Over the last few years, eating meat has gotten an increasingly bad reputation.
Depending on who you speak to, it would seem like the only way to do better for the planet is to cut down on meat, or stop eating it altogether. But is this really justified?
One Manchester company is challenging this perception with a more sustainable approach to eating meat.
MeatCo Manchester provides quality meat boxes, sourced from local farmers and delivered to your door. The brand champions ‘farm-to-fork, nose-to-tail’ eating, promoting the use of lesser known cuts of meat in order to reduce waste. They also use recyclable and sustainable wool packaging believing in ‘no waste, big taste’.
Founded by India Morris and Justine Fitton, the pair grew up around farming communities and understand how difficult it can be for local farmers to compete with supermarkets who drive down the price of meat at the expense of quality.
MeatCo hopes to support local farmers to sell their produce by making it much easier for consumers to get their hands on it. They are currently working with farmers like Peter Holt of Ivy House Farm and Joe Bosworth of Edenfield, both in Rossendale. As the business expands, they will be looking to work with more farms across the region.
Currently, 27% of meat reared in Britain is exported to other countries as consumers simply aren’t interested in buying certain cuts. Meanwhile, 26% of meat eaten in Britain is imported to keep up with the demand for popular cuts like sirloin and fillet.
Transporting this meat back and forth inevitably leads to much higher emissions. So simply by buying lesser known cuts from local farmers, consumers are able to eat in a more sustainable and ethical way.
Co-founder, India Morris, who was brought up on a dairy farm in Ramsbottom, said: “MeatCo started to support our local farmers across Greater Manchester and Lancashire throughout a time when restaurants had closed and they lost quite a bit of trade, and to basically push a better way to eat meat.
“Veganism is very topical at the moment but there’s still loads of people who eat meat and, like myself, would like to do so more fairly and sustainably. As we work directly with the farmers we know how the animals are treated, killed and prepared.
“We want to encourage people to buy and cook meat they wouldn’t usually to reduce waste and meat exports. For example, in the UK we import certain cuts like fillet steak to cope with demand and export less desirable or less ‘fashionable’ cuts. We want to help people understand that cuts such as skirt steak or lamb breast are really tasty if you just give it a go.”
“MeatCo is here to educate, be transparent and encourage more ethical eating.”
The company launched at the end of August, in what’s been an incredibly challenging time for the food and drink industry as a whole.
If one good thing has come out of lockdown, though, it’s been the quality of food you can now get delivered to your door.
“Consumer habits have changed,” says India.
“Loads of people are now ordering to their doors rather than going shopping every day.
We know that a lot of people our age have done loads more cooking and are becoming more aware of what they buy and where it comes from.”
The meat boxes come in various sizes with a regularly changing selection of cuts of meat in an effort to reduce waste and to introduce customers to parts of the animal that they might not have tried before.
There’s the monthly special box with enough for four meals for two people in a medium box (£35) or four meals for four people in a large box (£65). And for those who live alone, there’s the ‘Livin’ La Vida Lonely’ box which has three different cuts (£18).
There are the ‘Got Beef’ and ‘Lamb Lovin’ boxes which include a selection of cuts from each animal. Finally, there’s the Steak Box with eight juicy portions of steak including a large Tomahawk sharing steak, two of each of Bavette, Picanha and Flat Iron steaks.
For those who need a helping hand in the kitchen, MeatCo provides a selection of recipes and tutorials to help cook the perfect steak, or to get to know that new cut of meat.
India said: “It’s all been really good – loads of people are surprised that they enjoyed cooking and creating something different so much. We’ve also had a couple of messages from people excited that they are buying from young (ish) women, which is lovely.
“We have also had a few requests for a monthly subscription which may well be on the cards if enough people tell us they want one.”
The deadline for orders is midnight on Mondays for delivery during the daytime on Thursday.
For more information about what’s on offer and to make an order, visit: meatco-mcr.co.uk.
