Darina Allen on eating a little less meat

Former president Mary Robinson really put the ‘cat among the pigeons’ recently when she called on people from developed nations to consider eating “less meat or no meat at all”, due to the toll its production takes on the environment.

Her address to 1,300 current and future young world leaders from 196 nations at the One Young World Summit in Ottawa, Canada, caused quite a stir around the world but particularly in Ireland.

The remarks were condemned by farming organisations and rural TDs who assumed this statement was aimed at them. Irish beef farmers are understandably particularly sensitive having been directly affected by the fall in the value of sterling as a result of Brexit.