THERE MAY be little business confidence at home but at the giant Sial Food Fair in Paris yesterday Irish agriculture companies were promoting and selling Irish food despite the competition.
The beef sector in particular was very happy with the growing demand worldwide.
With Brazil and Argentina becoming less prominent in the markets because of growing domestic demand, the Irish, the largest beef exporters in the northern hemisphere, are finding more markets.
“Some of the companies which lost out to the Latin Americans are coming back to Irish companies again,” a delighted Minister for Agriculture, Brendan Smith said as he toured the large Irish exhibition stand at the fair.
The Minister had earlier been talking to AIBP founder Larry Goodman and Paul Nolan of Dawn Meats, who confirmed there was a growing interest in the Irish product.
An Bord Bia announced a major initiative at the fair when it said the environmental performance of the 32,000 farms participating in its Beef Quality Assurance Scheme will be tracked on an on-going basis to demonstrate the green credentials of Irish beef.
Chief executive Aiden Cotter said the board was currently completing the process of accreditation to the internationally recognised specification of the Carbon Trust in the UK with detailed audits of 200 farms.
Dan Browne, chairman of the board, said this would be the first such scheme in the world to incorporate an objective assessment of the carbon footprint, which would enable Irish beef farmers to demonstrate their environmental credentials.
“Critically, it will allow the industry to continue the process of repositioning its €1.5 billion in export sales among the high value consumer markets of Europe,” he said.
The audits are designed to accurately measure the emissions associated with the major beef production systems from both beef and dairy herds to provide a benchmark for future tracking of performance.
A guide aimed at promoting healthy eating among disadvantage communities has been launched in Dublin, writes Luke Cassidy.
The guide, developed by the all-island Healthy Food for All organisation, provides practical advice to people interested in establishing community food projects to improve the consumption of healthy food.
The organisation’s chairwoman Marjo Moonen said eating healthy food should not be the preserve of the well-off and community food initiatives played a large role in tackling food poverty.