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Food

I don't want to eat American meat

(116 Posts)
ChrisCross Sun 24-May-20 12:31:29

If as reported in the Mail on Sunday today -May 24th - trade secretary Liz Truss is trying to set up a trade deal with the USA - which would presumably have a dramatic knock on effect on our own UK farmers - there is no way I want to eat American meat - the animals allegedly raised in very poor conditions and also, allegedly fed anti-biotics as a matter of course whether they are ill or not. yuk. No thanks. Let's hope the Environment Secretary George Eustace gets on the case.

craftyone Tue 26-May-20 10:20:29

you can get organic grass fed meat, born and bred in the uk. Expensive of course, I buy it but don`t eat meat often and I often make it stretch with pulses and only have a small (healthier) amount at any one time. You pays your money and you takes your choice

Phloembundle Tue 26-May-20 10:20:31

All New Zealand lamb is halal. If you buy from the Co- op, all their meat and meat containing products are guaranteed British and non halal.

GrammarGrandma Tue 26-May-20 10:31:39

It won't bother me as I haven't eaten meat for over fifty years but I do worry that this will be the cheap meat that poorer people will need to buy and it will be such poor quality, not to mention the animal welfare aspects.

4allweknow Tue 26-May-20 10:38:48

Just look at the label on the meat or ask the butcher for the country of original. I always buy UK, Scottish bred and slaughtered, never Irish labelled. I learned that Irish can be imported from EU. Same with chicken, look at the label. I had a look at something I bought on a whim in a supermarket- label stated contained chicken produced in Thailand. I have seen lorry loads of chickens in that country but no idea if they are treated with drugs or chlorinated when washed. So imports from all over are already here!

Bijou Tue 26-May-20 10:40:51

I only buy British meat. Have been told to eat red meat because of anaemia.
I expect ready meals (which I never buy) use the cheapest. I did read that a leading supermarket used Thai chicken in their pies.
Why buy Danish or Dutch bacon when the fields around where I live are full of outdoor pigs?

HootyMcOwlface Tue 26-May-20 10:45:33

If consumers boycott this meat then suppliers will not keep stocking it (hopefully)?

Maggiemaybe Tue 26-May-20 10:47:20

What you may not know is that the "cheap" meat is what Americans mostly eat- The American grass fed is exported to countries with strict regulations

That’s interesting information, rosecarmel, thank you. It’s reassuring too, for us if not for yourself.

jenni123 Tue 26-May-20 10:49:12

ChrisCross, easy solution to this, either check the labels and buy british or New Zealand meat or better still go Veggie. Problem solved

Menopauselbitch Tue 26-May-20 10:54:13

ChrisCross
Surely if you don’t want to buy American meat then you really won’t have to ( I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole) but then are you prepared to pay a premium for better meat? Most people are not. I get all my meat from The Dorset Meat company. If you want the old fashioned taste this is the place you with 100% ethical farming. I don’t think it’s any dearer than Waitrose but then it gives me piece of mind. Most people don’t care where it comes from or how the animal has been treated as long as it’s cheap.

Elegran Tue 26-May-20 11:01:14

The point is that the US are demanding that there should be NO country of origin on meat labels - so you wouldn't know where it came from. They also want bulk importing and repacking in this country, so that it can be appear to be British.

If you can't tell where it came from, you can't avoid buying it. That would be a serious backward step for consumer knowledge and choice, bleach or no bleach!

georgenotheoldone Tue 26-May-20 11:02:00

This topic came up during the Brexit campaign. My view was and still is that WE just won't allow the shopkeepers to buy/ stock,/advertise the low standard chlorine washed stuff. I cannot imagine Waitrose or Sainsbury wanting to try.
They would risk their reputations.
There would be a blockade of stores to stop trucks bringing it in.
I hope one of the reputable Consumer Campaigners gets stuck in soon. Before it becomes an issue.
[No I am busy with too many unpaid jobs as it is, it will have to be someone else to take this on.]

helgawills Tue 26-May-20 11:04:41

It's not just American meat you should worry about. ALL their fruit, veg, wine etc are contaminated with gmos. Have been boycotting all US products and companies for years. Now their businesses are rolling back on environmental protections, no way do we want any kind of deal with their 'AMERICA FIRST' mentality. Not to mention the NHS and drug prices, which will be at risk.

Menopauselbitch Tue 26-May-20 11:04:50

Witzend
New Zealand lamb is 99% halal so that’s a no from me.

SillyNanny321 Tue 26-May-20 11:05:18

Havent eaten meat for many many years. Do not like the taste of beef, lamb is too greasy & pork upsets my stomach. So no problem for me to avoid anything from America.

chattykathy Tue 26-May-20 11:05:53

I always buy British meat and poultry and have vegetarian meals when I eat out . You don't know where the meat is from in restaurants unless it specifcally states it.

grannysyb Tue 26-May-20 11:07:11

Another reason to avoid meat from some countries is the amount of antibiotics which are used in intensive farming. Antibiotic overuse increases human antibiotic resistance.

Caro57 Tue 26-May-20 11:12:02

UK free range meat .........or vegetarian?

JaneRn Tue 26-May-20 11:15:09

I have been trying for years to get supermarkets to explain why they will not label meat as halal slaughtered but have never had a satisfactory response. Political correctness, perhaps? I have been told by someone in the meat trade that even New Zealand lamb is killed in this way.

Apart from concerns about animal welfare it is not a problem for me as I gave up eating meat years ago. Why not try it? You will certainly notice the reduction in your food bill.

Petalpop Tue 26-May-20 11:17:03

Thank the lord I gave been a vegetarian for over 30 years. My vegetables are delivered from local farms. Its a worry though as I don't want any of my friends or family eating any meat or veg that comes from USA

Maggiemaybe Tue 26-May-20 11:26:48

Even if they get away with re-labelling meat to hide the country of origin, which I hope is unlikely, we’ll still be able to choose to buy free-range. We usually only have meat once a week now, so can buy free range and/or organic when we do.

I do appreciate that many people don’t have this luxury, so it’s still important that we fight any proposals to flood our market with cheap meat.

ecci53 Tue 26-May-20 11:50:09

Antibiotics are widely used by British farmers, particularly for pig farming. You have almost certainly eaten meat from animals fed antibiotics as a matter of course.

Grannygrumps1 Tue 26-May-20 11:54:07

Chriscross. Sorry if I’m wrong. But they don’t feed antibiotics to animals if they are ill or not......
It’s worse they feed them to animals to fatten them up. I’m not sure how it works but mother used to be allergic to the antibiotics that they feed animals and it was banned in this country. You should check it out further. Or basically eat a vegetarian diet.

avitorl Tue 26-May-20 12:00:17

The thought of eating any meat makes me feel sick where ever it comes from.

sarahellenwhitney Tue 26-May-20 12:00:19

ChrisCross.
Then go veggie /vegan. I didn't know what I was missing until going meatless.

pat9 Tue 26-May-20 12:02:59

I am going to look more carefully at meat labels from now on. I already check labels to avoid palm oil