Carbon Emissions.

kneemos

Strikes me as odd that food production should be included in carbon emissions . We have to eat,if we don't produce it someone else will.

Scipri0

I think food is a national security issue. I'm pro-climate but i don't think we should be cutting down or out-sourcing our food to foreign countries who'll only ship it back to us. We had a sugar industry once but now it's imported back to us by Germany. I certainly don't want us to reduce ours just to have it imported from Brazil.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/02/more-than-800m-amazon-trees-felled-in-six-years-to-meet-beef-demand

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/23/ceo-of-worlds-biggest-carbon-credit-provider-says-he-is-resigning

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677009#Comment_120677009

Maybe they should focus more on food waste. A third of what is bought is thrown out.

https://www.epa.ie/our-services/monitoring--assessment/waste/national-waste-statistics/food/

Scipri0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677036#Comment_120677036

I think it's just ridiculous for us to cut down while increasing importing from elsewhere and all just to make it look good on paper. Food waste is a massive problem as well. Other countries in the EU would be protecting their industries whether that's France or Germany.

Atlantic Dawn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677240#Comment_120677240

One of our biggest problems is 85% of our meat is exported so we are being penalised for the large emissions in creating this meat despite us not being the end consumer for the vast majority of it. We should be getting emissions credits for meat exports.

https://www.ibec.ie/-/media/documents/mii-documents/trade-exports-market-access.pdf

Scipri0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677878#Comment_120677878

Indeed. I'm just worried that it'll be cut down 10% now and in a few years it'll be 5% here another 10% there until it ends up nearly being a monopoly with just a few big players. Ireland will get pushed around by the bigger countries and we'll be sacrificing our industries to save theirs. I don't think France or Germany would be as quick. Like you have a few GMO food companies and they have their seeds patented and shite like that.

Grayson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120677009#Comment_120677009

The majority of Irish beef and dairy is exported. So it's not a food security issue for us. You could talk about the monitory value but I'm afraid it's not a food security issue.

If it was about food security, we'd be stopping the dairy business and instead growing food on that land.

Scipri0

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120678453#Comment_120678453

It is exported but if we stopped that do you think those countries importing it will stop or will they get it from elsewhere? I think all we are doing is kneecapping a very successful part of our industry. Other leaders in other countries stand up for their industries more than the Irish does for theirs.

Strumms

Agriculture was responsible for 38.0% of greenhouse gas emissions ( a carbon emission ) in Ireland in 2021… since then it’s continuing to rise.

it will rise as long as our population is growing at the current rate…. Need for more food production , travel / transportation, etc

so on the one hand the conviromentalists are saying… “ do more “…. But are very selective as to which catalysts of carbon emissions / climate change they are prepared to attack…

so easier to moan about, cars, planes overuse of power etc.. then be honest with their target audience

Jack Daw

Carbon emissions is a global issue so us deciding to cull thousands of cattle and reduce food production in Ireland and then import more food from abroad does not reduce the world carbon emissions.Our emissions are reduced but another countries are increased and then there is also the carbon emissions caused by transporting the food to Ireland.

Essentially it's just a box ticking exercise which has no positive impact on the world but we do it to be seen as the good boys of Europe who always do what they are told regardless of the benefits to this country or any other.

There is a dairy farm 100 yards down the road from me yet apparently me using Soya Milk imported from abroad and planted on land where rainforests have been cleared is better for the planet.I really doubt that is the case.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680201#Comment_120680201

pretty much all the soy imported to ireland from the amazon etc. is fed to cows and other farmed animals though and then most of the animal product is exported, it's pretty nuts when you think about it.

the thing is, china, and parts of africa that were doing ok without baby powder produced in ireland were doing ok before it. so this idea that we have to produce all this dairy or someone else with doesn't really fly. ireland pushed it's products abroad, and we have had our minister for ag out in japan and singapore lately trying to open up new markets.

there are no plans to reduce what we produce in ireland beef/dairy wise anyway, it can't even happen politically, we will continue to produce more and more, but the world would be fine without irish beef and dairy whether it was replaced from elsewhere or not.

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680230#Comment_120680230

The Chinese infant milk formula market in China is ever increasing, it's almost trebled in Africa/ Asia in the last six years.

It's getting produced anyway, probably in factory farms in a cleared forest somewhere.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680746#Comment_120680746

Ireland is also cleared forests some other places are just catching up

kneemos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680828#Comment_120680828

It was the British that cleared Irish forest,but we live apparently in more enlightened times.

Jack Daw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680828#Comment_120680828

Forest in Ireland (and europe as a whole) were cleared when people didn't know the damage that was being done to environment by deforestation.Much different to clearing forest on large scale which is being done around the world these days.

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120680840#Comment_120680840

Not true, most gone before British

tesla_newbie

Anything you hear said publicly about cutting dairy numbers ( they probably will cut the beef herd ) is just noise, neither FF , FG or SF will take on the dairy farmer lobby, I’m not saying that’s a good or bad thing but it’s the reality , the government big parties might make lots of sounds about meeting climate obligations but they’ll pay the fines by taxing “ high earners “ out the gate before forcing farmers to reduce milk production, farm land prices are up 50% since 2019 and that’s all down to dairy farmers expanding, people don’t buy land like that if they believe the industry will shrink

rob316

If we just stopped making crap that lasts pissing time we would be doing fine. Ultra consumerism is the biggest factor in our production emissions.

Scipri0

Here we are supposed to cut down on our beef/dairy industry. Which they will then import agricultural products from South America. It's at an EU level so if i was to put on my tinfoil hat I'd say bigger countries like France And Germany are pushing the buck onto smaller countries like Ireland and as you already know, Our dear leaders are all too happy to do as they're told just to get a pat on the head.

Anyway, with the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. South American countries get to import more beef and agricultural products which in turn will effect one of Irelands best industries but on the export side Germany and France among others gets to export cars and other manufacturing goods. So it's positive for them at the expense of Ireland.

Also the EU was due to ban combustion engine cars in the EU by 2035 and seeing as the population of South America is growing and the rules there aren't as strict as EU laws the governments of France and Germany see this as a way to still sell more of their cars there while claiming in the EU that they've cut down but it also turns out that Germany changed it's mind. It seems in this country we have no problem crippling our own industry while others protect theirs and remember as i said we had a sugar industry once and now we get our sugar imported back to us from Germany.

Europe has its eyes on greater access for manufactured goods, notably cars, which face tariffs of 35%. It wants its firms freed to compete for public tenders, and to sell more wine and cheese. Mercosur aims to boost exports of farm commodities

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-trade-mercosur/eu-mercosur-strike-trade-pact-defying-protectionist-wave-idUSKCN1TT2KD

EU was set to ban internal combustion engine cars. Then Germany suddenly changed its mind

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/24/cars/eu-combustion-engine-debate-climate-intl/index.html