Beef and lamb
Grazing animals
All of these grazing animals are always 100% pasture fed — this can include feeds such as hay and silage, ideally harvested from the same farm — and no grains are ever fed. All farms are either certified PFLA or are operating to these high standards.
The breeds of animals are chosen not just for their ability to thrive on this diet but are also suited to the microclimate and geographical location of the farm. They are primarily rare and native breeds and not commercial fast growing animals.
The grazing and movement of the animals is carefully managed to stimulate maximum plant growth. This is achieved by mimicking the animals' natural movement in the wild, moving when the the grazing is optimal and allowing full recovery in the cycle within the seasons.
The pasture is comprised of a very diverse mixture of plants which add resilience to the system, and this in turn has positive benefits up through trophic levels of the ecosystem by creating more complex soil biology and attracting a larger variety of pollinators.
STOCKISTS WE RECOMMEND
We source all of our meats from farms that practice regenerative agriculture.
____________________________________________________________________
Ember Snacks
Our supply chain is as simple as it can be: pasture to plate, farm to snack, right here in the UK. We make our snacks by marinating, seasoning and curing lean meat from cows and pigs reared on British and Irish soil. It means they’re packed with the natural protein your body deserves and you’re part of a movement to eat better meat. Win, win.
https://embersnacks.com/collections/meat-the-way-its-meant-to-be
Poultry and pork
Poultry and pork
These pigs and chickens are raised in a regenerative system, meaning their action on the land is beneficial.
No soy is used in the feed ration and the feed is sourced as locally as possible. The feed is comprised of waste products, not specifically grown as animal feed, and these crops should be grown in a system that includes regenerative practices.
The animals are kept in an appropriate landscape and provide a benefit to the ecosystem. They are also able to derive a proportion of their nutrition from the land they live on. The animals' waste provides an improvement in soil fertility which in turn encourages plant growth, removing more CO2 from the atmosphere.
Chickens are kept in a rotational grazing system and can derive anywhere from 25%—40% of their nutrition from the land, this means their waste is recycled back into the soil, improving land fertility.
Pigs are kept in a pasture or woodland system. Their impact on the land is monitored and managed to provide the correct amount of nutrition, stimulation and removal of invasive species such as brambles from the forest.
STOCKISTS WE RECOMMEND
The Ethical Butcher are the first large scale online butcher to develop soy-free chicken and pork, working closely with our partner farmers.
____________________________________________________________________
Ember Snacks
Our supply chain is as simple as it can be: pasture to plate, farm to snack, right here in the UK. We make our snacks by marinating, seasoning and curing lean meat from cows and pigs reared on British and Irish soil. It means they’re packed with the natural protein your body deserves and you’re part of a movement to eat better meat. Win, win.
https://embersnacks.com/collections/meat-the-way-its-meant-to-be
Seafood and fish
It is difficult to find truly regenerative seafood other than the consumption of invasive species which, by removing non-native competition for resources, regenerates an ecosystem and restores balance and complexity. A complex ecosystem is more resilient to change.
Otherwise, fish and seafood suppliers must be at the very least sustainable, and this is achieved by the following practices:
There should be no foreign or introduced external inputs in the form of feed, fertilisers, antibiotics, etc. Farmers must minimise deleterious outputs and waste products from farming systems. It should not inhibit the ability of cohabitating wildlife to thrive in a natural way and contribute to the environment positively through habitat creation and/or water filtration.
Farmed bivalves
The most regenerative fish and seafoods we can eat are cultured bivalves which can be produced using methods that are of a benefit to the environment. This is because carefully managed oyster and muscle beds actually clean the water while also creating new habitats for other animals to co-exist.
Invasive species
The infamous American Signal Crayfish has wreaked havoc on British waterways. Signal Crayfish carry the deadly Crayfish Plague which kills the British native White-Clawed Crayfish. Signals also prey on the native Crayfish, out-compete them for food and habitat and can wipe out native fish stocks. They now occupy 80% of rivers in England and Wales, so to help restore British rivers, eating Signal Crayfish can be considered regerative.
Aquaponics
Aquaponics integrates aquaculture and hydroponics into one production system. Aquaponics relies on the food introduced for fish, which works as the system's input. Afterwards, the water (now ammonia-rich) flows, together with un-eaten food and decaying plant matter, from the fish tank into a biofilter. This system creates a closed loop nutrient cycle that provides us with both fish and vegetables as byproducts.
STOCKISTS OF FISH AND SEAFOOD WE RECOMMEND
Simply Crayfish
We supply wild Signal Crayfish from the clean and clear rivers and lakes of East Anglia and England. They are then washed and graded, before being shipped, we can supply cooked, fresh crayfish or frozen crayfish. We believe in providing the best tasting product on the market and take great care to make sure it reaches our customers in perfect condition.
https://www.simplycrayfish.co.uk
________________________________________________________
Sole of Discretion
We are committed to procuring fish and shellfish that have been caught with as little damage to the marine environment as possible, have contributed to the livelihood of small-scale fishers and their communities, and to get these high quality and delicious fish to your door.
https://soleofdiscretion.co.uk/
________________________________________________________
Simply Oysters
We offer the UK's widest selection of fresh oysters - 27 different types - from pristine waters in the UK and Channel Islands. Pacific (Rock) and Kumamoto Oysters are available all year. Native Oysters are seasonal, and available from September to April each year. Oysters are packed live to order by our oyster farms and fisheries, for next day delivery to our clients' addresses in mainland UK.
________________________________________________________
Shore Seaweed
We’re proud growers, harvesters and processors of natural Scottish Seaweed. We are working to make seaweed a sustainable plant-based food of the future, one that is naturally nutritious, tasty and above all, kind on the planet.
________________________________________________________
Fish For Thought
We know that when it comes to sourcing, preparing and delivering seafood, there is a better way, underpinned by our very important guiding principles: Ethical & Sustainable Sourcing We are committed to leaving the world tomorrow, better than we find it today.
Dairy Produce
This category includes all cow, goat and sheep milks, cheeses, butters and yoghurts and anything else made from the milk of grazing animals.
All of these grazing animals are always 100% pasture fed — this can include feeds such as hay and silage, ideally harvested from the same farm — and no grains are ever fed. All farms are either certified PFLA or are operating to these high standards.
The farmers use a 'Cow with Calf' method where both males and females stay with their mothers 24 hours a day for six to eight weeks, allowing them to suckle. After that, the calves are slowly weaned, starting with overnight separation and building up to 16 hours of separation a day.
DAIRY SUPPLIERS WE RECOMMEND
Ahimsa Dairy
What we say: This could arguably be dairy for vegans as no animals are harmed or exploited. This brand goes further than any other to truly do no harm.
What they say: “Ahimsa” farming is the traditional, ancient Indian method of farming. “Ahimsa” means “non-violent”, and so Ahimsa farming does not entail any harm to the animals or land. Some would call it ‘Yoga farming’, or working in natural harmony with the land. At our Rutland Ahimsa Eco-Dairy, we uphold the principles inherent in this self-sustaining and cow protecting method. We never kill a cow. Our calves suckle from their mothers until weaned. We primarily milk by hand.
________________________________________________________
Calf at Foot Dairy
What we say: Calf at foot
What they say: Founded on a firm belief that dairy cows should keep their calves until their natural weaning age, we put welfare before profit, because health, happiness and the ethical treatment of animals should always come before profit. When you drink milk from our cows at our dairy, you are not drinking milk from a depressed, grieving animal who has had her baby taken away. Our mission is to make the world a better place for dairy cows. If dairies had glass walls everyone would buy milk from The Calf At Foot Dairy. We have the strictest welfare standards of all the dairies.
https://www.thecalfatfootdairy.co.uk/
________________________________________________________
The Ethical Dairy
We produce traditional cheeses made with organic milk from our own dairy herd, where we keep the calves with their mothers to suckle. Rainton Farm is the first commercial dairy in the UK to be following the cow with calf method, demonstrating that cow with calf dairy farming is viable and sustainable at scale. Our ethical dairy model is based around treating the animals, the land, our environment and the people who work here with respect and kindness.
Grains, seeds and pulses
There are many metics and definitions of regenerative agriculture but all which revolve around improving soil health as measured by soil organic matter, carbon sequestration and/or water retention/infiltration. Tactics include pasturing land, green and brown manure, and keeping soil covered at all times ideally with a diverse mix of plant species and with a minimum amount of tillage, to support the activity of living roots.
Minimising soil disturbance.
Minimising the use of chemical inputs.
Maximising biodiversity, both animals and plants.
Keeping the soil covered with crops as long as possible.
Adapting to the local environment.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS OF GRAINS, SEEDS AND PULSES
Wild Farmed
What we say: We're big fans of what Wild Farmed have achieved both in terms of education and innovation, they have almost re-written the possibilities for regenerative arable production of grains.
What they say: We have developed a pasture cropping system; we plant wheat in strips using a strip-till system. Between the strips is a permanent herbal ley. We prevent the herbal ley from out competing the wheat with the use of a bespoke inter-row mower. This way, soil disturbance is localised to the wheat strips only, and the crop can grow densely and healthily with the soil health benefits that the herbal ley brings. Another benefit of the strips of herbal ley is that they provide nutritious grazing for sheep or cattle, which in turn, add natural nutrients to the field.
Combining diverse varieties of wheat, multispecies permanent pasture, high density grazing by sheep or cattle, compost teas and bio-stimulants, strip tillage and inter-row mowing, we estimate that we can build organic matter by 0.1-0.2% every year.
________________________________________________________
Hodmedods
What we say: Few brands are as passionate as these guys! Hodmedods offer a viable solution for the regenerative vegan by growing in the UK high protein pulses that traditionally have a huge carbon footprint from importation from their country of origin. They are looking back at the agricultural history and heritage of the British Isles to truly look forward into helping our food security.
What they say: Nick Saltmarsh, Josiah Meldrum and William Hudson founded Hodmedod in 2012 to supply beans and other products from British farms.
We work with British farms to source a range of top quality ingredients and delicious foods. We’re particularly interested in searching out less well-known foods, like the fava bean – grown in Britain since the Iron Age but now almost forgotten – and black badger peas.
________________________________________________________
Duchess Grains
What we say: Duchess are the only brand we've listed in two categories as they produce both oil and flour. Their regenerative approach to farming and focus on quality is refining what we consider to be a staple food.
What they say: Our heritage grains are grown on our farm, and with a collective of like minded farmers around the UK. Our heritage flour is a blend of Danish bread wheats and UK Miller’s choice, grains bred for flavour over yield.
Our love of growing heritage grains comes from ecology, flavour and reimagining food networks. We scour the world in search of amazing varieties, and then bring them back to the farm to try.
Vegetables and fruits
Vegetables and fruits cover a huge range of produce making this one of the most difficult categories to source regeneratively but there are some criteria to look out for that will help guide you.
The most important is minimum to zero tilling, when we talk about regenerative agriculture we're mostly talking about restoring soil health and tilling or ploughing harms the soil breaking up the structure and releasing carbon.
Other methods that are restorative include the use of cover crops, crop rotations, compost, and animal manures, which restore the plant/soil microbiome. Building biological ecosystem diversity and restoring soil system energy via “inoculation of soils with composts or compost extracts” and “full-time planting of multiple crop intercrop plantings, multispecies cover crops, and borders planted for bee habitat and other beneficial insects.
We must also consider that the use of otherwise waste products is regenerative even if those foods were produced conventionally, this includes brands that manufacture products from materials that would otherwise have no use.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS OF REGENERATIVE, LOW IMPACT OR WASTE PRODUCT FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
My Biome Box
What we say: My Biome Box is the brainchild of Teri Clayton. It is a monthly veg box that goes beyond the expected, way beyond. Every month the box contains wild grown and foraged native herbs, veg, seaweeds, fungi, flowers, leaves roots and tubers that will not only blow your mind with new flavours but will introduce a huge variety of complex plant based nutrients to your body enhancing your health and helping to enrich your gut biome. We're such huge fans of the product we retail it through our site.
What they say: Biome Box offers plant based produce boxes to support small scale growers taking care of nature.
Our understanding of what is good for nature is informed by what supports greater diversity within the biome of the planet - that includes the microbiome within our human body and the soil beneath our feet.
Biome Box aims to support small scale growers and foragers, in order to help us create a future where we can produce healthy food, from healthy soil and restore biodiversity.
We seek out diverse types of growers, that use a range of techniques, including using perennial systems, like forest gardens, as well as no dig market gardens.
Each box contains plant based foods that will diversify your diet (better supporting your microbiome). The contents are designed to support the diet of 1-2 people for a week.
________________________________________________________
Rubies in the Rubble
What we say: We love Rubies products and often bundle them into packages with our meats.
What they say: Our ketchups and relishes are made with fresh fruit & veg sourced directly from farms, whilst our mayos are made with aquafaba, a plant-based alternative to eggs that is usually thrown away. Condiments are a fantastic way of preserving produce by extending their shelf-life with vinegars and sugars. In other words, less waste, more taste.
____________________________________________________________________
Oddbox
What we say: Oddbox take the misshapen fruits and veg that the supermarket buyers reject that would otherwise be wasted and supply them to households in veg boxes, a great ethos from a B-Corp certified company
What they say: Fruits and veg comes in all sorts of shape and sizes. Fact. Our food system in the UK has grown to prize uniformity over taste and planet. This means fruit & veg that’s fresh and perfectly delicious but doesn’t look quite right by supermarket standards is left behind. What's more, we live in a world where on-demand everything is the norm. This means farmers are left with surplus veg no matter how you slice it. If we want blackberries in January and Brussels sprouts in June, we can walk into almost any supermarket and pick them off the shelf. However, this isn’t how nature works.This is where we come in. Every week we speak to farmers who’ve got an abundance of perfectly tasty produce on their hands, and deliver it directly to you.
____________________________________________________________________
Crowdfarming
What we say: Crowdfarming is an online farmers market connecting direct with producers in Europe. The customer can see the methods used and buy directly cutting down on supply chain. They offer everything from organic avocados grown in Spain to black rice, olive oil, saffron and even pistachios, all grown in harmony with nature in Europe.
What they say: We’re working to remove intermediaries from the food supply chain. How do we remove intermediaries from a chain without becoming an intermediary? The answer is simple: by providing value-added services.
The direct sale of food between farmers and consumers requires certain services for it to take place: a platform to offer and sell products on, logistics to transport packages, customer service (for our CrowdFarmers, as we call them), and advertising tools to make themselves known. These are the four services we provide to farmers.
(read more on their website)
https://www.crowdfarming.com/en
____________________________________________________________________
Oils and fats
Oils and fats are essential nutrients for us and animal fats are much maligned. As a result, we often throw away a lot of fats that render from meats when cooking that could be used again. The single most regenerative thing we can do is to save and use rendered fats, especially from pork (like bacon) and beef. Buy lard or tallow from regeneratively grown pigs and cattle, and butter from 100% pasture raised animals. When seeking vegetable or nut oils (or even fruit oils), also consider the following points.
Cold pressed is probably the most important metric for quality as it ensures that no solvents have been used to extract the oil from the seeds. Choose brands which use drill not till methods of planting, as well as implement minimal to zero use of chemical inputs. This means minimal or no insecticides and fertilisers, and remember to choose organic where possible. Look for producers actively engaging in methods which encourage more wildlife on the farm such as planting wildflower strips and restoring hedgerows. Introducing animals to the system to control weeds and pests is also beneficial, so look out for that. Keeping the soil covered with crops as long as possible then using cover crops to have minimal bare earth throughout the year to improve soil nutrition and sequester carbon.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS OF REGENERATIVE, LOW IMPACT OILS AND FATS
Two Fields Olive Oil
What we say: We were blown away by not just the level of detail the founders put into regeneration from an ecological and economic angle, the story is incredible. This is the only brand we will feature which produces outside of the UK as the farm is on the Greek island of Crete.
What they say: Our Food System is broken. We’ve felt the reality in our small farming community up close. The stress and intense pressure on people and land. Two Fields was born as a response to that. A small scale approach producing the very best quality olive oil rooted in craft and nature - every olive hand picked, each bottle hand numbered. Every harvest actively rebuilding and regenerating land.
But our fields are only step one. Now it’s time to build a system that champions these principles and scales change. One the empowers small scale farmers, helping them move past the system trapping them and collectively regenerate large parts of our land and soil. Ultimately creating a fair system that produces and celebrates the very best quality of food. One built on transparency and traceability, rooted in a craft that has been honed over generations. It’s about knowing the farmers in the fields and connecting with incredible chefs using the produce.
Food and Farming affects and connects us all. And we are in the position to make a difference. What we do, has huge potential to create a better future.
Systems are built together.
____________________________________________________________________
Duchess Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
What we say: Duchess Rapeseed oil is simply delicious as well as being produced very much in harmony with natural systems. The rapeseed is planted in August and harvested the following July maximising the soil coverage throughout the year.
What They say: We’ve been farming here for many years, and we want to do it for many more. To make that possible we have to protect the soil that we grow from, and the environment that our farm is a part of.
____________________________________________________________________
Farrington Oils - Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil
What we say: We're fans of Mellow Yellow Rapeseed oil. The seed meal after pressing helped us to develop our soy free chicken and pork. By utilising the waste product which is high in omega 3 as well as protein we were able to remove the soy from the animals ration.
What they say: All of our crops, including the rapeseed used for pressing into our Mellow Yellow cold pressed rapeseed oil are grown to LEAF Marque standards, a system designed to promote environmentally responsible and sustainable farming. LEAF Farmers care about the countryside, and their produce can be identified by the LEAF Marque which appears on their labels.
https://www.farrington-oils.co.uk/
Beers, wines and spirits
Whilst this this product category is not essential to life, most of us choose to enjoy them and there are some brands doing incredible work in this sector to reduce impact.
Within the UK there is a growing wine industry and many new brands have sustainability and regeneration at the forefront of their ethos.
Vineyards can be grazed, companion planted and managed using methods that encourage an increase in biodiversity regenerating the soil.
Within this sector we must also consider packaging and logistics, and a few of our recommended brands have made great progress in reducing these impacts.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIERS OF REGENERATIVE, LOW IMPACT BEERS WINES AND SPIRITS
Ham Street Wines
What we say: We first became aware of this brand when they contacted us to help them try to find a farmer who could graze sheep in between their vines to regenerate the soil, fantastic ethos and one to watch!
What they say: We need to build up the quality of our soil, reduce chemical inputs to an absolute minimum and bring life into our vineyard. When we get the conditions right an ecosystem can flourish below ground and above it.
But it will take a long time, years or even decades to accomplish this.
We are following regenerative agricultural practices to do this, going back to the old ways of agriculture, working with our environment.
____________________________________________________________________
Toast Ale
What we say: We love these guys! What an incredible initiative, they make beer from waste restaurant bread that would otherwise get thrown away. Not only that but they also share their recipes open source and profits are given to charity.
What they say: By using surplus bread to replace barley, we use less land, water and energy, and avoid carbon emissions. By giving all profits to charity, not shareholders, we fund systemic change to fix the food system. By brewing quality beers and engaging people in conversation, we nudge positive action for the planet.
____________________________________________________________________
Borough Wines
What we say: We've collaborated with Borough wines in putting together a paired BBQ box back in 2019 as we love their values, since then they have continued to reduce impact by initiating a number of schemes such as Zero Waste, rebottling for business customers and sourcing from regenerative wineries.
What they say: We believe in working towards a circular economy: making businesses and our society more self–sufficient by driving down waste and our consumption of finite resources. Together, let’s reduce our use of packaging, reuse our bottles and kegs and recycle as a last resort.
____________________________________________________________________
Black Cow Vodka
What we say: If you like a martini you have to try this British vodka brand using waste products from cheesemaking to ferment and distil in to the smoothest vodka you've ever tasted.
What they say: Black Cow Pure Milk Vodka is the invention of dairy farmer Jason Barber, who founded Black Cow alongside artist Paul Archard in 2012. Inspired by his love of vodka and a desire to do something different with the milk of his 240-strong herd of dairy cows, Jason set about exploring the potential the whey, a product of the cheesemaking process that typically goes to waste.
By combining the ancient Mongolian tradition of making alcohol from milk with the Northern European tradition of making high proof, clear, clean vodka, Jason and Black Cow co-founder Paul Archard were able to develop an innovative, unique and superior tasting vodka, made entirely from the milk of cows.
____________________________________________________________________
Nc’nean - Whisky
What we say: We've yet to try Mc Nean but were recently introduced to the brand and we're impressed with their ethical credentials. They are net zero carbon for operations scope 1&2 as well as operating zero to landfill and returning waste products from the brewing process to the land to close the nutrient cycle.
What they say: Annabel started Nc’nean to change the way the world thinks about whisky from Scotland. Her mission was to create a whisky which could exist in harmony with this planet we call home. After leaving her job in London in 2013, she spent four years raising funds and building the distillery from the ground up on the west coast of Scotland. We’ve been distilling since 2017 and we’ve just launched our first ever whisky. We hope you love it as much as we do.
Eating out
There was a time when the only things that mattered to supplying a restaurant was quality and price of ingredients, however, times are changing. As consumers are demanding more ethical produce for themselves at home, they are starting to ask the same questions of public places that serve food.
This has prompted even the institution of the Michelin Guides to take note and offer a Michelin Green star to restaurants making serious efforts to lower impact. Read more about the green star here.
Some restaurants are basing their brand on being low impact — and this is everything from simple cafe fair to fine dining — so we're really excited to see this sector grow.
RESTAURANTS USING REGENERATIVE INGREDIENTS AND LOW WASTE METHODS
Silo London
What we say: We've been supplying Silo for some time now and have worked with them to offer packing free deliveries and to supply them with regenerative meats. Silo is the brainchild of the tenacious Douglas Mc Masters who tirelessly works to a low impact model and is running a true zero waste kitchen.
What they say: The production of waste has been eliminated by simply choosing to trade directly with farmers, using re-usable delivery vessels and choosing local ingredients that themselves generated no waste. Our compost machine set inside Silo, turns any of our restaurant scraps and trimmings directly into a compost used to produce more food… Closing the loop. At Silo we choose to provide quality through purity, adopting a more primitive diet with techniques both modern and ancient. We choose food sources that respect the natural order, allowing ingredients to be themselves without unnecessary processing. By creating everything on site from its wholest form we can capture real food, and real food tastes better.
____________________________________________________________________
Burro Y Salvia
What we say: Burro Y Salvia is a pastaficio, wine bar and trattoria in the heart of London's fashionable East end. They use Wildfarmed regenerative grains to make the pasta and we supply them with PFLA and regenerative meats, the food is sublime!
What they say: In our Pastificio we make a daily selection of handmade fresh pasta for you to buy and enjoy at home. Pasta shapes and fillings vary according to availability of seasonal produce and to the creativity of the Chef and the 'Sfogline' (the pasta makers).
Pop in to see what we have fresh on the day, or to make sure you find your favourite, place your order in store or via email so that you only need to collect it.
We also sell other provisions (ham, cheese, sauces, vegetables…) and a selection of low intervention Italian wines for any occasion.
https://www.burroesalvia.co.uk
____________________________________________________________________
Clays
What we say: Clays is simply a whole lot of fun! It's a cocktail bar serving sharing and snacking foods but is also a digital virtual clay shooting experience. Based in the City of London, if you're in the area round up some friends book a shooting booth and you'll have a blast.
Head chef Roger Olsson buys our regeneratively produced meats for the menu.
What they say: Clays brings all the fun of clay target shooting out of the country into the heart of the City. Laughs are guaranteed as you get competitive with thrilling interactive clay target action on Clays’ mammoth 4K screens. And all the while enjoying insanely good food and drink in a sociable atmosphere. Clays is an unforgettable experience every time and for everyone.
____________________________________________________________________