Flexitarianism is an opportunity for Irish dairy – Ornua

Ornua, the owner of the iconic Kerrygold butter brand, believes the growing flexitarianism movement is an opportunity for Irish dairying.

Speaking at the 2019 Agricultural Science Association (ASA) conference in the Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny, on Friday, managing director of Ornua’s global foods division Roisin Hennerty said Irish dairy can benefit from the flexitarian megatrend.

Opportunity

“We see flexitarianism as an opportunity. Flexitarian consumers are not trying to eliminate dairy from their diet. They’re looking for balance.

"Irish dairy very much has a place on their plate, but we need to remind consumers about the facts of nutrition and dispel a lot of the myths out there,” said Hennerty.

According to Hennerty, Ornua receives more than 1,000 enquiries a week from consumers with questions about sustainability.

However, suppliers are increasingly asking very detailed questions on animal welfare, proof points on grass-fed, biodiversity and carbon emissions, she told the ASA conference.

Climate change

Speaking on the same panel as Hennerty, director of Friends of the Earth Oisin Coghlan said it will be a massive challenge for Irish agriculture to meet its climate change targets by 2030.

They want to see a fight between environmentalists and farmers

“We’re trying to achieve climate targets in 10 years that we should have done over 30 years,” said Coghlan.

“Everything is compressed in terms of time scale and that makes it very challenging in all sectors.

"We focus a lot on farming in Ireland when it comes to climate targets. This is down to a number of reasons, but it’s also because the media loves to see a fight between two sides and they want to see a fight between environmentalists and farmers,” he added.

Smart Farming

However, Coghlan said he believed the IFA’s Smart Farming pilot programme to reduce farm emissions was really interesting and it has a lot of positive lessons for all farmers.

“The IFA’s Smart Farming programme is really interesting, but it’s still a pilot project.

"We need to work with the Department of Agriculture so we can make this type of programme available to all farmers,” he said.

Coghlan also said that Friends of the Earth is “lock-step” with the IFA in terms of the opportunity that solar provides for rural incomes and the rural economy.

However, he said the Department of Climate Change, Energy and the Environment had not moved fast enough to develop bioenergy schemes and incentives that farmers need to transition to these new technologies.

Coghlan added that he felt there isn’t enough staff in the Department of Climate Change to be able to deliver the climate action plan published by the Government earlier this year.