The Day Of The Cow

Yesterday was The Day Of The Cow

The same day I read an article published in the Irish Independent were newly appointed ministers were discussing the potential need to cull the national herd to reduce carbon emissions.

https://m.independent.ie/business/farming/news/farming-news/herd-cull-cannot-be-ruled-out-says-farmi

🐄🐂Seriously can you imagine Ireland in spring and summer without cows in the field.

What many fail to recognise is that cows or farming aren’t the problem.

😟Intensive and factory farming processes are the problem.

😟Agriculture and food production practices that give little or no thought to sustainability, bio diversity, or organic production are the problem.

😟Exploitation of farmers by multinational food producers and retailers are the problem.

🐓A number of years ago due to substantial knowledge of the food industry I stopped eating chicken.

🍗🥩This was about the same time that every so called health expert in the country was saying we should stay away from red meat and only eat chicken/turkey.

📦 Really you mean something that spends it life in a space no bigger than a shoe box, rarely if ever sees daylight and is fed Genetically Modified food, pumped full of antibiotics and growth hormones is healthy.

If you really believe this you need to expand your definition of health.

💕For me healthy food is so much more than calories and grams of protein. At least for now anyway we still regularly see cows in fields (not that that means things are were they should be)

👩🏽‍🌾I only started to eat chicken again a few years ago after I met Brian and Becks of WoodHill Farm Organics and I was so impressed by their farming practices and genuine love for land and food. Like my milk post last week I love knowing the name of my farmer.

💰I know organic food is more expensive when it comes to meat I decided that it would be a case of quality over quantity.

❤️Changing my eating habits and reducing the amount of meat/chicken that I eat has made it possible and affordable to eat better quality food.

👩🏽‍🌾Buying direct from the farmer also means that they get a fair price for their produce and also makes it more affordable to me.

😊If we want to ensure that our island has a food security plan for the future we really need to look at how we can do things differently and how we can support those farmers who also want to do it differently.

✅We need to be lobbying our politicians to ensure that good quality food is affordable, available and accessible for all.

✅That standards are upheld.

✅That we redefine what is meant by healthy food.

✅We need to question why highly processed food is more affordable than fruit and veg.

✅We need to be asking for a limit on price promotions of large bars of sweets chocolate, multipack crisps, drinks and other highly processed food.

⚠️These words from Mad Diet a Scottish based Food and Nutrition Activist who uses sarcasm and humour along with extensive knowledge to educate and inform had this to say.

“England currently imports 35% of beef it consumes and 70% comes from Ireland. 34% of Ireland’s dairy exports also come to the UK representing 53% of cheese and 29% butter. So when the new Irish farming minister talks about a national herd cull my friends down south(England) should pay attention.

After the 1847 famine (which we know wasn’t a famine) the Irish cranked up farming to secure local food supplies. They’ve had the same cattle numbers since the 1970s but today far left politicians are drinking the EAT Lancet Kool-Aid and following the UN script on cow farts. Ireland has a long-standing heritage of beef and dairy farming and like the Scots their cattle are raised on pasture. If Pippa Hackett and her pals crack on with their mad agenda it may result in thousands of Irish farmers losing their land and food insecurity for the Emerald Isle. It may also leave England buying more hormone-pumped beef from Trump or resorting to Bill’s new genetically modified burgers. www.maddiet.co

If you are local to me in the Newry Area check out Wood Hill Farm Organics, Smyths Farm Dromiskin, Fodder NI, Neighbourhood Food Blackrock.

Bairds Butchers offer a more accessible option.

Remember not all butchers sell their own produce look out for the ones that do.

Yes it will mean changing what and how you eat.

I promise you your body and nature will thank you for it.

We need to do things differently.