Popular high-street restaurants are serving up menus of imported meat and are failing to support British farmers, an investigation has concluded.
The 'Out to Lunch' investigation found that some chains are not serving any British meat and only one restaurant – Nando's – reported using 100% British meat.
Many have 'unsustainable sourcing practices', according to the Soil Association, which launched the investigation.
It found restaurant chains had limited traceability and are buying from countries outside both the UK and EU with less stringent welfare or antibiotic regulations.
Key examples include meat being shipped from as far as Thailand and Brazil at KFC, Pizza Hut, Pizza Express, Bella Italia, McDonald’s and TGI Friday’s.
As part of the investigation, diners interrogated children’s menus and put high street chains in a league table based on health, sustainability and dining experience.
Free range British chicken was served by league table winner Wahaca, British turkey at Toby Carvery, and Nando’s sourced all meat from the UK. British beef was on the menu for 12 chains.
Responding to its findings, the Soil Association said it was 'disappointed' that there was little support for British farming across the high street.
Soil Association senior policy officer, Oona Buttafoco said: "Restaurant chains are facing significant cost pressures... we are concerned about the implications of their unsustainable meat sourcing practices.
“Welfare standards can be significantly lower or less rigorously assured in many of the countries that are supplying high street chains. Meat in the UK also comes with much greater traceability.
“A failure to buy British meat therefore not only impacts the farmers on our doorsteps, but it also may have huge implications for farm animals, the environment and antimicrobial resistance."
In addition to sourcing meat from outside the UK and EU, nearly half of the chains surveyed fail to serve 100% farm assured meat and therefore have limited traceability for their menus.
Several do not have a policy on responsible antibiotics use and only three chains – Wahaca, Brewers Fayre and KFC – were found to be serving any meat with a higher welfare guarantee, such as free-range or RSPCA.
However, most restaurants now only use free range eggs and a third of the 20 restaurants have at least one organic ingredient item on the menu.
But Ms Buttafoco said that too many chains 'are not doing enough', adding that more needed to prioritise British-produced products with high sustainability and welfare.
“Businesses need to take more responsibility and government intervention is also urgently needed to help create fairer supply chains that incentivise businesses to choose products from sustainable farmers at home.”
