When eating out really does mean eating out
Sitting in the fruit garden to the rear of the Ballymaloe Cookery School after a tasty organic lunch, Darina Allen shakes her head in dismay at the recent announcement that the Environmental Protection Agency has given permission to Teagasc to carry out trials on GM potato crops. Is a small-scale trial on a controlled 2.5-acre plot really going to make any difference to the agri-food industry? The reply is unequivocal:
“Oh yes. Lose our GM-free status? Who wants to eat genetically-modified potatoes, would you mind telling me? You put genetically-modified potatoes on the shelf and see who wants to buy them. Look at the big supermarkets in Europe; they don’t want genetically-modified produce on their shelves. The large beef exporters that are selling our beef around the world have to make contracts with farmers to ensure they don’t produce genetically-modified beef because otherwise it won’t sell. Who wants it?
