In Victoria, Gippsland’s Enviromeat is tender, ‘environmentally friendly’ & selling well
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November 30, 2005‘Enviromeat’ is now available in three Melbourne butchers and fine food stores and is already selling fast. Melbournians can now choose to buy meat from farms accredited as having minimal impact on the environment, stress on animals, and it’s guaranteed to be tender!
Initiated through the Gippsland Environment Management System (EMS) program, Enviromeat is now being produced by 25 farmers in the Gippsland area.
The producers comply with an internationally recognised, annual externally audited EMS that requires farmers to manage their environmental impacts for continual improvement. This results in the land, water and wildlife being protected and not sacrificed at the expense of production.
It also focuses on animal welfare, with stock not being fed artificial hormones and grazed free range. All Enviromeat must also pass the Meat Standards of Australia (MSA) grading system, guaranteeing quality, tender meat for the customer.
Gippsland EMS Coordinator and beef producer Jenny O’Sullivan says “More and more people want assurance that production techniques are not impacting on their health…Our producers are very passionate about what they do and are continually looking to improve not only their own property, but the surrounding area.”
Phillip Island beef producers and Victorian Landcare Award Winners Bob and Anne Davie are excited about the prospects of Enviromeat, and see EMS as an investment in their future. “We’re very passionate about Landcare farming, which led us to EMS. Since 1988 we’ve planted about 30,000 trees on our 440 acre property. We believe that customers have a right to know how animals are treated, and to expect good quality meat,” says Anne.
1 Comment
What do I think? Meat of any kind is unsustainable and unnecessary in the way it is harvested currently and this includes that which is branded ‘enviromeat’. An EMS is at best a middle of the road way to manage and market meat for sustainability. It is also misleading as organically certified meat is of a higher environmental standard, and ‘enviromeat’ is poorly defined. The embodied water and energy in meat is so many times higher than a comparable vegetarian diet. Also, I am unconvinced that the treatment of animals on enviromeat accredited farms is any different from that on the majority of farms.
Furthermore, the marketting people (at ride to work day) do the product no favours by suggesting that vegetarians are ‘pale’. This comment, although made in jest, is a tired old line and shows an incredibly outdated predjudice, plus a lack of imagination, especially when it comes from an overweight enviromeat promoter and is directed at someone who rides 20km to work everyday.
Sustianable farming and food conumption has a long way to go.