The Galloway Meat Company

If you are interested in food and animals – and, as you’ve trudged this far, we guess you must be – here are some links:

Those farms currently supplying The Galloway Meat Company (GMC) with meat are all registered with the Soil Association and are either fully Organic or currently in Organic conversion, pending the award of full Organic status.

We currently use a family butcher licensed by the Scottish Organic Producers Association to prepare our Organic Meat.

At the GMC, we are passionate about the raising standards in farming and food production.

Years ago, Eve Balfour and later, Rachel Carson were in the forefront of a movement but things are now really beginning to change in the UK and this has been due, in no small part, to the efforts of Hugh Fearnley–Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver. Whatever your views on reality TV, the positive influence of these popular shows has to be recognised.

These aged, mature meats require the adoption of some traditional (but not necessarily time-consuming) cooking techniques to taste their best. The following links may prove useful useful:

We’re usually a little dubious of the scientific content of some US sites but elements of this one are quite thought provoking:

We first encountered this group on a stall at an Organic fair some years ago. The site features some very persuasive material – the Animal Sentience stuff just has to be regarded as a given now:

The Germans, with their very strong Green movement, are ahead of us all in this regard, typically. They have an expression ‘artgerechte tierhaltung’, which translates to ‘animal husbandry that is appropriate to the natural needs of an individual breed of animal’.

Tragically, a fellow called Mark Purdey died recently. He gave the agricultural chemical companies, the scientific establishment and the government of the day a run for their money regarding BSE, pesticide use and the environment in general.

Whilst the conclusions of his research have always been considered contentious, nevertheless his website is compelling reading:

http://www.purdeyenvironment.com

We have alluded elsewhere to our own reservations regarding the overuse of avermectins, in particular, and for any number of reasons GMC farmers exhibit some caution regarding the routineworming of their cattle and sheep. One effect of this is that the land enjoys the many benefits of unadulterated animal dung being dumped on it.

As a consequence, insect life abounds and we all remark on the arrival of the swallows, which then simply teem around our heads when we start haymaking in mid July. Similarly, by encouraging hawthorn, blackthorn and rowan we are able to greet the berry-eating fieldfares and waxwings on to the land, and the cuckoo still visits because the hairy caterpillars are there to be eaten.

The British Trust for Ornithology monitors migratory movements and we think that they are an impressive organisation which should enjoy our support:

http://www.bto.org/birdtrack/

And, we delight in hosting the owls:

http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk
http://www.hawkandowl.org/

Similarly the Woodland Trust does very good work:

http://www.woodland-trust.org.uk/ancient-tree-forum/atfecology/ecology.htm