Is William Rose an organic butcher, as advertised?

[Jeremy]

spider69 Wrote:

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> So you agree with DavidH that Iceland is slumlike,

No I do not believe it resembles a slum

> Grow up or prove the reputation you mention is deserved

If you went in there, you would see for yourself that a large proportion of the food is cheap ready meals and junk food. That is why they have their reputation. I tell you what, I will grow up if you grow a brain.

[spider69]

Tried

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I am quite disappointed to find out that the chicken I buy from there are fed GM cereal .

Hello thanks for your interest,

Our Chickens are fed a natural cereal based diet no additives, no hormones etc. Unfortunately due to cost not GM free though. We grow them to a minimum of 81 days which is 3 - 4 weeks longer than other farmers are growing their free range chickens. This is as long as organic and in a lot of cases longer. The birds are in small flocks so they all get out and roam. Our birds come with giblets and in a taste test in the independent newspaper came second to poulet de bresse and beat all the organic chickens.

We do supply William Rose yes.

hope that you will give them a try I am sure you will notice the difference.

Regards

[BrandNewGuy]

StraferJack Wrote:

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> These look nice. And their website is very upbeat

> about ingredients. Wonder what's in them

>

> http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/iceland-party-24-pi

> ece-sandwich-platter/p/5558

>

> Oh.....

>

> http://twitter.com/gracedent/status/41016097117360

> 5377/photo/1

There are dozens of products in Sainsburys, Co-op, Morrisons etc etc which are equally horrific, but it's interesting that Iceland is the one that gets the bashing. And that's what I think is mainly down to snobbery.

[DaveR]

"I am quite disappointed to find out that the chicken I buy from there are fed GM cereal."

And also, they don't have names, and nobody ever sings to them, and they never get to go on holiday.

FFS.

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I am entitled to an opinion thank you and I do mind GM food, There is nothing FFS about that .

Mentioning singing etc is just idiotic as it has nothing to do with my complaint .

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

BrandNewGuy, you are quite right , food has changed a lot , all the supermarkets including Waitrose sell food with a shocking ingredient list.

Best to try cook things from scratch if possible but I know that isn't possible for most .

I resent more having a lack of choice , such as the majority of bread now having soya , and sugar being replaced with Glucose Syrup , it makes shopping so difficult these days , even well know brands from many years ago have changed and now have their ingredients replaced with cheaper alternatives.

[Jeremy]

BrandNewGuy Wrote:

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> There are dozens of products in Sainsburys, Co-op,

> Morrisons etc etc which are equally horrific, but

> it's interesting that Iceland is the one that gets

> the bashing. And that's what I think is mainly

> down to snobbery.

Yeah there is plenty of junk in those shops too, but the proportion of such food in Iceland is definitely greater. And these are the products they have pushed in recent years (i.e. ads with Kerry Katona advertising chicken tikka lasagne and prawn party rings). They've also pushed the boundries of bad taste with things like doner kebab pizza and SJ's frozen sandwich "platter".

I'm not making any judgements, god knows I've eaten a load of rubbish in my time. But surely anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain can see why the place has such a down-market reputation. And while the smattering of fresh products by the entrance may be perfectly fine, the stores are dominated by freezer cabinets full of utter shite.

[Sue]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> I'm not making any judgements, god knows I've

> eaten a load of rubbish in my time. But surely

> anyone with a pair of eyes and a brain can see why

> the place has such a down-market reputation. And

> while the smattering of fresh products by the

> entrance may be perfectly fine, the stores are

> dominated by freezer cabinets full of utter shite.

xxxxxxxx

That's actually just not true. Have you actually ever been in there?

There is not just a "smattering of fresh products by the entrance." As well as very good value fresh vegetables etc, Iceland also sells things like cheese and yoghurt, which are perfectly fine. And good value branded sauces etc eg their hot pepper sauce.

Of course there are a lot of freezer cabinets - the name "Iceland" should give you a clue .....

It is different at the moment because of all the Christmas "party snacks" etc, but I go to Iceland quite a lot for free range eggs, frozen fish, frozen veg etc, and it is certainly not "utter shite".

You get six large free range eggs for a pound, which are far better value - and indeed better - than any other supermarket I know of.

Processed stuff which other supermarkets sell is just as much "utter shite" - I know, because I have recently been taking a lot of notice of ingredients on the label - it's just more nicely packaged (depending on your taste) and comes from a shop which doesn't have a down-market reputation.

I do think it's snobbery, actually. Why is a doner kebab pizza so different from any other pizza with meat on top? The Actress does one with minced lamb or something. I suppose that's OK because it is more expensive, caters for the chattering classes and you can have a glass of wine in a tumbler with it?

I don't buy meat in Iceland, but that's only because I very rarely buy meat anywhere. And I wouldn't buy chicken there because I don't think they sell free-range chicken, but that is the only reason.

[Jeremy]

Yes I've been in there - and not just the ED branch. I'm not saying anyone shouldn't shop there or that it shouldn't be there. I'm sure the eggs, cheese and yoghurt are perfectly fine.

I'm just arguing against bizarre claims such as :

- the meat is as good as anywhere else - as claimed by a vegetarian on a thread about a great local butcher

- it's just snobbery - when their advertising campaigns seems to have concentrated on the most foul looking food imaginable

- why is a doner kebab pizza so different from any other pizza with meat on top -when a quick google shows that it looks like this

[Dopamine1979]

That pizza photo made me hungry.

[mako]

I quite fancy one of those pizzas now

[Jeremy]

I know what you mean...

[Sue]

Jeremy Wrote:

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> - why is a doner kebab pizza so different from any

> other pizza with meat on top -when a quick google

> shows that it looks like this

xxxxxx

Looks fine to me.

I'd be happy eating that, not that I eat pizza much.

[the man with a van]

Jeremy you prat get a life if you do not like iceland then shop elsewhere top banging on about iceland selling shit foods another ed idiot

[Jeremy]

To be honest you come across as being particularly thick, so please forgive me if I do not take your post seriously.

[Dulwichduck]

anna123 Wrote:

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> I have just made a google search to find a local

> organic butcher and William Rose, who advertise

> their 'free range and organic meat', came up high

> in the search list. Over the years I have popped

> in to William Rose on a number of occasions, but

> have come out empty-handed, as I have each time

> been told they have 'just run out' of the organic

> meat.

>

> I have spoken to several friends who use William

> Rose and they have all been of the understanding

> that the meat they buy from this butcher is

> organic, as the shop sign suggests, and not just

> free range.

>

> As I only use organic meat, I decided to called

> them this time, thinking that I could pre-order,

> so that I wouldn't risk them being sold out of

> what I wanted again, but was now informed that

> they don't sell either organic beef or pork, but

> do sell some whole organic chicken. I explained

> that it is organic meat, not chicken, that I am

> interested in and was to my surprise told there

> isn't much demand for organic meat!!

> When I then suggested that their advertising and

> sign are in that case misleading, the person I

> spoke quickly backtracked, got very het up and

> insistent that they in fact do sell organic meat,

> as they occasionally have some pieces of lamb

> available.

>

> After the call I thought I would see if I could

> find any recommendations for a proper organic

> butcher on the forum and was interested to find

> these messages from over two years ago about

> William Rose, who clearly are quite happy to

> continue to benefit from people 'misunderstanding'

> their advertising.

> I would suggest that, if people don't fully

> understand the difference in farming methods

> between meat that is described as free range (but

> not organic) and that which is organic, a more

> honest butcher, less willing to cash in on the

> misunderstanding rather than perpetuate it, would

> be happy to explain this difference to their

> customers and would have a shop sign that properly

> reflects what they sell.

>

> And if anyone can recommend a butcher that sells

> organic meat reasonably locally, I would very much

> appreciate it.

I am not sure where you are going with this post. I go to William rose quite regularly and yes they do advertise they sell organic meat. However it does not say anywhere that all they sell is organic, they also sell free range. It merely says they sell both, if you ever go into their and ask the staff questions relating to this or anything else, they will give you a truthful answer, very early on after making them my butcher, I asked whether certain meats I was buying were organic or not. They clearly stated that what I was purchasing was free range, and that if it was organic it would have a certain tag on it. They also mentioned how they have much much less of it in comparison to their free range produce. It is quite simple, with anything just read it carefully and ask. I personally do not see how a sign that says they sell organic and free range can mean everything they sell is organic.

Whilst free-range production is a method of food production, organic farming is part of a complete farming ethos whereby participating organic producers use a total production system which works in harmony with nature and with our environment. There is clearly a difference as you should now,

if they sell both that does not mean a 50/50 split. Even if 5% of their stock is organic, they still sell organic, this is no different to any other butcher/supermarket/greengrocer.

In regards to them saying there is not much demand for organic meat, this may well be true. Don't you think if they were getting asked for organic meat regularly they would stock much more of it? They would definitely sell the stock. So it may well be so that they have not received much demand for it. Just because you only eat organic and some people you know do, does not mean there is a huge demand for it! Organic meat is very expensive and as a business if they are not getting a huge demand for it then they are better off just stocking a small amount. Otherwise they would make a loss, which is the pure basics of running a shop. I really do not see why you are making such a big deal out of them saying "There isn't much demand for organic meat"

To directly quote you

"After the call I thought I would see if I could find any recommendations for a proper organic butcher on the forum and was interested to find these messages from over two years ago about William Rose, who clearly are quite happy to continue to benefit from people 'misunderstanding' their advertising.

I would suggest that, if people don't fully understand the difference in farming methods between meat that is described as free range (but not organic) and that which is organic, a more honest butcher, less willing to cash in on the misunderstanding rather than perpetuate it, would be happy to explain this difference to their customers and would have a shop sign that properly reflects what they sell."

As I stated in my first paragraph, they are not giving people a misunderstanding, they sell organic and free range 5% of their stock being organic, still makes them factually a seller of organic meat. Their sign clearly states they sell both and to which they are not lying. As I also mentioned if you ask the staff in their about what stock they have is organic and what is free range, they will be honest about it. As they were with you on the phone! How were they not being honest, from your quote you make it sound like they are relying on misunderstanding and not trustworthy, yet they answered every question you gave them honestly. It was just not the answer you wanted to hear!

I recommend you check your facts before making a misleading post like this.

[fernado]

Dulwichduck, methinks you'd have done WR more of a favour by letting dormant posts lie...

[Dulwichduck]

Oh, never noticed the post date on it :P