There has been widespread coverage of the outsize environmental impact of eating lamb and beef in recent years, but now a new range of products is aiming to try and make red meat ethical again.

Bristol-based food producer Farm Wilder has today unveiled the UK's first range of 'wildlife-friendly' beef and lamb, with packaging that details the animals the farmers are working to protect.

Farm Wilder's Fritillary Butterfly Friendly Beef, Cuckoo Friendly Beef, and Cuckoo Friendly Lamb are all now on sale from ethical online grocer Fresh-range.

Their launch coincides with a major expansion on the part of the online grocer, whose home delivery service is being expanded from its base in south-west England to operate across all of England, Wales, and most of Scotland.

Fresh-range sources products from producers selected for their ethical credentials, the firm said, enabling small-scale producers - including farmers like Farm Wilder, as well as bakers, brewers, fishmongers and more - to supply direct to consumers.

The producers fresh-range works with are taking measures to address climate change, restore biodiversity, and protect endangered native species such as bees, butterflies, birds and hedgehogs, the firm added.

"Fresh-range is on a mission to deliver fresher food sourced with care from suppliers with the highest welfare and environmental standards," said Rich Osborn, founder of fresh-range. We are offering a new way for people to engage with British farmers and source food and drink directly via short and transparent supply chains.

"The company has experienced greater than 50 per cent growth year-on-year for the last three years, but until now the service has only been available in the west of England. Now we have ambitious plans to offer the same infrastructure across 16 regions, so that customers can trust that their money is supporting sustainable producers who are tackling the climate and ecological crisis."

Farm Wilder was founded in 2019 by former nature documentary producer Tim Martin, after he heard about livestock farmers on Dartmoor who were protecting the endangered marsh fritillary butterfly through their nature-friendly farming practices.

"Many species of British wildlife are threatened with extinction because we've chosen to farm intensively and produce cheap food," Martin said. "If we want to have a countryside bursting with life, it's absolutely crucial we support the farmers working hard to halt species decline. That's why we're partnering with fresh-range, to offer their customers wildlife-friendly meat and a different kind of labelling system that celebrates biodiversity."

Broadcaster Chris Packham welcomed the farm's approach, saying that it "is playing a vital role in supporting livestock farmers to make the transition to sustainable wildlife friendly farming". "We need to encourage them to make this change, and that means buying their produce rather than intensively produced supermarket food," he added. 

The firm's products are now available alongside a range of artisan products and everyday essentials from fresh-range, from bread to organic vegetables. The ethical grocer is committed to reducing food waste and greenhouse gas emissions in supply chains, it says, and uses sustainable compostable and recyclable packaging to reduce plastic waste.

However, red meat consumption remains controversial in some quarters, with many environmentalists maintaining that curbing red meat consumption remains one of the most effective ways to reduce personal carbon footprints and encourage more sustainable land use.