It’s time for women to become equals in the food industry

As we dust ourselves off after 2016 and a tasty (and hopefully restful) holiday season, it’s about the time to start looking ahead to see what’s in store for food lovers this year. I’m still processing 2016, and I’ve been thinking about what issues arose last year that we need to work on more this year.

A theme that continued to be a hot topic in the food industry was one of sustainability, and it looks set to continue as a key theme this year. It’s not just about sustainability in terms of how we grow food and how we protect our environment, but also the sustainability of our kitchen cultures.

Back in 2015, Rene Redzepi of Noma in Denmark wrote an essay for Lucky Peach bemoaning the macho culture of kitchens, and how redundant and counter-intuitive this culture had become, pointing at this culture as a prime reason for the chef shortage that still faces the best kitchens in the world.

At 2016’s MAD Symposium in Denmark, these ideas were further explored through an over-riding question of “what do we hope our kitchens will be like in the future?” At 2016 Food on the Edge in Galway in October, local chef Evan O’Ceallaigh talked about the need for a culture overhaul to ensure that young, passionate chefs like him are able to commit to a life of cheffing.

This theme of the sustainability of kitchen culture will continue into 2017. Athrú Conference will return for its second year. Founded in the summer of 2016 by chefs Hilary O'Hagan-Brennan (3FE) and Jess Murphy (Kai) alongside Lisa Regan (Lisa Regan PR) and Holly Dalton (3FE), this conference focused on gender equality and how to empower women in the culinary arts. Sparked by conversations on Twitter, the organising team wanted to give this important conversation a proper platform, offline, and were supported by visits from Darina Allen and Maria Canabal of Parabere Forum, in Barcelona. The team are putting together their second conference to take place this summer.

In terms of sustainability, another key issue being brought forward is the issue of labelling. In 2016, we saw an increased awareness around problematic labelling, such as with fictional farms being used by large supermarket chains to sell their own-brand meats. A hashtag #irishfishfight surfaced as a platform to highlight fish being sold as Irish when it had in fact been sourced elsewhere. It was another reminder that further legislation and work in the area of clear labelling terms on food packaging is essential to protect producers and consumers alike.

Atlantic, a 2016 film following the struggles of fishing communities in Ireland, Norway and Newfoundland directed by Risteard Ó Domhnaill and narrated by Brendan Gleeson, brought to light how coastal communities are at war with one of the world's most powerful oil companies who are forcing high-pressure raw gas pipeline through their farms and fishing grounds.

Ballymaloe's annual LitFest has been rebranded as Ballymaloe Food & Drinks Literacy Festival with a focus on food literacy, responsibility and sustainability, rather than on food and drink literature. It's still to be known at LitFest and will take place from the 19th to 21st of May 2017. Speakers already confirmed are Alys Fowler of the Guardian, food writer Trish Deseine, David Prior of Condé Nast, and cookbook writer and cultural anthropologist Claudia Roden.

In May of 2016, Dublin’s Science Gallery brought a show called ArtMeatFlesh hosted by bioartist Oron Catts to Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre to look at the issues around lab-grown meat, sometimes known as in vitro meat. My initial instinct was to be appalled by this idea of synthetic meat, but I left the show with questions about the sustainability of eating meat and the impact our high meat diets are having on the environment and animal welfare.

The episode featuring the baby iguana vs the terrifying killer snake on BBC’s Planet Earth II felt like one of the few unifying moments of 2016. It felt like everyone was moved by the nature programme, once again narrated by the inimitable David Attenborough. It was a timely reminder of the precious nature of our home and how it needs us, its most loud, lairy and obnoxious tenants, to grow up and take responsibility for our actions a bit more.

Could there be more equality in kitchens and more women in leadership roles within the food industry? Could we eat a little less meat? Could we look more carefully at the labelling on the food we’re buying to make sure it’s local? Could we buy directly from small producers and from independent markets?

These are the same questions I’ve asked myself for the past couple of years. Each year, I’ve committed to answering yes to each, and in 2017, I intend to make that yes a little louder.