Sir, – Tomás Finn (Letters, April 25th) claims that I presented “a simplistic analysis of food production and Ireland’s role in feeding the world” in my letter of April 20th. The data regarding beef and dairy production speak for themselves. I note that he does not dispute any of the claims I made in my letter.
Beef and dairy products are inherently environmentally damaging products. Claims of Irish exceptionalism on this front have not been substantiated by evidence. Exporting beef over 8,000 km away is environmental madness. Moreover, as John FitzGerald recently noted, almost all of beef farmers’ incomes come from EU payments, “so average value added in the beef sector is close to zero” (“Farming must focus on reducing emission of nitrogen”, Business, April 7th).
I, for one, do not want our farmers “disregarded, frustrated, and increasingly marginalised”. We need them, and they should be given every support to transition as we aim to achieve net zero. The State is clearly failing here.
Efforts by Irish farmers to embrace climate change mitigation measures and reduce their carbon footprints are to be applauded.
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But one cannot argue with the data: Ireland had the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita in all of the EU last year, and agriculture is by far our biggest sectoral emitter.
Mr Finn writes that “people need to eat”. Agreed.
But people do not need to eat meat, and the damage done by meat production is catastrophic. That is the point. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.