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Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton this Friday publicly defended new teaching materials distributed to schools by environmental organisation An Taisce under the Green Schools programme.
The IFA has called for the withdrawal of the programme's Climate Action Teacher Resource, which encourage students to draw up school plans including “to reduce the volume of meat and dairy consumed in school”.
Scientific documentation
While the teaching materials include ample scientific documentation to back up the reality of climate change, there is no reference to healthy dietary guidelines or levels to and from which meat and dairy consumption should be changed.
In a foreword to the resource, Minister Bruton wrote that he was "delighted" to launch the material, which was developed with support from his department.
My job isn’t to censor resources
Asked about by Sean O'Rourke on RTÉ Radio 1 about his endorsement of the blanket recommendations to eat less meat and dairy, Minister Bruton said: "My job isn’t to censor resources."
While the teaching pack does not include information of the relative carbon footprint of different sources of meat or dairy, he added: "I don't know if it is in this information pack, but it is well known that we are more efficient, particularly in dairy and pigs, and less so in other products."
Moving to Mars
The teacher resources also include a card game with suggestions to tackle climate change, including "when everyone becomes vegan". Minister Bruton argued that the cards contain "exaggerated claims" such as moving to planet Mars, which are intended "to stimulate discussion in the classroom".
"This is a resource to help people optionally debate this issue, it is not to impose views," he said.
He called for all sides to be heard in this debate, but declined to say whether he would endorse a similar teaching resource produced by the IFA to promote the positive aspects of Irish farming.
Have the content of the schools programme reviewed by the national authority on dietary advice
Fianna Fáil later joined the IFA's call to have the material changed – based on Department of Health advice.
“I am calling on the Government to immediately have the content of the schools programme reviewed by the national authority on dietary advice before having schools endorsing it,” said the party's spokesperson on horticulture and food Jackie Cahill TD.
Deputy Cahill linked the controversy to comments by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar earlier this year indicating that he was cutting his own meat consumption because of climate change and said this approach was making farmers furious.
"Farmers fully accept that we need to reduce our carbon footprint and an extensive action plan was outlined in the recent all-party Oireachtas report on the subject for the agriculture sector. This needs to be implemented by the government," Deputy Cahill added.
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