Lilliput Farm Kitchen, run by the Stanley family at Cold Ashton between Bath and Bristol, five minutes from the M4, is the first restaurant to be certified Pasture for Life in England.

This means that all the beef cooked and served to customers comes from the herd of 68 pedigree Hereford cattle that graze their 68 hectare organic farm, right outside the restaurant. The animals have been Pasture for Life certified for nine years, having never been fed any grains or concentrate feeds over that period.

“The Pasture for Life certification is new to England’s restaurant scene, but its farming principles follow old traditions,” says Aidan Stanley. “This means keeping livestock on biodiverse, species-rich pastures which enrich the soil, while allowing animals to spend their entire lives naturally outdoors.

“Great meat production does not need feedlots or fertilisers, grain or intensive farming – just traditional grazing.”

The restaurant, which opened in 2024 has proved popular – with almost 22,000 diners in its first year, with customers able to see cattle grazing in the fields just metres from their tables.

Many comment that this is the first time they have knowingly eaten genuinely 100% pasture-fed meat, and they did not realise that most beef is fed grain and soya.

Capitalising on demand for high quality, high welfare meat products, Lilliput Farm Kitchen has started selling beef mince, Swedish-style beef balls and beef sausages directly to customers, as well as to diners.

“Building on clear public interest, we are now also developing a supply model to help other restaurants source certified Pasture for Life beef,” continues Mr Stanley.

“We are aiming to remove the barriers for businesses eager to offer ethical meat and give consumers a certified alternative to Defra’s vague ‘grass-fed’ labelling, which means cattle only have to derive 51% of their diet from grass and pasture to comply.

“We are also asking DEFRA to protect pasture-based livestock systems explicitly in its new Land Use Framework, so more producers can deliver the kind of farming the public clearly wants.”

Jimmy Woodrow, Pasture for Life chief executive agrees. “There is a real sense of now or never. The effects of climate change and biodiversity loss are increasingly felt and there is building awareness of the positive solutions offered by agroecological and regenerative farming systems.

“As England’s first Pasture for Life approved restaurant, Lilliput Farm Kitchen has created a transparent supply chain that connects customers to the origins of its 100% Pasture for Life certified beef.

“Its success in its opening year demonstrates not only public demand for truly sustainable meat, but also raising animals on pasture alone, can offer a financially viable business venture from field to fork.”