Providing a local solution to sustainable meat production in the South Downs
October 12, 2023
Laura Hockenhull is a development officer for Sussex Grazed, a new scheme launched by Brighton & Hove Food Partnership that is seeking to increase sustainability from the farm to the plate. She introduces the initiative and shares how you can get involved.
The great Rudyard Kipling wrote: “The Downs are sheep, the Weald is corn, You be glad you are Sussex born!”
For 3,000 years or so, the South Downs have been sheep run. Farmers operated a corn and sheep method of agriculture. The sheep manure fertilised the corn fields before the animals were set out on the downland for grazing. This created a unique landscape which supported extensive chalk grassland, filled with internationally significant species such as the Sussex rampion and adonis blue. Up until the 1940’s, farming practices were low in intensity and in line with what we might now regard as ‘nature friendly’.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, farmers were pushed to produce more crops and grasslands were ploughed up and enriched for arable production as the country moved towards a more intensive farming model.
Today, we are in danger of losing our rare chalk grassland along with the incredible range of wildlife it supports. The introduction of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, as well as changes in land use have contributed to a 97 per cent national decline in traditionally managed wildflower-rich grasslands, leading to a significant loss of bumblebees, butterflies, farmland birds and wildflowers.
Grazing for the future
A solution to this is a return to a more traditional, holistic system of farming on the Downs, allowing grazing animals to manage the landscape. Ponies, sheep and cows push back scrub on pasture, preventing monocultures from taking hold and promoting the success of chalk grassland species.
Conservation grazing may well be subsidised through government schemes and green finance, for those who are savvy enough to explore these opportunities, but many livestock farmers are still unable to run a viable farm business without relying upon the national meat market. This is largely due to the breakdown of regional food supply chains and the stronghold of supermarkets.
Supporting local farmers
With global food insecurity pairing with a climate emergency, we need to see a return to more resilient food systems which take a place-based approach to production. This shift will need the support of government, producers, retailers and consumers to be successful.
Sussex Grazed is a Changing Chalk meat box scheme from Brighton and Hove Food Partnership which promotes conservation grazing on the Sussex Downs. We work with local farmers, who use a nature-friendly approach to provide delicious and sustainably produced meat to residents. The project also works to identify barriers and find solutions and opportunities to support a local market.
The animals’ varied diet of foraged herbs, scrub and grass means that the meat is rich and delicious, and not overly fatty. Following three successful shares, we are delighted with the excellent feedback we’ve received from customers looking for a better way to eat meat.
‘Felt so good about this meat purchase – this is the way we would like to eat meat, when we eat meat. Totally delicious’ – Kassia Zermon, Rose Hill Brighton
Get Involved
Meat boxes are available through our Open Food Network site, a platform which supports transparency in the food system. By ordering in advance, we ensure that meat is produced to match demand, and there is minimal wastage. Collections take place at one of our hubs in the Downs, allowing you to engage with the landscape your meat is helping to restore and protect.
By purchasing a Sussex Grazed meat box, you not only receive high-quality, responsibly raised meat, but also support local farmers who are paid a fair price for what they have produced.
Follow us on our journey @sussexgrazed on Facebook and Instagram Visit Brighton and Hove Food Partnership – Sussex Grazed
Sussex Grazed is a Brighton & Hove Food Partnership project for Changing Chalk. Led by the National Trust, Changing Chalk connects nature, people and heritage with a partnership goal to restore and reconnect fragmented areas of rare chalk grassland. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and People’s Postcode Lottery.
