Nature's Market - Meat Products

To eat only a little meat is one of the most environmentally friendly things you can do. Animals require an enormous amount of water, hay, grain and not least of all, land to produce each kg of meat. Icelandic meat, however, is better in most respects than European meat. The Icelandic mountain lamb runs free in the Icelandic highlands and can therefore be said to be environmentally friendly in a certain way, even though overgrazing by sheep has undoubtedly contributed to desertification through the ages. When analysing meat, it is often possible to find residues of hormones, medicines and chemicals that have been used in the production of the  product. Organic production of meat does not use such hormones/chemicals nor does it use synthetic fertilizers on land where feed is grown, and last but not least in organic farming it is not allowed to use medicines for the prevention of animal diseases. This means that medicines are only used to cure sick animals and not in order to prevent all sorts of possible illnesses. Overuse of pharmaceuticals for example the use of antibiotics and vaccines  has become a considerable problem in meat production, both for animals and for people as more and more microorganisms become immune to the pharmaceuticals and as we continue ingesting them.

The Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST) supervises general animal health and the safety of domestic and imported meat sold in Iceland.

As a result of its geographical isolation and strict import policy, Iceland has remained free of serious infectious diseases in animals. Importing of; raw meat (including salami and smoked ham), raw eggs and unpasteurized milk products is strictly prohibited.