sold out of Buenos Aires and shipped to Italy, 1500 at a time in the holds of cargo ships. The lucky ones were bought off the dock by deslers and transported around Europe in cattle trucks and then sold as riding ponies to mugs like me, at vastly inflated prices. It was absolute pot luck. My first one was an absolute knacker - he lived out his life with me for over 15 years and was never really sound. I still have my second one (bought a year after the first). They both came over in 2007, the last year of the criollo transports.
Polo ponies that come over from South America are worth a lot of money, they aren’t going into the meat trade.
The horse I knew was a proper polo pony, not a meat pony, who arrived in the UK to join a wealthy sponsor’s string.
This, many times over! Meat and food more generally is expensive in a number of ways but you can either pay the cost of decent, environmentally sane, traceable foods and pay up front, or you can pay in human and animal misery (if you eat animal products) and in degrees of environmental irresponsibility. Nothing comes without all of these costs tbh. That is true of a diet including meat and vegetarian and vegan foodstuffs. And absolutely everything else we buy too.
We are also lucky to have a farm that sells its milk directly to us, the public…they have also now included local baked good and a coffee machine….its self service, at their gate and you just return your glass bottle each time and buy another one etc…no waste ….my butcher is also in a small village, buys local animals and butchers them himself plus he is also now or his staff are, making ready meals, which are lovely, and sells a small selection of in season vegetables…
We have the same, the milk is Jersey milk and very rich, they do milk shakes as well. The butcher has just won the Taste of Yorkshire award for his pork pies, for the 7th year running.
Yes, and your earlier point about people struggling to fundamentally survive is also right. It is possible to eat cheaply and more healthily and ethically but that also takes knowledge, energy and often time; commodities that most people struggle with. I think my comment was more aimed at the community here really tbh though I know horse ownership doesn't necessarily = affluence!
and location, many people don't have a handy farm down the road/farm shop/proper butchers
Yes, our food infrastructure is awful really, with fresh food being unavailable outside a supermarket in many places. A great many people realistically do not have regular access to independent food shops. It is neither sustainable nor 'safe' in terms of significant supply chain issues. There are increasing numbers of local, good food alternatives that have been created by and for poorer communities but they are often not well known about and limited in capacity. But they exist and that movement is growing. This one, for example:-
I am a senior citizen on the basic state pension and also pension credit, I count every penny, my nearest super shop a litre of milk in a plastic bottle 1.45, farm cheaper..the meat from the butcher I mentioned is cheaper than the supermarket, as are his ready meals, buying a ready meal for one, is cheaper than buying all the ingredients to make them….
The traditional butcher is disappearing rapidly. My father was a traditional butcher and slaughter man, with a shop on a Council estate, it attracted customers from afar too. We lived above the shop in an enormous and freezing cold maisonette. I remember going with him as a very little girl, watching him pick and buy his on the hoof beasts and then on to the local abattoir in Warwickshire. He would encourage me to have a go at picking out good conformation, I am sure it helped me with horses later in life ! The animals did not travel more than 30 minutes from farm to abattoir. After hanging, the sides of meat would be collected and back to the shop in his little white van. I learnt to drive in that little white van. The art of a butcher then took place, no packaging, no waste. Big blocks that were cleaned until the had a dip in them, all the stainless steel racking and shop front, the awning, sawdust on the shop floor, knife sharpening skills, he could sharpen a knife at the speed of light. I still have one of his knives in my kitchen, the handle is wrapped in butchers string and it terrifies me. Immaculate highly starched aprons and white coats that stood up by themselves, a fresh set every morning, mother must have been utterly sick of doing them.
. His work ethic was epic, 7am open 6pm close, half hour for lunch closed the shop 6 days a week. Plus the endless cleaning. The fridge checks, done by him, mum and I. He had wanted me to take the business on but I had no interest and his retirement came as BSE hit. He only had 12 months retired but his skill and hard work provided well for mother and taught me a lot about respecting animals. He was somewhat bemused that I am vegetarian and always have been. I simply do not like the taste or texture of meat.
Actually, that’s not necessarily true, I had a teacher who desperately wanted to be veggie and completely morally disagreed with the consumption of meat, but she had a medical condition (can’t remember what) which meant that she physically had to eat meat. She was rather bitter about it. Apparently, it’s not as uncommon as it would seem, either, which makes sense because humans are omnivores. I would also suspect that medication for such a condition wouldn’t be available on the NHS as it doesn’t NEED expensive medication to treat, as one can just add a bit of meat to one’s diet.
