Thanks to bestsellers such as Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma and Jonathan Saffron Foer's Eating Animals, a lot of foodies have actively started to limit their intake of feedlot meat, i.e. meat from animals raised in factory farms, fed an unnatural diet of antibiotics and growth hormones. In the case of cows, there has been a distinct preference for grass-fed beef over the grain-fed variety. The simple reason for this being that a cow's natural diet is grass, yet it is often fed corn and other grain as a cheaper alternative. When this happens, the cattle's digestive system is compromised and it is prone to more diseases, leading to an increased use of antibiotics and steroids.

However, it is certainly easier in the US to be picky over whether your steak ate grass or corn before it was slaughtered, where a large but vocal lobby of environmentally-aware gourmands have made small farms that rear animals based on traditional methods a cause célèbre and many chefs, especially in dining capitals such as New York, note down the name of the farm their grass-fed beef came from on the menu.

Here in Hong Kong, diners are less aware of the environmental and health impacts of eating cheap feedlot meat that has been factory farmed, yet slowly but surely, a few restaurants with environmentally-responsible chefs at their helm have started making changes. With meat-eating highlighted as one of the main causes of carbon emissions and no sign of the planet turning vegetarian en masse, we should at the very least all do our part and eat organic meats that were reared based on environmentally-sound and preferably humane principles. With that in mind, Asia Tatler Dining highlights our favourite restaurants to get your fill of sustainable meat.

Amber

The modern French restaurant at the Landmark Oriental has executive chef Richard Ekkebus manning the kitchen, a chef who is as environmentally-aware as he is talented. Little wonder then, that the majority of the meat from Amber's menu is sourced from celebrity butcher Hugo Desnoyer in Paris. Desnoyer provides Amber with pork from the Dordogne in the south west of France where the pigs are raised free-range and fed no hormoes or antibiotics. As a result, the fat is leaner than on most other pork and when cooked, resembles veal, according to Ekkebus. Similarly, the lamb is from the Lozere area from the Blanche du Massif Central breed. All the lamb are fed directly from ewes as well as supplemented by organic forage and cereal, which means that the lamb is also 100% organic. Amber also serves pigeon from Bresse, which are raised in the same humane and sustainable manner.

7/F Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen's Rd., Central. Tel: +852 2132-0066.

Manzo

The newest Italian steak house from local F&B group Dining Concepts, Manzo in Causeway Bay serves up a selection of steaks, including wagyu from Oakleigh Ranch in Australia (which is grain-fed) and select USDA steaks. The better options, sustainably speaking, are the Angus steaks procured from Spiritview Ranch in Alberta, Canada which provides the restaurant with ten red or black Angus steers each month. Spiritview Ranch is 100% organic and the entire ranch is a forage-based operation. The cows graze on the pasture, rather than being fed an unnatural diet of grain and then forced into a tiny cell. Manzo offers four cuts of heritage Angus steaks from Spiritview Ranch, including a 32oz Tomahawk for two; a 32oz Bistecca Fiorentina for two; a 14oz top sirloin rump; and a 10oz skirt steak.

Shop 1104, 11/F, Times Square, 1 Matheson St., Causeway Bay. Tel: +852 2735-3980.

Shore

Chef Jason Black has long espoused an environmentally-responsible attitude, making sure that the seafood served at Shore, his stylish European restaurant at L Place in Sheung Wan, are sustainably caught. This also extends to land animals as well, with a commitment to only sourcing the beef that is in their meat bible from farms that practice good husbandry. Shore's meat bible includes grass-fed beef from Argentina, OBE organic grass-fed beef from Queensland and grass-fed beef from Cape Grim in Tasmania, all of which are hormone and antibiotic-free. As well as beef, Shore also serves chicken from Hazeldene Farms, a RSPCA-approved farm in Australia that guarantees the chickens can perch, dust bathe, scatch and forage freely. The birds are still housed in their sheds in the evenings and given a feed of vitamins, minerals, cereal grains and legumes to ensure proper growth; but they are allowed out to forage for the entire day and are hormone-free. Antibiotics are only given out rarely under the supervision of a vet. However, the farm does also offer a range of chicken in which no antibiotics are used at all. At Shore, the chickens are served as a chicken breast that is charcoal-grilled and served with celery, walnut and baby spinach.

4/F L Place, 139 Queen's Rd., Central. Tel: +852 2915-1638.

Linguini Fini

The new restaurant by IHM Group, who are also the creators of Posto Pubblico, gets extra points for not only procuring their meat from an organic farm, but a local one at that. According to executive chef Vinny Lauria, Linguini Fini sources their pigs from Wah Kee, a farm out in the New Territories. Although the pigs are given a feed of natural ingredients and corn rather than out foraging their own food, they do at least spend the majority of their lives outside. They are also hormone-free and antibiotic-free. Linguini Fini prides itself on head-to-tail eating, and the menu serves up all parts of the pig, including fried pig heart in the "I love Milanese" appetiser (pictured below and by far one of our favourite dishes at this new restaurant), the fazzoletti pasta dish which includes pork testa; and the sweetbread ravioli which contains not only sweetbreads but also pork jowl.

1/F L Place, 139 Queen's Rd., Central. Tel: +852 2857-1333.

Yue Kee

Most tourists may love Yung Kee on Wellington Street, but for most locals, Sham Tseng out in the New Territories is the real district to head to for roast goose. In an area littered with roast goose restaurants, one of the oldest and best-known is Yue Kee, founded in 1958. Perhaps one of the reasons the restaurant is so successful is thanks to its own goose farm, located over the border in Qingyuan, Guangdong. There, the geese are fed using natural feed without hormones and the farm even has its own slaughterhouse, which has passed both the requirements of the Guangzhou and the HKSAR government. Once the birds arrive at the restaurant, they are then charcoal-roasted in batches, ensuring their steaming hot arrival on your table. For those looking for something out of the ordinary, make sure to try Yue Kee's goose liver cooked in Chinese wine.

9 Sham Hong Rd., Sham Tseng. Tel: +852 2491-0105.