The Margin recently wondered if urbanisation had reached such an extent that the agricultural sector here might have to follow its British counterpart in launching a campaign to identify and fill gaps in children's basic understanding of the food they eat and how it is produced. The campaign followed a MORI poll which found one in eight children did not know ham came from pigs and other surprises.

However, the Margin is grateful to Agri Aware, established in the Republic in 1996, which pointed out it had undertaken several initiatives to create better understanding of food. Agri Aware's general manager, Thomas Keane, says: "The UK agri-sector is following in the footsteps of its Irish counterparts." Touche!