Beef, Lamb & Venison
Find out more about our approach to sourcing beef, lamb and venison
Beef | All M&S beef comes from the UK, with the only exception being Irish beef for stores in Ireland. All our beef is DNA traceable back to the farm and individual animal. |
Lamb | All M&S lamb is produced in the UK or New Zealand and is labelled clearly with the country of origin. All our fresh lamb is from UK farms all year round. Earlier this year we committed to sourcing 100% of our fresh lamb from M&S Select Farms in the UK, a commitment we honoured in June 2020. |
Venison | We only sell farmed venison as we believe it offers better taste and is a more consistent product. However, there is limited availability in the UK so in addition to sourcing a small volume of farmed venison from the UK we work with a small number of deer farmers in New Zealand. Our strict traceability means we can trace each joint of venison to the farms where it was produced. From April 2021, all our farmed venison will be sourced from the UK. |
We have been widely recognised as a leader in supporting sustainable livestock practices. We have invested in research and innovation for many years in order to develop and improve farming practices that benefit farmers and the environment.
Establishing and maintaining clear minimum sourcing standards
- We require complete supply chain traceability
- As a minimum all our farms must be independently assured to UK Red Tractor standards (or equivalent) as well as meeting our own M&S Select Farm standards.
- Sourcing must be in accordance with our Farm Animal Health and Welfare Policy
- We do not accept livestock or progeny produced through cloning or genetic modification through transgenic methods
- We require producers to adhere to our policy on responsible antimicrobial use. We do not permit routine use of antimicrobials and the use of growth promoting antibiotics and hormones is prohibited
- Suppliers and farms must comply with the relevant M&S Select Farm Sourcing Standards (see below)
- Grass (preserved as silage or hay in winter)
- Barley, wheat or maize – whole or processed (milled, etc)
- Legumes and oilseeds – whole or processed
- Grass (preserved as silage or hay in winter)
- Root crops
- Barley, wheat or maize – whole or processed (milled, etc)
- Legumes and oilseeds – whole or processed
- Grass (preserved as silage or hay in winter)
- Barley, wheat or maize – whole or processed (milled, etc)
- Legumes and oilseeds – whole or processed
- Freedom from hunger and thirst
- Freedom from discomfort
- Freedom from pain, injury or disease
- Freedom to express normal behaviour
- Freedom from fear and distress
In beef and lamb production, there is often substantial variation between farm's geographies and production systems. Therefore, we aim to encourage all our beef and lamb producers to continually improve their environmental management in a way that is relevant to their farm. During the M&S Select Farm audit, all our producers are invited to provide evidence of good environmental practice and are encouraged to continue developing these initiatives with each subsequent audit.
- Review the health and safety risks on their site and identify how to communicate them effectively to workers
- Understand the steps they need to take to effectively screen new workers to ensure they have the right to work and are of the right age
- Provide contracts to ensure farmers and their workers are clear on their contractual rights and responsibilities
- Accurately record hours and provide payslips to workers
Supporting programmes that further our understanding and build capacity within our supply chain
- Nutrition
- Grassland management
- Fertility and health
- Soils and nutrients
- Water and environment
- Supply chain structure and producer engagement
We are working to address these challenges through our beef and sheep supply base who have been supported in making changes in their businesses to drive sustainability. They have saved in excess of £400,000 over the last 3 years from implementing efficiency measures. We have been supported in this process by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and ADAS.
- Ongoing development and rollout of Welfare Outcome Measures
- Development of Outcome Measures to understand environmental impact including collaboration with Cool Farm Alliance
- Responsible use of animal medicines use
- Grassland utilisation
Category | Sustainability Measures |
Welfare Measures | |
Liveability | Not available currently |
Disease | Percent (%) animals with part and whole condemnations |
Percent (%) animals with internal parasites (e.g. liver fluke) | |
Percent (%) animals with lung conditions | |
Injuries | Percent (%) animals with injuries |
Mobility | Not available currently |
Behaviour | Not available currently |
Environment Measures | |
Climate Change | Percent (%) total energy use from renewable source |
Land System Change | Proportion (%) of diet in competition with human diets (non-forage based) |
Proportion (%) of diet components from certified sustainable sources | |
Freshwater Use | Percent (%) total water use from renewable/recycled water use (non-mains) |
Biodiversity | Percent (%) of total area not in production, set aside and managed for wildlife or protected and condition (if known) |
Percent (%) total land (Ha) that is protected (including SSSI, SPA, ELS/HLS, etc) and condition (if known) | |
N and P Flows | Presence / absence of soil testing programme (annually / 2 years / 5 years / none) |
Proportion manure handled under safe management and storage | |
Chemical Pollution | Percent (%) total waste routinely recycled |
Supporting programmes which enhance the lives of people and communities
Performance summary
During 2019/20, FSIG carried out Welfare Audits of the primary processors to ensure transport, lairage and slaughter all meet our requirements. Find out more about how our suppliers are performing.
Beef Supply
Reported Measures | Beef Fresh and Ingredient Supply (including frozen) |
Number of animals | 334,560 |
Maximum transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 6.5 |
Average transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 3.6 |
Proportion (%) of finisher herds pre-stunned prior to slaughter | 100 |
Proportion (%) of eligible animals that received an ineffective stun | 1.26 |
1 From 2017 we moved to reporting calendar year. Previous years data was reported in a financial year basis, i.e. April to March.
2019 | ||
Outcome measure | Fresh & Ingredient Supply (including frozen) | |
Number of animals | 299,080 | |
Disease | Total lung conditions (Pleurisy/pneumonia/abscesses) (%) | 3.32 |
Total with liver abscesses (%) | 3.15 | |
Total with heart conditions (%) | 0.20 | |
Total other internal parasites (Lungworm, hydatid cysts, c.bovis) (%) | 0.04 | |
Total other conditions (%) | 2.67 | |
Injury | Total cattle with abscesses (fore/hindquarter, neck) (%) | 0.21 |
Mobility | Total cattle with joint lesions/arthritis (%) | 0.05 |
Rose Veal Supply
Measures | All supply - Rose Veal |
Number of animals | 4,705 |
Maximum transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 2 |
Average transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 1.5 |
Proportion (%) of finisher herds pre-stunned prior to slaughter | 100 |
Proportion (%) of eligible animals that received an ineffective stun | 1.50 |
Lamb Supply
Reported Measures | UK Supply Fresh and Ingredient (including frozen) | NZ Supply Fresh & Ingredient (including frozen) |
Number of animals | 265,254 | 6,057,573 |
Maximum transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 6.3 | 8.0 |
Average transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 2.5 | 4.3 |
Proportion (%) of finisher herds pre-stunned prior to slaughter | 100 | 100 |
Proportion (%) of eligible animals that received an ineffective stun | 0.31 | 0.01 |
2019 | ||
Outcome measure | UK Supply Fresh and Ingredient (including frozen) | |
Number of animals | 179,690 | |
Disease | Total lung conditions (Pleurisy/pneumonia/abscesses) (%) | 2.77 |
Total with liver abscesses (%) | 0.14 | |
Total with heart conditions (%) | 0.11 | |
Percent lambs other internal parasites (lungworm, hydatid cysts, c ovis, cysticercus tenuicollis, cysticerus ovis) | 6.29 | |
Total other conditions (%) | 2.041 | |
Injury | Total lamb with abscesses (fore/hindquarter, neck) (%) | 0.36 |
Mobility | Total lamb with joint lesions/arthritis (%) | 0.21 |
Venison supply
Reported Measures | 2019 |
Number of animals | 4,065 |
Maximum transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 6 |
Average transport time (hrs) to factory across all animals (including loading and unloading) | 4 |
Proportion (%) of finisher herds pre-stunned prior to slaughter | 100 |
Proportion (%) of finisher herds that have undergone velveting process | 0 |
Proportion (%) of eligible animals that received an ineffective stun | 0.05 |
1 From 2017 we moved to reporting calendar year. Previous years data was reported in a financial year basis, i.e. April to March.
We aim to use this data to shape future production standards and drive a continual improvement culture across our farm supply base.