Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) broke UCD's stranglehold on the great agri-food debate trophy on Thursday.
WIT emerged as the 2019 winners over the team from CAFRE Loughry campus following a close-run debate where the Waterford college successfully opposed the motion 'vegan diets are better for people and planet'.
Moderator Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy reminded the attendance that the views of the participants were for debating purposes and may not be their personal views.
Maybe it was coincidence that the college's acronym played a part in their win, but the Deise students combined wit and facts well in their debates.
One famine is enough
Stressing that not all land types were suitable to tillage, Mayo man Shane Geraghty of WIT invited people “to call up to Mayo some weekend and I’ll show you where you can’t grow crops - Nephin Beg range".
"Try growing wheat or barley up there and you’d end up with a famine and one of those is enough for any country.”
His teammate Michael Martin told of the hidden and unspoken health consequences of a vegan diet and warned against falling for
fake facts and statistics.
Danielle Mulligan had a good play on words with her argument: “Real milk comes from mammals and everything else is nuts.”
Runners-up
Runners-up CAFRE Loughry campus were competing in the agri-food debate for the first time and made a good impression.
En route, they knocked out UCD, who were aiming for a fourth win in a row.
With chair Stephanie McIlroy proving to be a formidable debater, they overcame IT Tralee in their quarter-final on Wednesday and were deemed winners against UCD in a tight call in the semi-final.
While acknowledging it was a lifestyle rather than a diet, CAFRE’s Jasmine Herdman said veganism is now well established.
Her teammate Tara McClure said veganism will rely heavily on the support of arable farmers.
Conor Field reminded the attendance that Guinness is now vegan-friendly.
He added: “The agri-food industry cannot bury its head and hide, hoping veganism will disappear and it will provide potential job opportunities for young food scientists.
Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne said he was delighted to see how the competition is now an all-island one, having started out four years ago with two teams from one college.
The judging panel included industry leaders from finance, food safety, retail and agriculture: Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy; Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne; ambassador of the federal republic of Germany in Ireland HE Deike Potzel; Secretary general at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Brendan Gleeson; Food Safety Authority of Ireland CEO Pamela Byrne; and Elaine Sterio from McDonald's.
Students from a record seven third-level colleges made this the largest agri-food debate so far.
Teams from WIT, University College Dublin, University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology, Queens University Belfast, IT Tralee and CAFRE Loughry Campus made the journey to Waterford for the two-day event, sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonald's.
The event featured six debates spread over Wednesday and Thursday.
Best speakers
Best speaker quarter final: Catherine Hennelly, ITT.Best speaker quarter final: Isobel Toner, UCD.Best speaker quarter final: Michael Martin, WIT.Best speaker semi-final: Simon Lanigan, UCD.Best speaker semi-final: Meg Minihane, UCC.Best speaker final: Michael Martin, WIT.
Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) broke UCD's stranglehold on the great agri-food debate trophy on Thursday.
WIT emerged as the 2019 winners over the team from CAFRE Loughry campus following a close-run debate where the Waterford college successfully opposed the motion 'vegan diets are better for people and planet'.
Moderator Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy reminded the attendance that the views of the participants were for debating purposes and may not be their personal views.
Maybe it was coincidence that the college's acronym played a part in their win, but the Deise students combined wit and facts well in their debates.
One famine is enough
Stressing that not all land types were suitable to tillage, Mayo man Shane Geraghty of WIT invited people “to call up to Mayo some weekend and I’ll show you where you can’t grow crops - Nephin Beg range".
"Try growing wheat or barley up there and you’d end up with a famine and one of those is enough for any country.”
His teammate Michael Martin told of the hidden and unspoken health consequences of a vegan diet and warned against falling for
fake facts and statistics.
Danielle Mulligan had a good play on words with her argument: “Real milk comes from mammals and everything else is nuts.”
Runners-up
Runners-up CAFRE Loughry campus were competing in the agri-food debate for the first time and made a good impression.
En route, they knocked out UCD, who were aiming for a fourth win in a row.
With chair Stephanie McIlroy proving to be a formidable debater, they overcame IT Tralee in their quarter-final on Wednesday and were deemed winners against UCD in a tight call in the semi-final.
While acknowledging it was a lifestyle rather than a diet, CAFRE’s Jasmine Herdman said veganism is now well established.
Her teammate Tara McClure said veganism will rely heavily on the support of arable farmers.
Conor Field reminded the attendance that Guinness is now vegan-friendly.
He added: “The agri-food industry cannot bury its head and hide, hoping veganism will disappear and it will provide potential job opportunities for young food scientists.
Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne said he was delighted to see how the competition is now an all-island one, having started out four years ago with two teams from one college.
The judging panel included industry leaders from finance, food safety, retail and agriculture: Bord Bia CEO Tara McCarthy; Dawn Meats CEO Niall Browne; ambassador of the federal republic of Germany in Ireland HE Deike Potzel; Secretary general at Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Brendan Gleeson; Food Safety Authority of Ireland CEO Pamela Byrne; and Elaine Sterio from McDonald's.
Students from a record seven third-level colleges made this the largest agri-food debate so far.
Teams from WIT, University College Dublin, University College Cork, Cork Institute of Technology, Queens University Belfast, IT Tralee and CAFRE Loughry Campus made the journey to Waterford for the two-day event, sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonald's.
The event featured six debates spread over Wednesday and Thursday.
Best speakers
Best speaker quarter final: Catherine Hennelly, ITT.Best speaker quarter final: Isobel Toner, UCD.Best speaker quarter final: Michael Martin, WIT.Best speaker semi-final: Simon Lanigan, UCD.Best speaker semi-final: Meg Minihane, UCC.Best speaker final: Michael Martin, WIT. 
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