Less than two generations ago, most people in Ireland bought food that came from farms in their locality.

These consumers knew the food they ate was grown or reared locally.

For example, the milk was produced just outside the town from a farm with a milk round or the Sunday roast on display in the butcher came from the butcher’s own farm.

Nowadays, most consumers have little idea to where their food is coming from

It may have been basic, but it had low air miles and could be traced to the field without any electronic tagging or quality assurance schemes.

Nowadays, most consumers have little idea to where their food is coming from, what nutrients are contained in it and how it was farmed.

This is despite Irish farmers producing to exacting standards and an encyclopaedia of labels and assurances.

You would almost need a degree in food science to just understand what’s for dinner.

Research

Recent research carried out on behalf of the new Meat and Dairy Facts joint industry initiative shows that more than half (55%) of Irish consumers don’t know the basic facts on meat and dairy’s nutritional content.

This is worrying for farmers who believe they produce some of the most nutrient-dense food available.

Coupled to this is the threat to the industry of a small but increasingly militant anti-meat movement.

A recent RedC poll found that 40% of all Irish grocery shoppers think they should reduce the amount of meat their household eats

This is gaining a lot of traction in media and making consumers question what they are eating. For many, it is leading to confusion.

A recent RedC poll found that 40% of all Irish grocery shoppers think they should reduce the amount of meat their household eats.

And this is from a country steeped in farming and with most people only a generation or two removed from the farm.

In some ways these campaigns on what someone should or should not eat are a form of bullying.

There are many reasons that people give for stopping the consumption of meat or in the case of vegans all animal products.

They largely fall in to three broad areas: human health, animal welfare and the environment.

Just over half (54%) of all shoppers have a poor knowledge about how beef is produced.

When billboard campaigns make claims about dairy taking babies from their mothers, questions have to be raised over the accuracy of those claims

This is worrying considering all they have to do is look out the window of a car along any road in a country that has more cattle than people.

When billboard campaigns make claims about dairy taking babies from their mothers, questions have to be raised over the accuracy of those claims.

The advertising standards authority has a responsibility to ensure that all advertising is fair, accurate and balanced.

Ireland outside of the halo effect of the M50 is an agricultural economy

These campaigns are run by faceless organisations with no traceability or accountability to where their funding is coming from or to their rationale for putting at doubt the way 250,000 people go about their work each day in the agricultural sector in Ireland.

Ireland outside of the halo effect of the M50 is an agricultural economy. It feeds some 50m people around the world.

If agriculture accounts for 33% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the country, it is because it is our largest indigenous industry, accounting for 10% of all merchandise exports.

This initiative has to be welcomed and supported.

It brings together Bord Bia, IFA, ICMSA, Dairy Industry Ireland, Meat Industry Ireland and the National Dairy Council to have a joined-up approach to putting the facts to better inform consumers about the role that meat and dairy play in a healthy balanced diet and the efforts that Irish farmers are making to care for their animals and the environment.

For us meat eaters, we should indulge in a festive feast to celebrate its launch.