Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have to face up to the challenges of climate change as I have said before, but if we think that the consumer is going to pick up the tab, we are fooling ourselves. Organic farming has shown that food can be produced to the highest standard with low inputs but the consumer will not pay the premium that compensates the farmers for it. If we think that by meeting all of the challenges we are going to face on climate change that the consumer, especially a British consumer, will make up the shortfall, we are fooling ourselves. The British consumer has always looked for cheap food and that will not change. As Mercosur has been mentioned already, the reality is that Mercosur will do a lot of damage to the climate change targets that we are trying to meet here in Europe, and that is the reality of it. We have already conceded to allow 100,00 tonnes extra to come into Europe. We can produce that a lot more carbon efficiently than what South America can do to get it to market in Europe. If we think that the European consumer is going to make up the shortfall for us and all of the extra costs that are going to be imposed on us, we would want to get into the real world.