Food for thought in UCD

Some dramatic and frightening stats were being shot around The Great Agri Food Debate which took place in UCD on Thursday but it was both informative and highly entertaining writes Mary Phelan.

Mary Phelan

11 March 2016

10/3/2016 Over 200 students and representatives of the Irish agri-food industry took to the UCD Garret Fitzgerald Debating Chamber this evening for the first annual Great Agri-Food Debate co-sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonald's Ireland. Pictured at the debate are judges, left to right, Aidan Cotter, CEO of Bord Bia, Adrian Crean, MD of McDonald's Ireland, and Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

10/3/2016 Over 200 students and representatives of the Irish agri-food industry took to the UCD Garret Fitzgerald Debating Chamber this evening for the first annual Great Agri-Food Debate co-sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonald's Ireland. Pictured at the debate are judges Aidan Cotter (left), CEO of Bord Bia, Adrian Crean (2nd from left), MD of McDonald's Ireland, and Niall Browne (right), CEO of Dawn Meats, with participating students. Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland

The inaugural Great Agri Food debate was held in UCD on Thursday night and was hosted by Dawn Meats and McDonald’s. It was a hell of a fight.Students of the UCD School of Agriculture and Food took to the floor in the Garrett Fitzgerald Debating Chamber to debate the motion “Ruminant livestock farming will help save the planet”.

The inaugural Great Agri Food debate was held in UCD on Thursday night and was hosted by Dawn Meats and McDonald’s. It was a hell of a fight.

Students of the UCD School of Agriculture and Food took to the floor in the Garrett Fitzgerald Debating Chamber to debate the motion “Ruminant livestock farming will help save the planet”.

One of the first speakers opposing the motion toyed with the notion that Donald Trump would be the cause of the ultimate demise of planet Earth, before deciding that on this count, cows trumped Trump.

Another member of the opposition pleaded with her peers when going the Harcourt Diner after Coppers to make a more sustainable food choice than that of the burger. She suggested instead a battered sausage, and thus saw the beginning of theme that ran throughout the debate which pitted beef against pork.

Other talking points referred to frequently throughout the course of the evening included deforestation and methane gas.

Ruminant animals were praised by Clodagh Ryan on the proposition for the benefit dairy brings to the infants all over the world and she questioned why ruminants were getting a bad name for man-made problems, and “should we scrap the cars you drove here in tonight?”

Third speaker for the opposition Gráinne Horan had many grim and frightening things to tell us, namely it will take less than 100 years to destroy on rainforests on planet earth.

In rebuttal to Clodagh before her, she pointed out that because many developing countries don’t have clean water, baby milk formula isn’t much use to them and she finished up with; “while I was speaking, the equivalent of 60 football fields of forest were wiped out”.

When Paul Murphy, took to the floor he claimed it was crops, not ruminant animals that were the main cause of deforestation, especially in Brazil where slash and burn techniques are used to clear land for crops. The crop he blamed in particular was soya. Paul also made what was probably the most popular comment of the night - that ruminant animals are more traceable than any teenager. He shouted down anyone who presented him with a point of information, which proved to be a very effective tactic.

Tensions were running high in the Fitzgerald Chamber and moderator Justin McCarthy (editor of the Irish Farmers Journal) had to instill law and order at certain points and make clear to all debaters that heckling in the first and last minute of presentation wasn’t permitted.

The leader of the proposition, Leanne McNamara made a fiery closing statement saying “we never said we were going to stop polar ice cubs melting” and “we never said that everybody in the world should adopt an Irish system”. She was passionate in her delivery and she came away with the prize for best speaker on the night while the motion was carried which saw announced as the winning side.

The judging pane on the night was comprised of Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne, Managing Director of McDonald’s Ireland Adrian Crean and Bord Bia CEO Aidan Cotter. Commenting, Niall Browne from Dawn Meats said; “The impact of our industry on the environment is something we’ve long been conscious of and we’ve taken a lot of steps to mitigate this impact over the last 10 years. The Irish grass-based system is one of the most carbon efficient in the world from an environmental perspective. Therefore we need to be pragmatic about the role that Ireland plays in relation to global food security and be unafraid of broadening the discussion by showcasing the natural advantages of Irish beef production.

“The debate this evening gave us an opportunity to consider different sides of this contentious issue, and importantly, to provide a forum for the views and vision of the next generation of agri-food leaders.”

Commenting Adrian Crean, MD McDonald’s Ireland said; “McDonald’s aims to begin purchasing verified sustainable beef by 2016 and the company has been working towards this ambitious goal for over ten years through the McDonald’s Agricultural Assistance programme, Flagship Farms and a range of complimentary initiatives taking place on a country level.”

PROPOSING THE MOTION

NAME MAJOR AGE HOME COUNTY

Leanne McNamara Animal Science 22 Portlaoise, Co Laois

Peter Fagan Food and Agri-business Management 19 Mullingar, Westmeath

Paul Murphy Dairy Business 22 Maddoxtown, Kilkenny

Clodagh Ryan Animal Science 21 Thurles, Tipperary

Joseph Ryan Dairy Business 22 Clonakilty, Cork

Rachel Morris Food and Agri-business Management 20 Athlone, Westmeath

OPPOSING THE MOTION

NAME MAJOR AGE HOME COUNTY

Niall Walsh Animal Science 23 Kilmaine, Mayo

Bríd McClearn Animal and Crop Production 21 Portumna,Galway