Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

Another reason is that diets are changing in Asia. The consumption of meat has doubled in the last five years in China, which has changed the agricultural model because it takes a lot more food grain to produce a pound of meat than a pound of grain. In addition, certain food crops have gone into bio-fuels rather than the food chain and while that is not the main reason for rising food prices, it is one of them. Another reason for higher food prices is that globally farmers are finding it difficult to survive or succeed because of increasing oil prices. That affects the cost of fuel for tractors, as well as pesticides and fertilisers which are oil-based. Irish farmers are also exposed and the agricultural community must consider how it can develop in future.

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