This research seeks to develop opportunities for ‘win-win-win’ situations where
farm enterprises can gain added value from producing high-quality products in
terms of taste and nutrition from significant biodiverse pasture types, such as
moorland, heathland and salt-marshes, in ecologically sustainable ways.
The interdisciplinary research is providing evidence and analysis of the
relationship between food quality (defined according to both scientific criteria
and consumer perception), animal diet (analysed in terms of grazing
composition) and natural biodiversity (considered in terms of species and
community diversity), and is relating this to implications for land use
management, farm practice and processes of rural socio-economic
development. The production practices, including land use and stock
management, and the processing and retailing of a number of high-quality food
chains, are being examined. The research team is evaluating the botanical
diversity of grazed areas to determine herbage feeding value, including
chemical composition of soil and herbage.
For beef, lamb and cheese produce, tests for positive nutritional attributes such
as fatty acids and vitamin E content are being conducted. Trained taste panels
and consumer focus groups are evaluating product quality and are comparing
meat and cheese products from pasture types with commercial control samples.
We are also investigating the land use management and rural development
implications of naturally embedded high-quality food production chains and will
make recommendations for suitable regulatory and management practices.