I used to eat processed food – pasta sauces, frozen pizza, packaged bread, biscuits. But I considered myself pretty healthy because I wasn’t eating chips or ice-cream or bargain burgers made of snouts and hooves. I ate processed food, sure, but I didn’t eat junk food.
Then, like many people during the recession years, I changed careers. I studied physical therapy – specifically Neuromuscular Therapy and Lymphatic Therapy. In the course of becoming qualified I learned about food and nutrition, and how the body is nourished.
Which completely changed the way I eat, in two major ways.
Now I only eat clean foods – seeking out food that is produced in ways that minimise (or totally eliminate) the harmful chemical load, while maximising the nutrient content.
The second change was in food balance – I still eat meat (organic, about 3 times a week) and bread (baked properly) but mostly what I eat is vegetables. My diet contains a heck of a lot of soups, salads, stir-fries, roasted platters and quiches.
I’m extremely lucky because there are three great farms in Galway where I can satisfy my vegetable cravings: An Garrai Glas, Green Earth Organics and Uncle Matt's Farm.
In summer, I gorge on the mixed salad leaves from Uncle Matt’s Farm, eating them straight out of the bag like crisps. Padhraig is a trained Biodynamic psychotherapist and believes that contact with nature is essential for mental health and general wellbeing. He is a strong advocate of traditional farming methods, that is, chemical free, farmyard manures and good crop rotation. I once asked him why his salad leaves were so much more delicious that those found in the puffed-out plastic bags in supermarkets and he answered with his characteristic gentle smile: Because those plant leaves are long-dead, and mine are full of life.
We had, what was it, three days of snow here and apocalypse-shopping swept the nation. We saw supermarkets and petrol stations denuded of bread and milk; freezer shelves emptied of frozen burgers, pizzas, potato wedges, sausages and (so-called) meat pies. None of us were in danger of starving – we were so far from starving that it’s embarrassing – but the situation prompted conversations about food security, and where food comes from and how it gets here.
That’s valuable, because we’re not necessarily food-secure here in Ireland. Yes, we have tons of milk and beef but only about 200 vegetable growers. And that’s just the conventional-growing sector. Having browsed the 100-page document that outlines the pesticides approved for use on vegetables, I think I’ll stick to organic, thanks.
I’m not alone in this. Here in Ireland we are becoming more educated about food – where it comes from, how it’s grown and how far it has to travel. With the result that demand for local organic food is expanding at a phenomenal rate.
Andrew Doyle, Minister of State at the DAFM, says: “The market for Irish organic produce continues to grow each year and is currently valued at €162 million. If you add other activities such as farmer’s markets and online sales, the estimated value is over €200 million.” Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed has a similar view: “The organic farming sector has seen unprecedented growth in the last few years, driven very largely by the new Organic Farming Scheme designed and introduced under Ireland’s Rural Development Program 2014-2020.”
Golly, it sounds like organic farming is the place to be, right?
Whoa, not so fast there, farmer.
The Organic Farming Scheme - which Minister Creed credits as being the main driver behind the growth in the organic farming sector in the last few years - is actually closed, and has been since 2015.
I’m not sure Teagasc - the Agriculture and Food Development Authority - have got the memo. In the Organic FAQs section of their website they say that the Organic Farming Scheme is still open. Not true. The scheme is definitely closed and Minister Creed says there are no plans to re-open it, because the allocated budget has been used up.
The budget for the scheme? €10 million per annum. Quick reminder: the market is valued at €162 million.
In an AgriLand article, Pippa Hackett, Green Party Spokesperson on Agriculture, is eloquent on the subject:
“It is clear that Minister Creed cares little for the future of organic farming. By not offering our farmers the option to farm organically, he is doing a disservice not only to Irish agriculture, but also to Irish consumers who will now have to rely on imported organic produce.
Consumers are attracted to the nutritional benefits of organic food, as well as the environmentally-friendly ways in which it is farmed. Research indicates that organic farms have significantly more biodiversity, improved water quality, higher animal welfare standards, and with overall positive effects on climate change mitigation, it is win-win all the way.
We have a unique opportunity to be leaders in organic production; but all we are doing is trailing behind our peers and unfortunately the knock on effects of this government’s decision will be felt for years to come.”
There is a faint ray of hope. An Organic Sector Strategy Group was established in March, to come up with strategies regarding the development of the organic sector for the period up to 2025.
Get on with it, is all I can say. As someone who personally relies very much on a steady supply of organic vegetables to nourish myself, I can’t say I feel very food-secure in this country.
It’s tricky to write these things without sounding self-righteous and disdainful…oh, you plebs are content to satisfy yourselves with that horrible food (insert finger quotation marks) while I only eat fresh and organic. But I’m not disdainful, and I’m not self-righteous. I’m an ordinary person, who happens to have become educated about how the body works, and I know that eating this way gives me abundant energy and protects me against sickness and disease.
Although I do make time to cook and bake my own food, I don't have the time or the land to grow my own vegetables. So I offer up thanks that I have access to three farms willing to feed me. Not everyone is so lucky.
Foodture Ireland are working hard to change this. They are a social enterprise whose objective is to nurture a culture of food citizenship and help build strong community support around Fair Food Farmers, producers and more.
Their website brings you face-to-face with the Irish farmers who are embracing an ecosystem approach to farming, as well as the food producers and eateries that source the best, ethical, sustainable ingredients.
One thing that strikes you, as you browse the articles, is that these people seem happy, enthusiastic and fulfilled. They're also tremendously knowledgeable. Reading about their methods - as well as the day to day tribulations or successes - gives a welcome reminder of the inextricable link between land and food. Best of all, there are photographs of their cows, sheep, pigs and chickens living happy, outdoor lives on the farms; and you can trust that these are genuine representations of the meat you'll eventually buy, not just deceptive labels stuck on the outside of feedlot meat, designed to confuse your conscience.
This is something that the government needs to grasp - that people who move to organic, free-range, holistic eating don’t ever go back to sprayed, genetically-modified, factory-farmed food. Unfortunately, in this country we are still supporting and subsidising the intensive, some might say obsolete, model. The agricultural sector is becoming increasingly imbalanced, favouring the large, expanding intensive farms, while many smaller farms are struggling.
So it’s really worth taking some time to think about it. Think about what you eat and where you get it, and whether that’s sustainable. That’s what support-local really boils down to - securing the source of your own future food.