Speaking at Bord Bia’s meat prospects seminar in Kildare today, 8 January, Professor Robert Pickard from the Meat Advisory Panel in the UK highlighted the dietary benefits of eating grass-fed red meat.

“This pollution of the seas is very important in your meat industry as [red meat] is a sustainable alternative source of long-chain omega threes,” said Pickard. “ Long-chain omega in the body around the heart can save you during a heart attack.”

Many of the molecules fellow mammals make are the same as those we make in our bodies as humans.

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“We share 80% of our genes with fellow mammals, an incredibly important piece of market information,” said Pickard. “Most of the molecules they have to make are molecules we have to make. When you are over 60, it is much harder for your body to produce them. Eating red meat after the age of 60 is the best insurance policy for ensuring you get all the molecules you need.”

Climate change

Pickard argues that the methane produced by cows is natural and necessary, but “what is unnatural and unnecessary is the plastic pollutants used to make toys for children”.

“In Ireland, you produce a high-quality set of products in the meat industry,” said Pickard. “It’s a shame that you don’t get the true value, because consumers have not yet been educated about the difference between the grass- and grain-fed animals.

“In an election, use a politician that has some sort of scientific background. Scientists collect evidence and draw conclusions, politicians choose an ideology out of thin air and then look for evidence to support it.”

WHO report

While the WHO report on red meat reported that consumption increased the likelihood of cancer by 17%, Pickard argues that the original likelihood was 0%. Therefore, it is still zero.

“You’ve been assaulted lately by one of the most irresponsible reports I’ve ever seen in my scientific career,” said Pickard. “If you measure the number of hedgehogs that have been killed on our roads since the world war, it gives the same number as that of television sales, statistically showing a significant correlation.”

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