The mainstream media usually opts for a sensationalist headline or story, and it is a hard to try to counter that with balance and facts, farmers were told at a National Sheep Association (NSA) meeting held at AFBI Hillsborough last week.

NSA policy officer Eleanor Phipps highlighted a number of recent incidences where stories put out in the public domain were misleading or simply not true.

They tell us they have included our thoughts, but really it is a naughty trick of the media

“When we try to provide the facts, the media either don’t pick up on it, or hold our comment for a few days, and then add it to the bottom of the story. They tell us they have included our thoughts, but really it is a naughty trick of the media. By that stage, it is too late,” said Phipps.

She maintained that all farming organisations can do is to continue to put out positive messages and stick to the facts.

Often that means pointing out that agriculture in Britain and Ireland is different to other parts of the world, with sheep in particular run on extensive grassland systems.

They are part of a natural cycle where carbon (from methane produced in ruminant digestion) is released into the atmosphere and then reabsorbed by grass and other vegetation.

Sheep have been in the firing line

Across the UK, agriculture accounts for 9% of greenhouse gas emissions, but in NI, due to a large agri-food industry, that figure is closer to 28%. Of this, 65% is methane from ruminant agriculture.

Given that methane is a potent greenhouse gas, producing approximately 21 times as much warming in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, cattle and sheep have been in the firing line.

But as pointed out by Phipps, methane behaves very differently to other sources of carbon, breaking down after 12 years. So in effect, methane produced today is simply replacing the methane from 12 years ago.

“If we don’t increase livestock numbers, methane levels stay the same, and if as an industry we can become more efficient (eg by reducing number of days to finish), we are actually contributing to cooling,” suggested Phipps.

We would not be doing ourselves or our planet any favours doing that

She also highlighted a concern that future government policy in the UK could lead to less cattle and sheep, and the UK offshoring its food production.

“We would not be doing ourselves or our planet any favours doing that,” she said.

Diet

In her presentation at the NSA event, Dr Ruth Price, an expert in human nutrition at the University of Ulster, highlighted the clear differences between prime red meat and highly processed foods, and the importance of meat and milk in the human diet.

You need to be very committed and that means taking supplements

In particular, she said that young people (aged 11 to 18) are not consuming enough oily fish and dairy.

Research is ongoing at the university into the health benefits of eating grass-fed beef and the potential to fortify pork with vitamin D. On veganism, she maintained that it was very difficult for those relying on plant-based foods to achieve a balanced diet.

“You need to be very committed and that means taking supplements,” she said.

Read more

Analysis: solving the methane problem remains the key to meeting climate targets

Plant-based foods have a higher carbon footprint than meat and dairy