oil and Ireland's coping strategies: that $100 moment

Here's an article I wrote for the 'eye of the storm' op ed in the examiner. I haven't had an op ed before, so was v pleased to write it. It was all very frantic - I had a particular hour to get the article in by, which is unusual for me. And that hour was 2pm the day before the Saturday edition of the paper. It was also slightly outside of my normal remit, but I though I could perhaps start doing some news features for a change.

Don't worry foodies, there's plenty on food in it! I do regret not including the following things, however, so I'm glad to be able to include them now:

best place for info on peak oil is probably: this place! http://www.feasta.org/

John Gormley also obviously introduced the VRT changes and the lightbulb changes
and decoupling in Irish Agriculture has reduced the emissions from agriculture.

So here is the article:

It had to happen. With oil hitting and hovering around $100 dollars the whole world is now talking and thinking about oil. So how dependent are we on it, how much is there really left and what are we doing to adapting to a world with less oil?

It is thought that we are more efficient and less dependent on oil than we were in the bad old days of the 1970s. There are a number of problems with this thesis. Firstly, there is the fact that we are a far more globalised economy than we were back then. Since then, national economies have been deregulated and trade liberalised, so that now, many products are made up from a multitude of interconnected and intercontinental components. And plastic has, of course gone forth and multiplied.

Laptops, disposable containers, toys, toothbrushes, cameras, the list of personalised products goes on. But then, the functioning of many aspects of the economy is dependent too: medicines, food production and transport, are all either quite literally fuelled by or dependent upon oil.

Take food: Fertilizer production and transportation is heavily oil dependent. Prices are rising � Nitrogen (made by oil at present) is up 50%, Phospate (also a finite resource) is up 67% - and the consumer is starting to experience this.

With globalisation has come global sourcing of foods and agri-food inputs; we in Ireland have a very weak food producing infrastructure, once we start to consider foods other than meat and milk. Even these depend on winter feeds which are heavy oil users, both in production and transport.

According to the junior minister with responsibility in the area, Trevor Sargent, there are less than a dozen large scale vegetable producers left in Ireland at present.

Just-in-time deliveries by road mean that supermarkets have jettisoned their storage spaces and instead opted for storing food in refrigerated trucks on the roads. Food processing is ever-increasing too � both involve more oil.

So, seeing as we are so dependent on it, how much oil is left then? That depends upon how you measure it. For example, optimists suggest that there are bound to be reserves. According to the US based Cambridge Energy Research Associates:

�Those who believe a peak is imminent tend to consider only proven remaining reserves of conventional oil, which they currently estimate at about 1.2 trillion barrels�this is a pessimistic estimate because it excludes the enormous contribution likely from probable and possible resources, those yet to be found.�

Then go on: �the global inventory is some 4.8 trillion barrels, of which about 1.08 trillion barrels have been produced, leaving 3.72 trillion conventional and unconventional barrels, an order of magnitude that will allow productive capacity to continue to expand well into this century.�

Pessimists suggest that these reserves, should they be found, will be too difficult and costly to extract. They suggest that this may already be the case for reserves in deep water, the artic, extra heavy, oil shale and enhanced recovery oils. The crux of the matter is whether all the known reserves can be found, processed and delivered to market in time. Proponents of the Peak Oil theory, such as Feasta, suggest that we are already at the peak oil point, where accessible reserves will be smaller than what�s been extracted. They suggest that we need to make plans urgently to deal with energy decent, or powerdown.

So what is Ireland doing about it? Oil consumption per capita has risen 50% over the last 15 years, while our dependence on imported oil and gas stands at 85%. According to an Amarach consulting report from 2006, services and manufacturing will mostly be affected indirectly by peak oil in the short term, whereas residential and agricultural sectors are more vulnerable. They suggest that our mitigation strategies are vital.

The new Energy Minister, Eamon Ryan has begun to put some mitigating factors into place: these include funding for renewables research, the smart electricity metering programme for houses which will be rolled out in April, and improved north south energy co-operation. A National Energy Efficiency Action Plan is being finalised at present, which according to the Minister, �will allow us to save �1.7 billion or 3 million tonnes of oil every year.�

Minister Ryan states that �We are also committed to making energy efficiency savings of 20% by 2020. The public sector will have to make energy savings of 33% by this date.�

Building energy efficiency standards have also been introduced for all new houses by Environment Minister John Gormley.

Some parts of Ireland have taken matters into their own hands, most notably Kinsale and north Tipperary, in particular the town of Cloughjordan.

In Kinsale, students from the 2 year permaculture course in the local college along with their then teacher, Rob Hopkins, designed an energy decent plan, which has received some funding from the local council. The plan goes through all the key aspects of socio-economic and cultural life in Kinsale, and produces a road map for how to reduce energy use.

�We didn�t think it was going to be that big a deal, but the plan has been downloaded over 5000 times around the world� according to Klaus Harvey, who sits on the Steering Committee of Transition Towns Kinsale. This plan has become an intergal part of what has become the known as the transition towns movement. For Kinsale, food, education, housing, economy and livelihoods, health, tourism, transport, waste, energy and marine resources are all examined and mapped out in energy decent terms.

In north Tipperary, very ambitious plans are afoot. A 130 house ecovillage is being constructed at present, adjacent to the local village of Cloughjordan. According to Duncan Martin, of the ecovillage�s energy, waste and water subcommittee, �The houses will be well insulated and designed to make best use of the sun's heat�. There is an ecological charter which sets out the standard which the house must meet.

He goes on: �all our space heating and hot water will come from renewable sources. Additional heating will be provided by a district heating system. This will circulate hot water to every house from a central array of solar panels, backed up by two wood-chip boilers. The woodchip will come from local forestry wastes, so we will be independent of imported fossil fuels�.

And it�s not just the ecovillage itself. �The ecovillage is a partner in a European project called SERVE - Sustainable Energy for the Rural Village Environment. This is providing over �2 million in funding for the area around Cloughjordan to improve energy efficiency in existing houses and expand the use of renewable energy. This will cover such additions as more insulation, double glazing, solar panels, wood pellet boilers and better central heating controls�.

In total, along with the ecovillage itself, 900 houses in north Tipperary villages will benefit from the SERVE project.

Is it all enough? In the final analysis that depends upon whether we resist or embrace change.

organic 2007 becoming organic 2008

Here is my review of key organic news 2007, with a look towards 2008. as often is the case, the emphasis is particularly on Ireland. No hyperlinks as of yet, but they are nearly all in the labels on the left in any case.

As a year turns over it is apt to look back on 2007 from an organic perspective. There were a mixture of highs and lows, with perhaps more of the former.

2007 saw a rise in both global and national organic food consumption: globally up to �30 billion, nationally up to �76 million. Production has also been rising: globally it now stands at over 31 million hectares. Nationally, there has been an increase since 2006, following the lean years of 2000-2005. Currently, there are about 1300 organic farmers in the republic of Ireland farming about 40,000 hectares.

One thing that might have a bearing on these figures, and a definite high of 2007, is of course the Ministry Trevor Sargent has taken on, which has organic under it�s remit. The Greens entering government was certainly a noteworthy event of 07, and their choice of ministries clever strategically. Minister Sargent�s aim to increase the organic acreage to 5% (from just under 1%) by 2012 is laudable. The first minor changes - the decoupling of organic from REPS, tillage and horticulture changes, and the establishment of the Organic Farming Scheme � are worthy enough. However we now need to see more targeted, timelined action in key areas.

Separate to policy issues, organic companies in Ireland seem to be lording it at present. St. Tola�s organic cheeses scooped top prize at the inaugural SHOP (organic) awards. Meanwhile, Glenisk dairies, Ireland�s biggest organic company won the �making a difference� award at the Food and Drink awards.

Glenisk seem unstoppable at present. They now export to the UK and have invested �8.5 million in their new production plant, where they process 5,300 tonnes of yoghurt annually.

They have also managed to maintain and develop their eco-credentials. These include converting their truck fleet to biodiesel, powering their plant with wind power through Airtricity and installing a reed bed system for waste.

One thing that was not a highlight however, was national organic week. If anything, this year�s week was weaker than last year�s week (which was weak anyway!). The supposed showcase does need considerable enlivening and, in particular, better funding. There are many causes of the week�s relative obscurity, which have been outlined here before. Organic producers themselves, retailers, Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food all share some of the blame. Next year�s will have to be better, but it will need co-operation, vision and hard work.

From the beginning to the end of 07, in the UK and in Ireland, people in authority have continued to deny the benefits of organic food. The then UK Environment minister, David Miliband was lambasted for calling organic food a lifestyle choice way back in January. Likewise, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland were criticised for also describing organic food as a lifestyle choice in November.

This position seems increasingly untenable in the face of mounting research into the nutritional benefits of organic food. Amongst other 2007 research into organics the QLIF project�s research was perhaps the most headline-grabbing.

This University of Newcastle-based study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained up to 40% more antioxidants than their conventional counterparts. Antioxidants are thought to play a role in the better cardiovascular health.

Another noteworthy piece of organic-related research from 2007 found that children who consume organic milk are less likely to develop eczema, asthma and related allergies. However the research referred not just to cow�s milk but to mother�s milk: it suggested that mothers who consumed organic dairy products passed on this beneficial effect to their babies. This research is also the first example of specific health benefits (as opposed to simple nutritional superiority) being revealed in an organic product and published in a scientific peer-reviewed journal.

2007 was also the year when food prices and climate change became centre-stage issues. Globalisation in all its nuances has begun to bite. Bali may have been a bit of a bail out for the industrial world, but if the approaching change in administration in the US is anything like that of Australia�s, there may be hope on that front too.

On both these fronts, and on so many more, organic farming has a role to play. Here�s to an organic 2008.

should restaurants label for calories?

I wrote an article recently on compulsory calorie labelling in the US, and asked some chefs and others in the food area in Ireland if the same should happen here. I have to say I wasn't expecting the chefs to be overly supportive of the idea, but I was suprised at the sheer range of disagreement. Compulsory calorie labelling in Ireland might take some time...

Imagine walking into a restaurant and seeing the calorie count of the meal you are about to have on an overhead display or on the menu? Would you think twice about that big juicy option? This is currently the situation in New York, where there has been an inordinate amount of twoing and frowing between representatives of the restaurant industry and fast food chains on the one hand, and food advocacy groups, pubic health officials and Major Bloomberg�s administration on the other.

During the summer, calorie labelling became compulsory for standard portions in all manner of standardised eateries, from sandwich bars to fast food chains in New York. Restaurants with more variable dishes, menus and portion sizes were exempt. The legislation required that the calorie count be prominently displayed on menus in the same font, and be the same size as the price.

However, after much pressure from the New York Restaurant Association and others, a federal court last September found against the initiative. However, the situation has since further developed, with the reintroduction of an amended version of the ruling. As and from October 24^th last, it has been compulsory for chain restaurants to display calorie information on menus.

According to Professor Marion Nestle of New York University, the average US citizen consumes around 3,900 calories per day � twice what they need. The New York City Department of Health (NYCDH) claims that that people eat more when they eat out: they claim that adults eat one third more calories while children consume twice as many calories when eating out as compared to eating a home coked meal.

According to research conducted by the NYCDH, only 3% of customers saw or accessed calorie information in a selection of chains, whereas 31% of customers did so in Subway, where calorie labelling was on menus beside the cash registers. These customers also consumed about 634 calories, 50 less than those in the other chains, according to the research.

All across the US, similar initiatives have been undertaken, where obesity rates are soaring. 20 states have brought in some type of similar legislation, with the Californian effort being the most high profile: there, unlike Bloomberg in New York, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB120, California�s restaurant nutrition labelling law. According to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, 84% of Californians supported calorie labelling on menus.

There is little doubt that in almost all other areas of food, there is an abundance of information easily accessible. It is also the case that eating out can no longer simply be seen as a treat; the jumbo breakfast role is eaten outside of the home, after all.

So could or should the same thing happen on this side of the Atlantic? Perhaps unsuprizingly, those in the industry have a plethora of problems with any such move. I canvassed responses from across the food system.

Delphi restaurant in Connemara got straight to it: �Ludicrous. Impractical, inaccurate, misleading and thus meaningless�.

Jacques Barry, from Jacques in Cork were equally against the idea: �We here in Jacques would hate that idea as we feel the sourcing of food is way better than the calorific value of food. If one eats a proper balanced diet of freshfruit, vegetables, meat, fish and cheese that is enough. Analyising the calorific content takes away from the joy and pleasure of food. All the food we cook in Jacques comes from Cork County as we have such wonderful produce and the biggest coastline in Ireland�.

Brid Torrades, of Osta wine bar, the Atrium caf� and the newly opened Tobergal lane, all in Sligo, was equally dismissive of the idea. �If something like that comes in, I think it�d be time to hang up the apron� she tells me. �Chefs would be doing sums rather than cooking. Already the paperwork and the records that have to be kept are burdensome .This would take the whole spontaneity away from cooking.�

She goes on: �If you are making a sauce, or a la carte cooking, where you have to adjust things, they�ll never be accurate.�

Ross Lewis of Chapter One in Dublin is also unconvinced; �This approach would be barking up the wrong tree. I don�t see how they could calculate that. We take in 2-300 products per week, to make the dishes we have. And we rotate very sensitively with the seasons, and that has its own merits. The food is more nutritious, better, and tastier.�

Ross and Brid disagree however, on whether the big boys should have to do display calorie count. In the Californian proposals, there was a limit of 14 outlets before the legislation was to be applicable. There are also restrictions in New York, where only 10% of eateries, those with 15 or more outlets, are affected. Importantly however, these provide over 30% of the food eaten outside the home.

�It�d be fine for contract, or industrial type catering. But for spontaneous cooking it would not work� according to Bird. However Ross is against compulsory labelling for calories, even for those producing the more standardised meals: �I�m against it in general. You can preach all you like, but people should get up off their arses and do their own homework as well. Look, no one thinks that you can go to McDonalds 4 times a week and remain underweight. They are only fooling themselves if they think they can. People need to develop a broader more holistic view of food. It�s up to people to find out�.

But just how easy is it to estimate? In Surrey, a unit from the local council tested 36 meals from restaurants and found some surprising results; Shepherd�s pie and mixed veg had just over half the calories of a Thai green curry with egg fried rice. The UKs� Food Commission underscored the difficulty consumers have; according to them, a McDonald�s Hot Fudge Sundae had 330 calories, whereas a shake can have up to 1160.

It is also the case that the healthy option can have secret, hidden sodium and fat: a winter root vegetable soup might, along with those seasonal, local vegetables also have more than a pinch of salt and a hearthy dollop of butter and cream. Who�s to know?

McDonalds� themselves gave me this response to the issue: �Mcdonalds has calorie labelling on its core products i.e. Big Mac, McChicken sandwich, filet of fish etc for the last 18 months. This info is available on tray liners in restaurants and on the Mcdonalds website�.

It is much the same for fast food chains in the US and UK, where this and other nutritional information is available on the trays and on websites. The problem is that this information is not accessible just before purchase, when many feel it would be most useful.

I asked McDonalds for their opinion on prominent display of compulsory calorie labelling before purchase, but received no response at time of going to press.

One Irish healthy food advocacy group I put the idea to expressed a mixed opinion. Dave Burns of Red Branch are an advocacy group that promotes healthy lifestyle options for children, with a particular focus on food. �I think something like that wouldn�t go amiss. But we in Red Branch don�t believe you should be telling people what to do, we think you should empower people to make up their own minds. You�ve got to give people the information they need to make an informed choice.�

However, Dave isn�t too optimistic: �But for what it�s worth, in our experience, and we�ve worked with parents and school children all over Ireland, we don�t think it would work. You might be better off with something like the traffic light labelling system�

This UK system uses the red, amber and green light sequence of traffic lights to grade three things: fat, saturates and salt in foods. �It�s clear and easy to use. If a product has a red light, red doesn�t mean that you stay away from something all the time. It�s not poison, it doesn�t mean avoid it altogether, but we all know about the deep fried Mars bars in Scotland � that would be a red light product. And what that�s telling you is; better not have too many of those�.

Guess what? The Shepherd�s Pie and mixed veg got three green lights in the Surrey survey above, and the thai green curry three reds. But with so much opposition, we may be a long way from seeing either the calorie count or traffic lights on menus here.

organic certification, fair trade and air miles

Here's my take on the debate that's raging at the moment, on air freight and organic, which I've also briefly covered previously (Soil Association and Financial Times links available there). My own opinion of their move only really comes on in the last 2 paragraphs, where I deal with the protectionism or otherwise of the Soil Association's move. In the 2nd week of January, I'll have an article in the Examiner on the topic which gives it a specifically Irish slant: it will feature the opinion of IOFGA and an Irish organic importer and wholesaler.

The UK�s largest organic certification body, the Soil Association, has come up with an innovative but also controversial way to deal with the environmental impact of air-freighted organic food.

In a move being implemented over the next few years, air freighted organic food imported by the Soil Association will have to meet the organisations own ethical trade standards or the Fairtrade Foundation�s standards.

According to the Soil Association, �these standards apply to the whole supply chain, and require fair trading arrangements, ethical employment relationships including fair pay, and concrete social and cultural contributions to the local community or society more widely�.

This policy position comes after a large consultative process on the issues around air-freight and organic food, involving numerous participants: 100 representatives from industry, NGOs, and government were directly consulted; respectively, these organisations made 28 (industry) 24 (NGOs), and 5 (government and international agencies) submissions.

In addition, the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations, commissioned research to look at the social and economic implications of the Soil Association implementing an air freight ban.

The organisation claims that they are �also looking at how we can reliably and fairly assess the full carbon footprint of all organic products and are working closely with the Carbon Trust. We want all organic products to have a minimal or even mitigating contribution to climate change. Aside from air freight, we are reviewing our standards for heated glasshouse production and actively encourage people to eat less meat.�

Air freighting organic food implicates a range of environmental and social justice issues. According to the Soil Association, �Less than 1% of organic imports come by air freight, the vast majority coming by sea, but air freight has the highest global warming potential of any form of transport. Although less than 1% of the total UK food miles, air freight is responsible for 11% of the CO2 emissions from UK food transport.

�Air freight can generate 177 times more greenhouse gas than shipping�, they suggest.

They also point out that the oil supply may have peaked, and is thus too scarce to use importing food in such a wasteful way. Also, the negative effects of climate change are likely to be felt in the poorest countries first and hardest.

Others are not convinced. Some, such as the International Institute for Environment Development (IIED) think that focusing on such a minute cause of carbon emissions is wrong-headed.

It estimates that in the UK, passenger flights account for 90 per cent of emissions from air transport, and international freight for five per cent.

It also claims that air-freighting from sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 0.1 per cent of the UK's total carbon emissions, while around 65 per cent of emissions relating to food are caused by transportation within Britain. Production methods in Africa also involve lower emissions; in the UK, the use of production techniques such as heated glasshouses increases carbon emissions.

Others again have accused the Soil Association of an ugly type of protectionism. Under the amusing title �organic movement hijacked by Greens�, the Financial Times recently suggested that �attempts to impose such conditions on international trade is dressed up as a way of helping subsistence farmers in developing countries. In practice, it will penalise some of the poorest people on earth because they cannot adopt the same employment practices as their wealthy western competitors.�

To be fair to them, the Soil Association do seem to have many of their angles covered: they claim that this step is part of a broader process of investigating the entire carbon footprint of organic food; likewise, the synergy with fair trade isn�t so much a ban of air freight as a reward for air-freight that also carries some socio-environmental benefits. So what could be called protectionism could also be called value-adding through partnership, depending on your perspective.

It is also the case that, while they are the largest UK organic certifier, they are not the only one. This limits economistic fears of a protectionist monopoly: there will still be organic air-freighted food available that involves no guarantees of improved conditions for workers, the environment or the locale from which the food is flown, if that�s what you as a consumer really want.

Ollie's Christmas list: santy calling....

Dear Santy, Ollie again. I know some people think I�m a bit old for all this Santy stuff, but after last year, I can say with absolute conviction that I am a believer!

I mean, I wanted an overall majority for the Greens, and a Minister for as opposed to against the Environment. Now, I didn�t get the overall majority, but I did get a Green Minister in the Department of Ag with responsibility for organic, and a Green Environment minister.

And I wanted the Minister for as opposed to against the environment to at least watch the movie An Inconvenient Truth. Our new minister for the Environment met with Al Gore a few weeks back. I also asked for a dig out for the small organic growers. Fair play Santy, you really are a miracle worker.

And, while it�s tough for conventional farmers at the moment, with rising prices for all their agri-industrial inputs � the fertilizers, feeds, pesticides, fuel and all that, it just might encourage a few of them over to organic. Organic farmers� costs are also rising, but the playing field seems to be levelling a bit.

So it is with both hope and expectation that I�m writing this note to you. I feel a bit like the boy who has a fair bit and wants a fair bit more.

Anyway, the first one is fairly straight forward: I want the bits the Greens actually got into the programme for government to happen.

Especially 5% organic farming by 2012 and more support for farmers� markets. So if you could start working on that, Santy, great. I�d say the IOFGA manifesto is probably a good place to start, if you want to increase the organic acreage. There�s plenty of good advice in there; what�s more, I think the new Minister has already been listening to them. So, like most other kids these days, for me Christmas is just one big gift giving season.

You could add to his work by establishing a new organic development agency to kick start production, magic up a �20 million annual budget for the sector, encourage public institutions to provide organic food, and help out the tillage and horticulture sectors.

Minister Sargent, Santa�s little helper, has already done a bit for horticulture and tillage, but far more needs to be done.

He�s also started on the farmers� markets, but he really needs to start cracking the whip in a way befitting of a man with a double-barrelled authoritarian name; a minister and a sergeant.

He needs to get the county managers into a room, to tell them to tell their underlings to treat farmers� markets with the respect they deserve. And he needs to follow up on this by, with other Ministers like John Gormley, who has local government under his remit, setting local authorities targets to change their behaviour and attitude. In particular, all local authorities need to allow roadside advertising of farmers� markets. That way, you Rudolf and the rest of the Reindeers might actually find your way to one on your travels.

Here�s a real tough one for you now Santy: can you try to get some of our dusty old nutritionists to finally start accepting that, sometimes, organic food actually is more nutritious? What are they afraid of? There is so much recent research, especially into fruits, vegetables and milk, to suggest that it is more nutritious, that they�ll have to change their minds soon Santy.

In fact, if you could only stop them from trumpeting that ould broken record mantra �there is no evidence to suggest that organic food is more nutritious�, that�d be a start. It just keeps on popping up everywhere, so it does Santy, no matter what evidence comes out.

I know you have some sort of connection to Coca Cola Santy, which might colour your opinion, but even Coke are adding Green tea to a new product range of theirs, Diet Coke Plus. They advertise that this increases the antioxidants in the product, but really Santy, antioxidants are what all this new research is showing at higher levels in organic food.

So I�d recommend laying off the Coke Santy, and joining the reindeers in chompin on the organic carrots I�ve left out for you.

Yours in anticipation,

Dr. Ollie Moore

IOFGA Conference 2007

Leading food writer John McKenna has called for the resignation of Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) executives who recently described organic food as "a lifestyle choice".

Echoing ex-British environment minister David Milliband, the FSAI stated that organic food "is really a lifestyle choice. There is no bad food and no good food, but the key is a balanced diet."

McKenna, provocative and polemical in equal measure, labasted conventional agriculture, suggested that it was dressed up chemical farming.

These words and many more were uttered at the Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association's (IOFGA) food seminar and AGM, held in Mellow's College, Athenry, Co. Galway, recently.

Well attended and upbeat, as many organic events are these days, it attracted about 150 people to hear an assortment of orators cover a diversity of topics, from GM and soil quality, to history, climate change and the benefits of the organic path.

Minister of State with responsibility for organic farming, Trevor Sargent, spoke of the need for better training to be developed in organic horticulture and tillage, of the fossil fuel dependency of conventional farming, and even of switching some departmental consumption of food over to organic. He also suggested at a recent local food conference that State institutions should consider serving some organic options. Dr Charles Merfield from Teagasc spoke about soil health. "Merf" � as New Zealander Dr Merfield prefers to be called � is knowledgeable and infectiously enthusiastic. Did you know that, according to Merf, a kilometer of ploughed soil contains 10 billion bacteria, 10,000 kilometres of fungal growth, and immeasurable levels of algae. And only 6% of soil life is categorised.

Considering how utterly dependent we are on soil, our understanding of how it functions is "heart stoppingly thin", said Merf. He suggested that soil science is only now coming of age. Previously it was just soil chemistry, whereas now it encompasses physics, biology, ecology and chemistry.

Soil is central to so much of what happens on the planet: the carbon cycle, life and ecoystems, maintaining landscapes, food production, water storage and filtration, and bioremediation (the locking away of toxins). According to Merf, science has come to agree with the organic movement's vision of soil; and society is hopefully following. "Never treat soils like dirt!" he concluded.

Peter Melchett, a former minister in the Labour administration in Britain, who is a 900-acre farmer and policy director with the Soil Association, spoke about the threat of climate change, and the role of organic farming in its mitigation.

He also referred to the global threat of genetically engineered food and the need for direct action to halt it. According to Melchett, comprehensive research had not been carried out to evaluate the impact of GM food on the environment, or animal and human health.

Michael Hickey spoke about the previous 25 years of IOFGA, as well as the future. He was one of the first native Irish members of the organisation, founded in 1982. Most members back then came from other countries and were described as "blow ins". Michael and a brave few others joined this merry band of homesteaders by the mid-1980s, when the organic movement was changing.

Around then, Irish farmers started to join, an era of professionalism was initiated, and governmental recognition began to emerge.

As ever, one of the first items on the agenda was a split, with Michael in the thick of it. And yet, the organic movement carried on, developed, and now, as Michael said, "IOFGA will no longer be an organisation acting on the fringes."

With 150 people turning up on a Sunday morning in November in Co. Galway to hear people talk about the challenge, the politics, the science and the history of organics, who can argue with him?

report on local food conference Mullingar November 2007

Here's an article on a recent local food conference, published a couple of weeks ago in Irish Examiner.

Local food is sexy. Last March Time magazine ran a cover story featuring a big red apple with a green leaf and a sticker on its side. This sticker provocatively proclaimed �forget organic: eat local�.

Whatever about the veracity or otherwise of the statement, if the attendance at the Local Food conference last week in Mullingar is anything to go by, then local food is fast become sexy in Ireland too.

The conference, organised by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Bord Bia, was on on a Tuesday evening, free to attend and consequently packed. Not only that, this was no academic talk shop: there were an exceptional number of inquisitive conventional farmers amongst the 250-odd attendees, farmers eager to find out about their options.

They heard that, according to newly commissioned research by Bord Bia, seven out of ten shoppers prefer to buy local food, with 93 percent of those that buy local doing so because they want to support the local economy.

This research, presented by Helen King, senior business analyst with Bord Bia, suggested that authenticity was key: health, naturalness and freshness are primary consumer motivators.

Helen King also made recommendations to the many producers present: maintaining the personal touch, and the feel of local food, even as you expand, is important. To do this, it makes sense to emphasise tradition and providence, and to try to keep genuine connections with consumers.

There were other positive stories for those considering setting up small food businesses to sell locally.

Minister of State for Food and Horticulture Trevor Sargent opened proceedings, emphasising the importance of the agri-food sector, but also the growing desire consumers have for �speciality, regional local and organic food�.

Tim Schlitzer from the FoodRoutes network presented on the situation in the US, where FoodRoutes has helped many farmers maintain and indeed develop their livlihoods. FoodRoutes have over 45 �buy fresh buy local� chapters, which aim to empower local economies, create healthy communities and thus healthy people.

Tim suggested that research in the US found that 71% of consumers would be willing to spend more on local food; that a �buy fresh buy local� campaign and guide in Philadelphia doubled local food purchases amongst a range of institutional players, including hospitals, retirement homes, restaurants, grocers and colleges; and that even a 1% shift �in consumer expenditures to direct purchasing of local food products could increase farmers� income by as much as 5%�.

A panel discussion followed Tim�s presentation. Because of the size, diversity and knowledge levels of the audience, the contributions from the floor were every bit as interesting as what came from the presentations and panels.

Perhaps the most striking question came from Michael Connolly, from a sustainability group in Monaghan. Michael directed a query specifically to Minister Sargent. He asked the Minister how much of our food is imported and how is Ireland equipped for energy descent? Energy descent refers to the depletion of oil reserves; in other words, how is Ireland equipped to cope in a world with ever less available and ever more expensive oil? The minister was quite forthright on both counts. He addressed the specific gaps in local availability: yes, the majority of the meat, milk and their derivative products we consume are Irish. You could be forgiven for asking � so what�s the big deal with local then? The big deal is that fresh fruits and vegetables are in dire need of support, both from a consumer health and food security perspective.

There are less than a handful of large conventional carrot growers left in Ireland, and even fewer brussels� sprout producers. And that�s before energy decent. So at the moment, he suggested, we haven�t a chance of surviving energy decent. And if we loose local food providers, in a context of energy decent, we risk social unrest.

There were also presentations, and indeed short films with a more specifically Irish theme.

To some extent, this is where the messages from the podium started to get a bit mixed. The presentation by Sharon Buckley, (Trading Director Musgraves group, which includes Supervalu and Centra) was ostensibly about local food and the Musgraves group: in practice, the presentation simply outlined the history and current business development of the Musgraves group, with occasional references to local food sourcing. A short film of a new large Supervalu store in Kells Co. Meath, in the middle of her presentation, did little to expand upon the local food theme either.

Sharon did suggest that the local ownership of Supervalu stores allowed these stores to be more a part of the community. There are indeed some standout Supervalus, stores with a plethora of quality food of local provenance, such as Scally�s of Clonakilty. Likewise, the next presenter, Mary Kelly of Kelly�s Organics in Mullingar, sell some of the produce through their local Centras and Supervalus. Overall however, the presentation did little to convince the audience that Supervalu were in any significant way relevant to or committed to developing a local food culture. From speaking to delegates after the conference, many felt that the aforementioned standout Supervalus are more exceptions than the norm.

Mary Kelly�s presentation and short film presented a genuine good news story for local food, however, and is covered in more detail in the Organic Diary in this farming supplement. But briefly, the Kelly�s Moonshine organics business signposted the way for others to follow: if you are a struggling but open-minded conventional dairy farmer, the Kelly�s story should interest you. Converting to organic, and initiating value-adding through an on-farm production and local distribution of yoghurts, fresh cheeses and smoothies changed their farming lives for the better.

There was then another panel discussion, with more contributions from the floor. The main queries and statements revolved around retailer policy. One beef and lamb farmer stated, to applause, �we can�t donate food to you any longer�; he compared the price he gets (�3.50 per kilo) to the price the lamb retails for (�13.99 a kilo) on the shelves. Sharon Buckley responded by stating that they have been paying increased prices for some categories, but still need to compete with other retailers.

There was also some discussion on whether there was in fact a limit on the amount of local food supermarkets would take in: some suggested that there was a 5% limit on locally sourced products, however there was no clear answer from the panellists. Mary Kelly did reiterate that her local Supervalu did take her products, however.

Others criticised the effect of central distribution and own brand labelling on local provisioning of local, as opposed to just generic Irish produce. Potatoes were cited as a particular example. Peter Ward, of Country Choice in Tipperary was typically eloquent when he welcomed Supervalu into the local provisioning world, after �meeting St. Paul on the road to Damascus�. He pointed out that before centralised distribution, you could get local potatoes easily, and wished them well on the long road they faced ahead, in convincing people of their local credentials.

Following these presentations, Minister Sargent announced the arrival of a new guide, published by Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food, to selling through farmers� markets, farm shops and box schemes in Ireland. Details of this guide are in the caption box.

All in all, the mood at this event was very upbeat. Yes, there are serious obstacles to face in guaranteeing local supply of the range of foods we need to be healthy, and yes there is sometimes a gap between rhetoric and reality with regard to local. However, this part of the agri-food sector has a committed and knowledgeable Minister of State in Trevor Sargent. And with some of what is sometimes called blue sky thinking, including the conversion over to local provisioning by creative conventional producers, a la the Kelly�s of Mullingar, we may start to develop a genuine, deep and embedded local food culture.

Note:
The newly published �Guide to selling through farmers� markets, farm shops and box schemes in Ireland� as the name suggests, features sections on each of these local selling options: farmer�s markets, farm shops and box schemes. There are also some interesting sections including getting started at a farmers� market; your first day at the farmers� market; a pricing appendix and useful contacts. This 64 page A5 sized guide will certainly prove useful as an introduction to the potentialities of and for local food selling. Much of this information ,and plenty more useful information too, is also available on a new Bord Bia small food business website, which is far more user-friendly than the main bord bia website. See here (www.bordbiavantage.ie.)