Bord Bia Problem

It was a funny ordeal alright, I've seen Aird talk the talk at many Oireachtas lately, but when it comes time to walk the walk he goes missing.

What will the IFA do now?

They can either back down quietly or go all out and go for broke with a big protest.

They're hope for an easy win has fucked them.

like them all.

The reality is Ireland has to export approx 90% of beef to foreign countries but we are only able to grow approx 20% of our grain needs to feed our livestock, sheep, poultry and pigs unless we are going to plough up the mountains in Kerry, Donegal, Mayo etc and ploughing up the bogs and setting barley in those places we realistically cannot grow much more grain in Ireland unless we get rid of large areas of livestock farms to grow grain in grass land.

This tiĺlage agenda being pushed right now is total dreaming by a small but very vocal number of tillage farmers thinking that they can somehow restrict or stop grain imports and the price of irish grain will suddenly sell for a huge premium above world grain prices is just farcical do they seriously think that approx 80% of irish animals that currently eat grain will survive on no grain and the remaining animals will have to eat grain at some exorbitant cost way above world grain prices

I am buying the majority of my animal feeds directly from irish grain growers currently but it's approx the same price as imported feed so I don't have any anti tillage agenda it's just never going to be realistic to ever think we can somehow restrict or stop import of grain from abroad

Don't agree - I don't see the problem with converting more monoculture grassland to grains to fill any gaps. CAP is there to support EU farming so if its not doing that job it needs to be tweaked to sort this issue via encouraging farmers to grow more of this feed via re-directing Pillar 1 supports in that direction. I've grown whole crop spring oats for the last few years in North Mayo and stock have thrived off it. In any case there is plenty of grain looking for a home via other EU countries with similar standards instead of importing toxic feed from Mercosur that has residues proven to be harmfull to animal and human health. Its simply not credible for Big Dairy etc. here to keep spinning Greenwash via so called Grassfed Milk etc. while feeding cows seriously sub standard material grown in a way that is banned across the EU for good reasons

If we restrict imports of meal and tie ourselves only to native grain we'll be bolloxed completely when the agencies start testing for PFAS in native grain and condemn land treated with sewage from never producing food again. It could be 40% of arable ground in this country was spread with human local authority sewage and is now high in PFAS (forever chemicals). Weetabix sold in Ireland was found by a European environmental group to be 200 times the food limit for consumers. That Weetabix came from the UK on ground spread with human sewage as normal practice.

1. Immune System Suppression (one of the strongest findings)

High PFAS exposure is linked to:

• Reduced antibody response to vaccines
• Reduced immune function overall
• Increased susceptibility to infections

This is one of the reasons the European Food Safety Authority set very low tolerable intake levels — immune effects occur at lower doses than many other outcomes.

2. Hormone and Endocrine System Disruption

PFAS can interfere with hormone signaling, resulting in:

• Altered thyroid hormone levels (hypo- or hyperthyroid effects)
• Changes in reproductive hormone levels
• Possible impacts on menstrual regulation

3. Increased Cholesterol Levels

One of the most consistently observed outcomes.
PFAS exposure, especially PFOS and PFOA, is associated with:

• Higher total cholesterol
• Higher LDL (“bad”) cholesterol
• Possible increased risk of cardiovascular disease

4. Liver Damage

PFAS can affect liver enzymes and liver metabolic function.
Common findings include:

• Elevated ALT/AST liver enzymes
• Fatty liver changes
• Altered bile acid metabolism

5. Increased Risk of Certain Cancers

Evidence is strongest for:

• Kidney cancer
• Testicular cancer

These links are mainly observed with higher exposures, but food can be one source contributing to overall body burden.

6. Developmental and Pregnancy-Related Effects

Exposure during pregnancy or early childhood can increase the risk of:

• Lower birth weight
• Delayed mammary gland development
• Increased risk of preeclampsia
• Immune effects in infants
• Changes in growth and metabolism in childhood

PFAS cross the placenta and are also found in breast milk.

7. Reduced Fertility

Some PFAS are linked to:

• Lower sperm quality
• Reduced ovarian reserve
• Longer time to pregnancy

These effects are not universal but appear in several well-designed studies.

8. Kidney and Metabolic Effects

Evidence suggests PFAS may contribute to:

• Impaired kidney function
• Higher uric acid levels
• Increased risk of gout

Its very much if we dont test for it, its not their attitude pretty much worldwide, what happened in maine when they properly investigated it was eye-opening.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/12/maine-bans-sewage-sludge-fertilizer-farms-pfas-poisoning?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Thats more an arguement for cleaning up our own act on such things rather than continue to import dodgy feed from the other side of the world - not least from the Tropical Deforestation side of things which the likes of Cargill are up to their neck in!!

O'Donogue in the Dail, insider trading and when it came to the show down - Verona - I heard nothing!

Thats rather a false choice given that grains coming from Mercosur have a far higher risk of being contaminated with PFA's via herbicides. persticides etc. that have been banned in the EU a long time ago. The level of Roundup used on GM crops there is also a serious issue with regards to gut health in animals fed it and the final consumer

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286479506_Is_Ongoing_Sulfluramid_Use_in_South_America_a_Significant_Source_of_Perfluorooctanesulfonate_PFOS_Production_Inventories_Environmental_Fate_and_Local_Occurrence