Irish chicken is fresher and better quality - please buy Irish

Wertz

Oh to hell with the tax thing and the local jobs thing for a second....solely from an environmental POV, eating goods that are produced as close to where you live makes as much environmental sense as it does economic sense.
I balk at the fact that a product (arguably or lesser quality) comes over half way around the planet by whatever oil burning means to undercut locally produced goods (arguably of higher quality) just so the consumer can "save" 20% on the cost...or more accurately that business can make 20% more profit.

Sh*t like picking shellfish in scotland, shipping them to be deshelled and packaged in SE asia and then shipping them back to the freezer in the local shop is morally f*cking wrong... same rule applies to chickens or potatoes or sugar or any number of easily produced goods and commodities.

Obviously things we can't make and manafacture here are things we need to import...the cost of producing them here would make them uncompetitive and no-one would buy them...but simply grown items should always be sourced as locally as possible. The benefits to jobs and the local economy are important but in an era when energy is arguably as valuable a resource as food, then not wasting it on short term gain of the price per kg of poultry are equally so IMO.
This country has the ability to feed itself...it's about the only way we are self sufficient...resorting to importing stuff that can be sourced here goes against the very idea of our "open economy".

texidub

Ah yeah, that's it. If I don't buy Irish just for the sake of it I must be trolling or stupid. Why not both? I can do both, I swear!

But I'm not doing either here...

If you can't comprehend that my example was given to expose the stupidity of the 'buy Irish for better roads and education system' mentality then *I* must be the stupid one. Of course.

And if I see economics in global rather than local terms then I must be the one of limited intelligence.. or trolling of course.

Why not educate me on the error of my ways rather than get into silly name-calling and jingoistic 'just-so's'... hmmm?

If your argument for buying Irish is that the benefits of buying Irish are so obvious they don't even need explaining, then I'll go out on a limb and suggest that there is no argument at all.

As I've sad a few times already, we *all* buy a mix of Irish and foreign goods in this country. And that's great. It's called being part of an open, global economy.

What I'm objecting to is people who talk about buying Irish just because it's Irish. The real motivation is making money (rightly so, but call a spade a spade and don't tell me I'm affecting the road infrastructure and education system in the country by making free choices about what I buy based on the quality and value that suits my budget rather than buying Irish 'just because.')

That's what annoys me, because it's greed and self-interest dressed up as patriotism, capitalism draping itself in the flag of the republic... halfpence and pence springs to mind.

Jimoslimos

Has anyone questioned whether these 'Irish chickens' are being fed 100% Irish grain, or is the whole "Buy Irish" mantra something only consumers are expected to follow?

Dusty87

texidub wrote: »

You see, if everyone had the buy Irish attitude being displayed on this thread there would be little or no movement of goods across borders at all. If all the world had that attitude, there wouldn't even be cars in Ireland.

There would, DeLoreans, probably still be in Business too, supplying all of ireland:pac:

old hippy

listermint wrote: »

Jingoistic Flag Waving???

Surely it makes sense to give jobs to people who are local and live in this country and pay taxes here?

Or would you rather destroy the industry and throw them all on the scrap heap just so you can satisfy yourself with cheaper goods....

See how cheap the welfare bill is then. Your savings on goods will go into higher taxes. Its not rocket science.


Support local industry and local jobs.


would have thought a 'hippy' would have coped that.....

Fair enough, I shall buy British goods only, from now on and encourage everyone I know over here to do the same & boycott Irish goods and support the country we find ourselves living in and let the rest of ye back home get on with what you do best. See how that works.

Fair enough?

blue5000

Wertz wrote: »

Sh*t like picking shellfish in scotland, shipping them to be deshelled and packaged in SE asia and then shipping them back to the freezer in the local shop is morally f*cking wrong... same rule applies to chickens or potatoes or sugar or any number of easily produced goods and commodities.

Obviously things we can't make and manafacture here are things we need to import.".

Hate to dissapoint you but thanks to seanie fitz and greencore there is no irish sugar anymore.

Robdude

old hippy wrote: »

Fair enough, I shall buy British goods only, from now on and encourage everyone I know over here to do the same & boycott Irish goods and support the country we find ourselves living in and let the rest of ye back home get on with what you do best. See how that works.

Fair enough?

How does it work if I'm a US citizen living and working in Ireland? I'm working for a US company, but paying taxes to Ireland.

Do I only buy Irish or only buy American?

caddy2

after working in the food industry,i know that our food quality standards are much higher than some other countries.
the problem with chicken is that meat from other animals can be passed off as chicken.
unforunately there is an unreal amount of foreign chicken around. a fella who calls around in a van was trying to tell my mother that the chicken he sells her all the time was irish, pity it still had the foreign labelling stating its ec agriculture no stating NZ meaning holland and a website address for a factory in holland which stated that about 90% of its product goes to uk and ireland.
another issue with imports is that all a manufacturer has to do is slightly change the chicken physically and he can legally say its irish. im not sure but I would say that even by sprinkling herbs on the chicken or slicing the chicken would make it irish?

Wertz

blue5000 wrote: »

Hate to dissapoint you but thanks to seanie fitz and greencore there is no irish sugar anymore.

Well aware of that thanks...sugar was just a commodity off the top of my head. I wasn't talking about Irish sugar.
I said at the time of it closing that it was a foolish move given that sugar beet was a potential source of ethanol for fueling public transport if it wasn't good enough for refining (which it was)... allowing greencore to take apart a nationalised sugar production company going back to the foundation of the state was very shortsighted in terms of both our now reliance on (ever increasingly) costly imports of such a vital commodity and the pack of c*nts that were allowed benfit financially from it on the back of local farmers.

old hippy

Robdude wrote: »

How does it work if I'm a US citizen living and working in Ireland? I'm working for a US company, but paying taxes to Ireland.

Do I only buy Irish or only buy American?

Hell's teeth bro', I dunno. One of my parents is American - imagine the strife and division that causes me

Buy what you think is the best quality; not because someone tells you to buy only their products (but you know this already).

cock robin

The majority of food produced in Ireland is now and always has been for export. Our dairy products are sold into huge markets in France and Germany our fish is exported all over europe, we even export horse semen (whatever turns you on) If these ecomomies decided to adapt the buy local approach it would have a far greater impact on jobs here than we could ever have. I buy Irish where possible, and our products are indeed far superior to most imported food. Our cattle are pasture fed and so are our sheep. Intensive farming in south America can produce a product that on price at least can compete but not on quality. It is how we buy our food that dictates the price. The multiples (Dunnes, Tesco, Supervalu etc) much loved by all of us have destroyed the local butcher and grocer. Farmers markets are great but there aint enough of them. Most local shops converted to Centra and Spars and we have lost the ability to really shop local. Where I live it is impossible to avoid a retail chain of one sort or another. Back in the good old days the local grocer actually sliced bacon now its all prepacked ****e. In my opinion we can never reverse what has happened and it is not the fault of anyone it is the fault of everyone.

psychward

Why is Kerrygold butter for example cheaper abroad after the cost of transporting it there from here and the fact we have no vat on food unless they're price gouging ''their own'' specifically ? Is our cost base after a few years of austerity and a still very low corp tax etc really that bad ? What causes the price to be lowered once it leaves here? The answer would be something that would convince me of the merits of buying Irish from that particular company or not.

Sonnenblumen

uberalles wrote: »

Prog on RTE1 now.

Its possible we may loose all native Chicken suppliers. 90% imported!
There is a program on and a lot of Chicken from abroad (Thailand etc is 1 fifth the price to suppliers) BUT its often 7 days old!

Irish chicken is fresher and better quality - please buy Irish

Yes buy Irish but only buy free range, couldn't give a monkey about factory farm produce. Fresher and better quality, you gotta be joking?

Sonnenblumen

psychward wrote: »

Why is Kerrygold butter for example cheaper abroad after the cost of transporting it there from here and the fact we have no vat on food unless they're price gouging ''their own'' specifically ? Is our cost base after a few years of austerity and a still very low corp tax etc really that bad ? What causes the price to be lowered once it leaves here? The answer would be something that would convince me of the merits of buying Irish from that particular company or not.

Export pricing strategy, ie reduced margins. Nothing new about that, a very good example can be found in German exports where home market prices are deliberately higher to offset lower priced export product and be more competitive.

eth0

Dusty87 wrote: »

There would, DeLoreans, probably still be in Business too, supplying all of ireland:pac:

We'd be the only nation with time travel and we'd be fierce rich because of it.

EGAR

I keep a few chooks and let me tell you, it aint cheap to feed them properly from chick to point of lay. Obviously I am not talking about mass production and feeding them ****e to make them grow fat fast.

I don't buy chicken in the supermarket, regardless of foreign or Irish.

OH's father told me once that he remembers a time where chicken were really expensive, a special treat to be had once or twice a year.

I would also like to know how much antibiotics the average mass produced chicken gets during its lifetime and how many people know that the chicken they buy have been vaccinated etc.

YUMMY :cool:

Johro

EGAR wrote: »

I keep a few chooks and let me tell you, it aint cheap to feed them properly from chick to point of lay. Obviously I am not talking about mass production and feeding them ****e to make them grow fat fast.

I don't buy chicken in the supermarket, regardless of foreign or Irish.

OH's father told me once that he remembers a time where chicken were really expensive, a special treat to be had once or twice a year.

I would also like to know how much antibiotics the average mass produced chicken gets during its lifetime and how many people know that the chicken they buy have been vaccinated etc.

YUMMY :cool:

Meh. My gf has been vaccinated and I still consider her tasty.

Johro

I don't get this complaining about the price of Irish food products though. With food you pretty much get what you pay for. Better quality = more expensive. Better quality also means it's better for you. I could never understand how there are people who hate spending that bit more on good food but don't mind spending it on booze and fags. Sure, ya gotta have a social life and all that, but I mean, priorities ffs. Fair enough, if you're skint, or you're feeding a family you'll try to save money on the groceries, but good food is more important in imo. I don't mind at all having to pay a bit more for fresher or healthier food.

Guill

What nationality are the importers?

Johro

Guill wrote: »

What nationality are the importers?

Why does that matter?

Logical Fallacy

EGAR wrote: »

I keep a few chooks

Chickity china, the Chinese chicken.

eth0

Logical Fallacy wrote: »

Chickity china, the Chinese chicken.

Have a drumstick and your brain stops tickin'!

Teyla Emmagan

Don't really understand the lust for chicken TBH. It's the blandest meat ever. Saying that, I will eat it, but rarely buy it, and never order it when I'm out. Mostly because I'm totally wary of restaurant (in particular) chicken. You don't know where it comes from, or what sort of miserable, unhappy life that chicken led.

So, buy Irish (and free range, and organic if you can afford it).

Or just find something better to eat than frickin' chicken...

Logical Fallacy

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

Don't really understand the lust for chicken TBH. It's the blandest meat ever. Saying that, I will eat it, but rarely buy it, and never order it when I'm out. Mostly because I'm totally wary of restaurant (in particular) chicken. You don't know where it comes from, or what sort of miserable, unhappy life that chicken led.

So, buy Irish (and free range, and organic if you can afford it).

Or just find something better to eat than frickin' chicken...

Chicken is only bland if it is cooked incorrectly. Granted it does have a delicate flavour that is easily destroyed but this is what makes it so great to cook with...do it right and with the right accoutrement and you have a lovely meal.

Robdude

Johro wrote: »

I don't get this complaining about the price of Irish food products though. With food you pretty much get what you pay for. Better quality = more expensive. Better quality also means it's better for you. I could never understand how there are people who hate spending that bit more on good food but don't mind spending it on booze and fags. Sure, ya gotta have a social life and all that, but I mean, priorities ffs. Fair enough, if you're skint, or you're feeding a family you'll try to save money on the groceries, but good food is more important in imo. I don't mind at all having to pay a bit more for fresher or healthier food.

'Better quality' is awfully subjective. I'd rather have cheap chicken than no chicken....and I've stopped buying chicken completely because it's so expensive.

hardCopy

Johro wrote: »

Guill wrote: »

What nationality are the importers?

Why does that matter?

If the importer is operating here then they presumably provide processing, packing and haulage jobs here

sparksfly

hardCopy wrote: »

If the importer is operating here then they presumably provide processing, packing and haulage jobs here

Imports have no economic benefit and kill native jobs.

saywhatyousee

Robdude wrote: »

'Better quality' is awfully subjective. I'd rather have cheap chicken than no chicken....and I've stopped buying chicken completely because it's so expensive.

You can get a small Chicken in Tesco for 3 euro how the heck is that expensive?

hardCopy

sparksfly wrote: »

Imports have no economic benefit and kill native jobs.

Really? What about all the people that work in the motor industry? Hauliers? Dockers?

Shenshen

Sorry, not buying any chicken at all. Irish or otherwise.

I've got a problem with eating animal carcasses.