An investigative trip by the Irish Farmer Journal and the Irish Farmers Association to Brazil in October 2025 highlighted farming practices and standards that did not reach the standards set in Europe and followed by Irish farmers.

This included a lax system around the use of antibiotics and hormones in the production of beef. The findings from this trip, supported by images and video, have reverberated across the EU and a vote on the Mercosur trade agreement has been delayed.

While the argument has been well made that there is not equivalent standards in Brazil, what is equivalent is a passion for their rural culture and traditions.

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Watch a picture essay from the trip: