Like all of us at Arrow Fresh, I'm sure many of you were shocked watching Dispatches 'Secrets of American Food' on Channel 4. This documentary gave a portrayal of what British Supermarket Food will be in a post-Brexit World. For those who didn't watch, here are the key points:
- A trade deal between the USA and the UK will lead to previously banned meat being readily available on British Supermarket shelves. They were banned because of failure to meet basic animal welfare standards.
- US beef producers are allowed to inject cattle with six different growth hormones; all of these hormones have been banned in the EU. One of these hormones, Seventeen Beta Estradiol, has clear evidence of increased cancer risk in segments of the population.
- Food poisoning rates are 4x higher in the US than in the UK, with Salmonella being 10x higher in American Pork than in British Pork.
- In America, the number of antibiotics given to livestock is five-times higher per kilo than in the UK. There is evidence that antibiotics used in animals leads to antibiotic resistance in humans.
- Pigs are force-fed Ractopamine, which mimics adrenaline, leading to more muscular pigs. However, Ractopamine has been banned in the EU since 1996 due to its concerns on human health.
American meat entering UK Supermarkets will also destroy our local farmers' livelihoods.
In the UK, we use something called the precautionary approach. This means something has to be proven safe before entering the food chain. In America, this isn't the case; instead, something has to be proven as dangerous before being banned. Because of less stringent ethical requirements, Americans can produce meat for much cheaper than British farmers. American beef costs 20% less than UK beef, with Pork being 39% less.
Simply put. By having little regard for the animal or the consumer, American farmers can undercut British farmers, meaning supermarkets will buy cheaper meat, leading to British farmers going out of business.
American Meat is coming whether you like it or not, however it’s your choice whether to eat it or not!
Good job. Arrow Fresh does things differently.
Our key value is and will always be to support the high quality of local farmers. Most significantly for you, this means three things:
- We can trace exactly where your produce is sourced from, meaning we hand-select on the best quality product
- Because we go local, there is less travel involved from farm-to-fork leading to far more sustainable practices.
- You are directly responsible for helping to safeguard local British farmer's jobs and livelihoods.
Arrow Fresh will always strive to be your local supermarket; we will still continue to connect local suppliers with people. We want to provide food with full traceability while also guaranteeing our meat products contain no unnecessary toxins.
By selling Sykes House Farm meat, we can ensure that the highest animal welfare standards are maintained. We can also guarantee that it will be hardworking Yorkshire farmers, who receive reward for their hard-work. But also, we can offer meat which simply tastes far better than mass-produced product which is on offer elsewhere.
Have peace of mind when ordering your meat with Arrow Fresh.
