Summer may have got off to a damp start, but with the school holidays stretching out in front of us and with cheering Great Britain on to glory at the Olympics, there’s still plenty of reasons to get together with friends and family for some alfresco dining.
The RSPCA are urging people to take cooking tips from their parents as new research shows shoppers struggle to find higher welfare picnic food in the shops – and younger generations are reluctant to make their own.
“Just keep it simple – and animal friendly”
A new poll * shows that animal welfare is important to most shoppers but they struggle to buy higher welfare picnic food because of confusing labels, they don’t know what to look for and there’s a limited range. (Read the poll results on the RSPCA website here)
More than 900 million animals are farmed for meat in the UK every year and shoppers can make a difference to the lives of these animals by choosing higher welfare options.
One solution is to make your own picnic treats, but the research showed under 44′s are less likely to try their hand at making their own quiche Lorraine, sausage rolls and sandwiches than our parents or grandparents.
According to the survey, the nation’s favourite picnic foods are:
- Sandwiches (51%)
- Cold Meat (42%)
- Sausage Rolls (40%)
- Pork Pies (32%)
- Scotch Eggs (28%)
- Mini Sausages (28%)
- Quiche Lorraine (18%)
- Cornish pasties (13%)
TV presenter and food writer Richard Johnson is supporting the RSPCA’s campaign and he has written some easy-to-follow picnic recipes to make cooking fun for all the family.
Richard Johnson said:
“Everything tastes better outdoors. Everything. But there’s no need to go overboard with the food - Glyndebourne-style picnics with napery, silver cutlery and a candelabra are a bit OTT. Even separate courses and elaborate dishes are considered a bit Hyacinth Bucket these days.”
If you want to feel good about what you’re eating this summer, the advice of the RSPCA is to look for meat that’s labelled RSPCA Freedom Food. If you can’t find Freedom Food, at least buy options like free-range, organic, outdoor-bred or reared and make your own picnic favourites by following Richard’s simple recipes.
We’ll be posting the recipes here on the EcoLovers blog, but if you’d prefer to download them all then you can do so from the link below:
Download the RSPCA Higher Welfare Picnic Recipes here.
*All figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2148 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 4 – 6 July 2012. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).