Britain was once called a nation of shopkeepers; it is also a nation of meat eaters. With a strong agricultural history, British farms have long been known for their cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry and British farms have often received substantial press coverage; sometimes admirably, other times worryingly, British farmers are very rarely out of the media spotlight.

Reports linking 25% of the meat sold in the UK to farms with poor animal welfare standards might seem like something a little more worrying: this time, though it is a result of imported meats from countries that have lower animal welfare standards than those imposed on British farms.

In recent years – though realistically, the issue has been a problem in the British farming industry for decades – a problem of pricing, with imported meats undercutting prices from Britain, has caused a crisis in British farms.

Part of the consumer cost incurred, though is that animal welfare standards – which generally, are higher than those in a number of other countries – generate overheads that British farmers have to factor into the price of their meat.

That in turn, is factored into the cost of butchers and supermarkets, and the consumer bears the brunt of the cost. Where meat can be imported, though, overheads can be lower, allowing for a mark down at the consumer end of the chain.

So the argument goes. And with reports that a quarter of the meat sold in the UK is subject to these more related animal welfare laws, it’s easy to see that, once again, the argument about the responsibility of farmers and food outlets and where the loyalties should lie in terms of the cost to the consumer and their ethical duties, is set to rage.

With no easy answer, the question is a strange concoction of considerations surrounding ethical responsibilities, sustainability, service provision and cost.

What’s certain though, is that the miscommunication surrounding the quality of meat sold in the UK – with reports claiming that the meat in question is used in restaurants and pubs, as well as being sold in supermarkets – should not be tolerated.

The answer to the complex question can come later. On the subject of such matters, though, transparency of information should always be key.