Book Review: Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat

Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat
Philip Lymbery, Isabel Oakeshott
2013
Kindle Edition

Farmageddon came along at exactly the right time for me, when I was reassessing my diet and exercise habits with the goal of increasing my health and fitness levels. One thing that was frustrating me was how little information there is about the food we buy every day in the supermarkets. Though you sometimes know where it came from, there isn't any detail on how it was made, or explanations about what all those terms and ingredients really mean. Farmageddon confronts this knowledge gap face on, discussing how the intensified farming practises that are behind a significant amount of the food on shop shelves is damaging the environment, animals and us.

I already knew how horrendous the meat industry can be, and thought I was reasonably well informed. Reading Farmageddon revealed details that I wasn't aware of, and covered other areas of the farming process not related to meat. Discovering people have died from falling into vats of pig excrement, that vast amounts of antibiotics are fed to animals packed together for profit margins and that companies own the patent on GM seeds so farmers can't reuse the seeds their crops naturally drop; all of this was logical but things I had never consciously considered before.

It also offered a historical perspective on how all this intensified farming came to be, demonstrating how sensible it seemed at one time. By no means does it make farmers the bad guys, but instead shows they are as much a victim of intensified farming practises as consumers. It also does not claim that just because a farm is small or not intensified that it will treat the animals any better. Lymbery makes no bones about the fact that some of the worst places he's seen are small farms.

Written by the now CEO of the charity Compassion in World Farming, it takes a global view but inevitably focuses more on the USA, where farming practises are particularly intensified compared to Europe. The charity have long campaigned for farm animals to be treated respectfully and for their suffering to be as limited as possible, and I like that at no time in the book did I feel that I was being criticised for choosing to eat meat.

Understandably the work of the charity is also a feature of the book but it doesn't feel like an attempt at self promotion or a self-congratulatory monologue. Instead it's a demonstration that no matter how bad practises may be right now, they can get better. Campaigns, consumer pressure and government action can all prevent the disaster that awaits us if we continue to give animals large doses of antibiotics, if we continue feeding crops suitable for humans to animals instead, if we continue to chop down rainforests to make way for those same crops. It's hard not to be convinced by the end of the book that our current push for intensified farming is not sustainable and ultimately self-destructive.

If you care at all about animal welfare this is a must-read. If you care at all about what the food you eat could be doing to you or your family, this is a must-read. The truth is hard to swallow (sorry, couldn't resist) but this is vital information for everyone to know.

You Are What You Eat

This year has very much been "the year I discovered how to live a healthy life". Aside from going to the gym, I've also been planning meals each week, rather than winging it and ending up with pizza or ready meals. I seriously recommend planning meals; ever since I started I've managed to spend less and we hardly throw any food out any more. Considering that an estimated 15 million tonnes of food is being chucked away in the UK every year, I don't understand why planning isn't being promoted more. And I love the "surprise" I get when I check what I'd planned for dinner some days - bearing in mind I make sure everything I plan to cook is food I love and I plan two to three weeks ahead.

The knock on affect of all this is I'm more and more interested in food and where it comes from. I'm over half way through reading Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meatby Philip Lymbery and having the whole horrible picture of industrialised, intensified factory farming spelled out has made me determined to buy free range and organic as much as possible. Once I finish the book I'll no doubt post a review on here but I can already highly recommend it. With my new found desire to make better purchasing choices I am now one of the "label readers". You know the ones; they stand by the aisle of food, fumbling with the packaging and staring at it like they're looking into the eyes of Cthulhu, before putting the product back in place and repeating the whole process again.

Not Quite Burns' Night Haggis Tea

I've never been that into Burns' Night - it always struck me as a bit odd and something the man himself would find ridiculous. Then again, I'm a sucker for any excuse to eat haggis, especially when the shops suddenly have some in stock where I live. As I was out on the night itself I instead made something for Sunday dinner and it was soooo delicious I have to tell you about it.

So, to start off; what is a haggis?  Those of you thinking it's some disgusting lump of offal in a bag are only slightly right - it's true that less desirable cuts of meat can be used in haggis but this is one of the things I love about it. Too much perfectly good meat is wasted and not appreciated in my opinion and haggis is a great way to use up those bits you might not want to think about but are just as tasty. The McSween ones are made with cooked minced lamb and minced beef mixed with oats and lots of other secret herbs and spices. I love the McSween one because it's actually a proper spicy haggis, unlike some that can be bland as hell. If you've ever had a spicy sausage it tastes a lot like that. If you still think "eeew", then I hope you don't eat hot dogs - those have far worse ingredients.

Now, because haggis has quite a distinctive flavour it can be a bit much for folks on both sides of the border. I hated it when I was a kid but saw the error of my ways as a teenager. But I've rarely made it at home as I was never sure if I could get my man to eat it. Well thanks to a friend of mine I now have a regular go-to recipe that I know both of us like - and I really think everyone should try it. Head to Megabekatron's site for Haggis Pie. The cook is a friend of mine and I've been meaning to give one of her recipes a go for ages - Sunday proved the perfect opportunity. I'm not going to tell you how to make it - go to the link and see for yourself. And if you do want to experience the glorious scrumchousness make sure you get a decent haggis - MacSween is lovely.

Below is the results - served with some spinach and green beans along with a more tradition parsnip or two. The recipe made enough for four hungry people, so I have leftovers to look forward to later in the week. Assuming I can hold off and not eat it tonight... The plate below was eaten clean very quickly!