M&S keep digging a hole of ignorance and you can hardly see the tops of their heads now.
In their current stock answer to customers concerned about the origin and lead content of the grouse meat that they might or might not sell to the general public they have a new phrase ‘all M&S game products, and this would include Red Grouse if we took the decision to stock it, are hand inspected to minimise risk of excessive shot and any risk to our customers’.
So, M&S tell me how inspecting a grouse carcase from the outside tells you how much lead there is on the inside?
You cannot tell how much lead there is in a game carcase by looking at it and the variation in lead levels is huge and only loosely related even to the number of lead shot inside the carcase – so X-raying it wouldn’t help that much either. The graph below shows that lead levels (although uniformly high in grouse meat shot with lead ammunition) can vary over more than two orders of magnitude (ie a hundredfold) with the same number of lead shot in the carcase.
As I have told you before, if you sell grouse meat in your stores the first customer will be me and I will get your meat, knowingly sold in your stores, independently tested in a laboratory. And then you can explain to your customers why they have very high lead levels and why you have ignored all the evidence on this subject.
The sad thing is, that M&S is beginning to look as though it is run by fools.
See the Chris Packham video on why he will boycott M&S if they sell grouse meat in their stores.
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Marks and Sparks have clearly decided they don’t need experts. Their competitors meanwhile must be having a field day – just think of the fun their marketing teams will be having coming up with new advertising slogans:
John Lewis – Never knowingly involved in the illegal killing of protected birds of prey
Sainsburys – Live well for less wildlife crime
Tesco – Every little industry leading Code of Practice helps (except it doesn’t)
… I could go on …
I might try contacting the Consumers’ Association to see if they have a view on some of the issues you raise Mark – I don’t know if you want to do the same, but in any case if and when they do get back to me I’ll let you know.
Former M&S customer – I’m waiting to see if M&S see sense and drop lead-heavy,,location-secret, codeofpractice-hidden grouse meat from their plans. Then we’ll see.
The pursuit of money by shareholders – who in any business – I have decided must be the stupidest people in the land … or do they just not care who gets hurt, who suffers, who gets ill, who dies, children, old folk – you – me ??? Just so long as they are raking it in …
Indeed – except that even by that logic M&S deciding to stock lead grouse is completely self defeating…
To be fair, Mark, they will be hand inspected for pesticides too. Or are they doing a taste test for that one?
“This is not just medicated grit, this is M&S medicated grit”
Nice!
I wrote to M&S yesterday askingthem from which estates would they be obtaining their grouse from. They replied thus:
“Good Evening Tim
Thank you for emailing us about the sale of Grouse. As a member of our Board of Directors team, I am replying on their behalf.
At the moment we still haven’t made a decision as to whether we will or not be stocking Grouse. We’re currently working with our supplier to monitor numbers for this season and will only stock grouse if the numbers are strong enough.
Two years ago we worked with independent industry experts and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust to introduce the game industry’s first ‘Codes of Practice’ to ensure all our game, including grouse, is sourced to the highest standards of game rearing and moorland management, from estates that we know and trust. Our Codes of Practice also covers the protection of protected birds of prey such as hen harriers.
I have passed your comments on to the team, who are monitoring customer feedback in relation to Grouse.
If we can help with anything further please let us know.”