Sustainable food production needs new direction, says Darina Allen

A NEW direction for sustainable food production was sought at the Terre Madre festival in Waterford yesterday.

Slow Food Ireland chairperson Darina Allen said support for the four-day event was heartening.

“This is vital because Irish farming and food production is at a crossroads. Everyone is agreed we can no longer carry on down the commodity route. Instead, we must all work together to choose a new direction that will allow us to deal effectively with the numerous challenges we face,” she said.

Darina Allen said these challenges, which cannot be overstated, include the drive for standardisation, restrictive legislation, the rise in energy costs and the availability of cheap imported food.

The challenges also include the growing power of large retailers, the loss of traditional skills, the move away from the land, changes in the way in which farming is funded and supported and a lack of consumer education about food.

Other challenges include the increasing incidence of obesity, environment issues such as climate change and the spread of disease, and the urgent need for farming to become environmentally sustainable.

However, she said the picture is not entirely bleak.

“Our own Government and the EU are beginning to change their approach to policy making.

“There is an evident growth in the number of small, traditional producers and the farmers’ market movement is taking off,” she said.

Darina Allen said traditional, sustainable food production must be encouraged. Producers must be helped and supported and consumers must also be educated because they are the key to changing policy.

Proper apprenticeship programmes must be created and the exchange of ideas facilitated. Producers need to see that there are many alternatives routes to sell their produce, not just farmers markets but also online sales, box schemes, exports and even food tourism.

“We need to focus on our greatest strength, which is quality.”