Best Sustainable Meat and Fish Delivery Services
By Ellie Smith
1 year ago
Ethically sourced, eco-friendly and delicious produce – delivered straight to your doorstep
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Looking for produce for your Sunday roast? Forego the supermarket and opt for one of these sustainable meat and fish delivery services instead. The benefits of buying from good quality, ethically conscious companies are far-reaching: it’s not only better for you, it’s better for the animals – and for the planet.
Best Sustainable Meat and Fish Delivery Services
Gladwin Brothers Online Store
Sibling trio and restauranteurs The Gladwin Brothers launched an online shop during the first lockdown, selling produce sourced directly from their family farm in Sussex. ‘Local and wild’ cooking has always been the brand’s ethos and this extends into the online store, which sells – among other things – a selection of cuts of high-quality meat and fish. Expect a wide range of different meats, ranging from traditional to more obscure cuts such as lamb kidneys and wild venison leg. On the fish side, you can buy meats from ChalkStream, which grows English trout on the world-famous Test and Itchen Rivers of Hampshire. gladwinbrothers.com
Lake District Farmers
If Clare Smyth, Jason Atherton and Marcus Wareing are all long-standing clients, you know it’s going to be good. Quality has been at the centre of Lake District Farmers since being founded in 2009 by the late Ray Armstrong, whose mission was to produce a sustainable future for fell farming in Cumbria. The company now works with over 50 Cumbrian farms – some of which you can learn about here. Delivery is available throughout the UK, with a range of boxes to choose from including Robin’s Pork Hamper, which contains pork joints, chops, mince, steaks and escalopes from farmers Robin and Andrew Mackay of High Hurst Farm, a self-sufficient smallholding in Duddon Valley. lakedistrictfarmers.co.uk
Provenance Village Butcher
Erin Hurst, Guy Gibson, Struan Robertson and Tom Gibson launched Provenance Village Butcher in 2013 in Notting Hill, aiming to hero the provenance of every product sold – hence the the company name. They went on to open three more stores in different London villages: Chelsea, Little Venice and Queen’s Park. All meat is personally sourced from award-winning family farms where animals are reared as nature intended – which means grass-fed for beef, lamb and venison, and free-range when it comes to chicken and pork. The butcher recently launched a same day home delivery service featuring a huge range of different meats, from Sakura wagyu to marinated chicken; duck confit to veal escalopes. provenancebutcher.com
Meat Me At Home
Freedown Food certainly knows what it’s talking about when it comes to meat, having spent 20 years importing and distributing specialist cuts to some of the world’s most highly respected chefs. And now consumers can get involved too, thanks to the launch of their newest offering, Meat Me At Home. A wide range of cuts are available, including those that are often forgotten: rump cap, for instance, and wagyu neck, as well as a BBQ range. meatmeathome.com
Abel & Cole
Having been in the business for over 30 years, Abel & Cole knows a thing or two about sustainable meat and fish delivery. Almost everything the company sells is organically farmed, which means the animals are treated with respect: they graze and forage on organic pasture where only natural fertilisers are used, and have plenty of space to roam around. The brand also works with the Marine Conservation Society to ensure seafood is sourced from responsibly managed fisheries. Choose a specific box – chicken, fish & seafood, or pork, for instance – or opt for a mixed hamper. abelandcole.co.uk
Field&Flower
In 2010, farmers James Flower and James Mansfield set out to change the way we eat meat by launching field&flower, a service which delivers grass-fed beef direct to people’s homes. Ten years on, the brand’s core values surrounding animal welfare and sustainability are more important than ever. All meat is sourced by founder and fifth-generation farmer James Flower, hand-butchered and packed by the field&flower team. Alongside their meat boxes, you can order fish, cheese, and products from the deli. Alternatively, re-create the restaurant experience from home by ordering from the Sous-Vide, which includes meats that are pre-cooked by expert Somerset chefs using high quality free-range meat, from crispy pork belly to lamb rump with rosemary and garlic. fieldandflower.co.uk
The Ethical Butcher
When sustainable meat delivery service The Ethical Butcher launched its e-commerce site in 2019, coronavirus wasn’t yet on the UK’s radar. Fast forward two months and the business is seeing a level of demand that it had predicted might land in year three. As a response to this increased need, the ethical meat website launched a new range of meat boxes, including a basics box filled with a selection of their best products for day to day dining, such as lamb mince, beef steaks and beef burgers. All meat comes from farmers who honour natural systems – many have measured a net loss of carbon as a result of their methods, which works to improve soil health and help combat climate change. ethicalbutcher.co.uk
Dorset Meat Company
Small-scale, family-run farms in the Dorset countryside lie at the heart of Dorset Meat Company, founded by husband and wife duo Jane and Nick Somper. There’s no trace of factory farming: animals have been allowed to grow at a natural pace, and eat a natural diet of grass, wildflowers, clovers and legumes. There’s a wide range of meat boxes to choose from – including a ketogenic diet box, a student survival box and a beef steak box – or you can create your own. thedorsetmeatcompany.co.uk
Penbedw Lamb
A family-run farm in North East Wales, Penbedw Lamb is – as the name suggests – all about pasture-raised lamb, which is born, bred and reared on-site. The original supplier of farm assured Welsh lamb for Waitrose, Penbedw Lamb has been rearing the same breed (a cross between the indigenous Welsh Mountain sheep and the Border Leicester) since the 1960s – meaning they have years of experience in traditional farming methods. The lamb is aged for seven days to enhance flavour and tenderness, before being delivered to doorsteps across the UK in recyclable and biodegradable packaging by WoolCool. Choose from a range of delivery boxes, including The Sunday Roast Box, which includes three joints feeding up to six people. Got a pup? Treat them too with The Doggy Box: a little box of tasty extras for your four-legged friend. penbedwestate.com
Farmison & Co
Award-winning butcher Farmison & Co launched in 2014 with the aim of encouraging people to eat better meat, focusing on heritage breed and specialist free-range poultry. Meat from heritage breed livestock is not only more ethically conscious, it tastes better: mature, marbled and succulent. In the case of Farmison’s poultry, meanwhile, the birds spend their days in the open air feasting on Yorkshire grasslands, which gives the meat an aromatic taste. Farmison’s stellar team of butchers offer an extensive variety of meat cuts, with options to supply bespoke cuts to customer’s requirements too. farmison.com
Parson’s Nose
Parson’s Nose was founded in 2007 by husband-and-wife duo Serena and Tony Hindhaugh, with the aim of bringing back the traditional high street butcher. There are now three branches in Fulham, Putney and South Kensington, all of which have regular customers popping in all the time. Fully traceable meat from sustainable producers is the focus, such as Sutton Hoo Chicken and grass-fed beef from the Scottish lowlands – and the team regularly visit the farms to understand the journey from farm to plate. Everything from kebabs to handmade sausages is on offer, plus a burger kit complete with locally made brioche buns. Having a BBQ? Parson’s Nose also sells eco-friendly charcoal made from English coppice woodlands. parsonsnose.co.uk
Pipers Farm
Set across 50 acres of rolling hills and nutrient-rich soil in Devon, Pipers Farm is all about working in harmony with nature. Today the company sources from 25 small-scale family farms, all of which rear grass-fed, native breeds, such as Red Ruby cattle from Exmoor. Pipers Farm practices regenerative farming principles, rejecting pesticides, artificial fertilisers and chemical inputs, instead focusing on increasing biodiversity and improving water cycles. Producers, meanwhile, are paid a fair price which never wavers. pipersfarm.com
Coombe Farm Organic
A commitment to organic farming lies at the heart of Coombe Farm, a butcher based in Somerset. Its nose-to-tail philosophy ensures minimum waste and maximum respect to the animal, while also offering unique cuts of meat you couldn’t buy in the supermarket. They say: ‘Our purpose is to champion organic farming and how it benefits nature, while also providing the most delicious food for our customers to enjoy. Farming gets a bad rap for damaging the environment but everything we do on the farm is about boosting biodiversity.’ The company’s most popular products are its meat boxes, with recent launches including a premium range of steaks that are dry-aged for 35 days, organic pies and organic rose veal – Coombe Farm Organic is one of only two farms in the UK to sell free-range veal. coombefarmorganic.co.uk
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