A new Government Department dedicated to consumer protection should be set up urgently, the Green Party has said.
The Greens say this Department of Food would take responsibility for food safety away from the Department of Agriculture.
"Revelations about certain food production processes have shattered many people's confidence in the Department's ability to properly control and police the food industry," said Green TD Mr Trevor Sargent.
Mr Sargent, unveiling the party's position paper on Irish agriculture, said it was time for the Government to "redirect our agricultural policy and position Ireland as a truly clean and green food-producing country.
"This would help protect our farmers against any future BSE or foot-and-mouth crisis and would create a new, vibrant and sustainable market for Irish food products," said Mr Sargent.
The Greens are also calling for an "immediate reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with priority funding for farmers who set higher standards of consumer protection, environmental protection and animal welfare".
"What CAP has done is encourage larger and more intensive farms at the expense of smaller, more sustainable ones," the party said. A reformed CAP must focus on "quality mixed farming, closer links between producers and consumers and proper pricing to take accounts of the hidden costs," said Mr Sargent.
The party wants to convert 30 per cent of all agricultural land into organic food production by 2010, and an extensive food traceability system to be introduced with a strict labelling policy, as well as the phasing out of live animal exports.
The Greens are also calling for an immediate Government ban on genetically modified foods. "By declaring Ireland a GMO-free zone, the Government has the opportunity to place this country and the Irish people at the forefront of safe food production," it claimed.