A NEW online meat company is claiming it will 'redefine the meaning of quality assurance' within the meat supply chain.

‘The Ethical Butcher’ is an e-commerce site which advertises itself as selling the most 'ethically sourced' meats available, with a ‘transparency and traceability that is unprecedented in the industry’.

Its founders, Farshad Kazemian and Glen Burrows, say that they want to educate both consumers and suppliers in a ‘new way’ of producing food that goes beyond being sustainable to be 'regenerative', farming with nature, rebuilding ecosystems and locking carbon back into the earth.

Importantly, they have set out to challenge the environmental vegan narrative that consumers need to stop eating meat to save the planet, by highlighting that some producers are actually running carbon negative farms, which they say is a ‘real game changer’.

All suppliers across each category of meat including beef, lamb, poultry and game, have to fulfil a strict standard of ethics the team have personally drafted, due to what they feel is a ‘general lack of existing reliable quality assurance in the meat industry’.

Pointing the finger at terms such as grass fed, organic and free range, The Ethical butcher believes there are legal loopholes which can mislead consumers and have taken it upon themselves to develop a new standard to define their produce.

The website supports farmers using methods such as organic, silvopasture systems and holistic grazing management methods. With farmers at the very heart of the business, they provide extensive information on the background and methods of each individual farm and what products they specialise in, which they believe offers a transparency to the supply chain telling each farmer’s unique story though films. It will also offer expert advice on how to cook overlooked cheap cuts of meat and offal in a bid to reduce food waste and utilise the whole carcass rather than just prime cuts.

All packaging materials used to transport the meat are recyclable, down to the vacuum packs which are fully compostable and are the first of its kind to be used in Europe.

Looking forward, The Ethical Butcher is committed to growing the business, by converting more farmers to adhere to their ethics. They will be providing education through a bursary, which will financially assist farmers who want to switch to ethical production methods.