Northern supermarket Booths reaffirms commitment to 100% British lamb
Northwest food retailer Booths has reaffirmed that it is the only supermarket in the UK to exclusively sell lamb reared in the UK throughout the year.
Herdwick sheep in Borrowdale
Northwest food retailer Booths has reaffirmed that it is the only supermarket in the UK to exclusively sell lamb reared in the UK throughout the year. Booths do not sell any lamb from New Zealand at any point, and made the pledge to sell only British meat on their butchery counters nearly a decade ago.
Booths CEO Chris Dee said “Seasonality and traceability are at the heart of how we retail food and we’ve made a long term commitment to sell only lamb reared in the UK as a mark of our support to British agriculture. Our customers value this commitment to support family farms and appreciate that British lamb is incomparable in terms of quality and flavour.”
Booths are also the only major retailer to stock Herdwick meat, the iconic breed reared only in the Cumbrian hills via traditional hill-farming methods and available in spring and early summer for a limited season. Herdwick lamb has historic ties to the Lake District, but there are only 13,000 remaining upland holdings in England and 20% of these farmers are expected to retire or stop farming in the next five years. To improve the viability and profitability of upland farming, Booths work collaboratively with Herdwick farmers to ensure them a fair price for their produce. When the season for Herdwick meat ends, Booths works with farmers to supply with Saltmarsh lamb that we sell throughout the summer and autumn months.
“Herdwick meat has enjoyed a renaissance due in part to Booths’ support, and we’re proud to give this meat shelf space and the wider consumer audience which it deserves.”
