The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) has called on Michael Creed, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to insist on “no more mixed messages” from the Government on Irish beef.
The ICSA made the request to the minister following comments made by Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, last Monday (January 14), about eating less red meat for environmental and health reasons.
The organisation’s suckler chairman, John Halley, also called on the Government to be “unequivocal” in supporting the beef sector, after the added pressures of Brexit and “ideologically motivated” reports on food health.
The Taoiseach has yet to admit that he made a major gaffe in undermining Irish beef both in terms of climate change and in terms of health. There is no point in spending money on trying to sell Irish beef on international markets when the leader of the country is advocating eating less of it.
The ICSA also criticised last week’s ‘EAT-Lancet’ report, which made headlines for advocating vast dietary changes, which would equate to a 90% decrease in the amount of red meat Irish people eat.
“The recent EAT-Lancet report refers to the World Health Organisation (WHO) studies which did not establish a link between red meat and cancer, but a slightly increased risk involving processed meats, probably due to added salt, nitrites, etc,” said Halley.
We would also question how eating products such as quinoa, tofu, soy and avocados is good for climate change when they involve flying food all over the planet and impacting badly on local environment and communities.
Concluding, Halley called on the Government to have “emergency intervention” ready-to-go if the UK goes ahead with a no-deal Brexit.
“There is no room for any equivocation on the Government’s behalf at this time of crisis for the sector,” argued Halley.