Traceability and transparency: The British supply chain is fully traceable, ensuring buyers can trust the quality and safety of British beef, lamb, and pork. Using antibiotics as growth promoters is specifically prohibited.
About UK meat
Why choose British
In the UK, our main meats are pork, beef, and lamb. We export all of these, with the North America region being an important market.
UK meat is premium quality meat because of our meticulous farming practices, certified through the Red Tractor Assurance Program.
Quick facts
Our cattle and lamb are pasture-raised. Farming accounts for around 71% of the UK’s total land use, and around 65% of farmland is best suited to growing grass rather than other crops.
Pasture-raised meat provides a richer taste and additional health benefits, including higher levels of healthy fats and vitamins. British beef and lamb is among the most efficient and sustainable in the world due to our extensive, pasture-based systems.
Find out more about the difference between grain-fed and pasture-fed meat.
British Pork
The UK uses both the indoor and outdoor system to farm its pigs.
Both processes are meticulously thought through so as to ensure the best possible product. British farmers pride themselves on this, consulting with specialist nutritionists and veterinarians to ensure that the pigs are raised in a way that will keep both the pigs and the food chain healthy.
British Beef
Beef cows are reared outdoors on pasture-based systems, then brought indoors when the pasture becomes too wet to support livestock. They are then fed a diet often based on home-grown feeds.
Our beef production is based on a wide range of cattle breeds, usually incorporating crosses to benefit from hybrid vigor.
Suckler cows are crosses, selected for their maternal characteristics. Hybrid vigor is maximized by crossing these with a ‘terminal sire’ – a bull with good meat-producing characteristics which might be a continental or a traditional British breed like the Hereford and the Aberdeen-Angus.
British Lamb
The British countryside is rich in natural landscape which is unique to the specific farming region.
Whether lamb is produced on rugged moorland, craggy mountains or on the herbs and heathers of coastal farms, it is special and has a very individual and sophisticated flavor.
Early spring lamb is more attributed to producers in the south of England, as the climate is warmer and less harsh. However, with modern farming practice and crossbreeding, fresh spring lamb is available across the country.
Find out more about sheep farming in the UK.
