Stop horsing around with our food

Wellingtonians who buy their meat direct from the farm have nothing to fear from recent stories of horse meat being found in UK food.

UK’s Aldi and Tesco supermarkets and Burger King have all been in the food spotlight recently with significant traces of horse meat found in beef products they sell.

Greytown farmer Julian Downs of Rannoch Meats believes New Zealanders have plenty of opportunity to know where their food comes from. “Forty years ago we all had access to local producers, and that still exists today. There’s plenty of markets and ways to buy direct.

“It’s different in the UK, where cities are enormous and the countryside is unknown to many people says Julian, but more and more people are wanting to know more about what goes into their food”

Julian has an innovative approach to growing and selling his beef. By day he is an IT consultant in Wellington, and in the evenings and weekends he raises Red Devon cattle on his small Greytown farm. He raises Red Devons because of the quality of the beef and sells direct to keep quality up and prices down.

Food direct from the producer is fresher, likely to be better quality and you’ve got the satisfaction of knowing where your food came from and even the people involved in producing it.”

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For more information:
Contact Julian on 0274 485267 or o4 494 3709

About Julian Downs:
Julian has spent the last 25 years plying his trade in Information Technology, with a Bachelor of Science in IT. While he continues as an IT Consulting Director in Wellington, a move to a lifestyle block in Greytown 13 years ago changed his outlook on where his food came from. Sitting down to the dinner table and realising that everything on your plate came from your farm was a very satisfying feeling.

Taking this passion for food together with his business consulting experience lead to the creation of Rannoch Meats. While not everyone is able to grow their own food, Julian believes that New Zealand has some of the best food in the world and all New Zealanders should be able to enjoy the fruits of our country. His growth of Rannoch Meats business us testament that others agree.

For the last five years Julian has been working days as Consulting Director for EquinoxIT in Wellington, while spending weekends and evenings running a Red Devon stud, selling beef to customers, attending farmers markets and promoting the benefits of healthy beef.

Julian’s IT background compliments the skills needed to running a farm to meat business. Knowledge of processes, legislation, information work alongside the practical farm husbandry skills gained through experience and farming courses.

Julian is also an active member of the Red Devon Association of New Zealand, believing that the quiet nature and quality beef product make the Red Devon one of the best animals for beef meat, particularly on New Zealand’s grass country.

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