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IRELAND having to reduce its cattle herd, although world consumption of meat and dairy products may double by 2050, was the prospect raised by Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith last week.

He told Council of Agriculture ministers in Brussels how Ireland’s target of a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions — a high proportion of the gases comes from livestock — clashes with our role in food production.

How different his ministerial style is from that of his predecessor, Mary Coughlan.