Mr. Philip Carroll:

I apologise. A significant proportion of this growth is linked to expansion in the dairy sector, which is already well under way. These growth plans exist in the context of global demand for protein arising from forecasted population growth, expanding middle class communities, increased urbanisation and shifting dietary preferences. The growth in global food demand and Ireland’s potential to contribute significantly to global food security is accompanied by the competing challenge of climate change. By 2050, the global population is expected to reach 9.8 billion and the planet will need to produce 70% more food while conserving available land, water and energy resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Whether through Ireland’s grass-based production systems for beef and lamb or our superior production efficiencies in pig and poultry, Ireland should be seen as a source of sustainable food supply to global markets. While recognising that we need to continue to work to reduce the environmental impact of our agrifood production systems, Irish meat production has strong environmental credentials and is among the lowest in greenhouse gas intensity per kilogram of output in Europe and globally. Curtailing meat production in regions of the world that are eco-efficient producers, allowing for expansion in less environmentally efficient areas, simply leads to carbon leakage and does little for the global challenge of climate change. Meat Industry Ireland members fully accept the challenge of climate change and the need for increased action to minimise the impact of meat production on natural resources. We also accept the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to protect our natural environment for future generations.

Agriculture has always been a critical component of the Irish economy and given the lack of heavy industry within Ireland, it represents a significant portion of the overall emissions from the economy, which accounted for 19.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2016.

That represents 32% of total greenhouse gas emissions in the economy. In contrast, agriculture in the UK, with more than double our emissions level, only represents 8% of its overall emissions. Nonetheless, the meat sector continues to work collaboratively with the State and its agencies to minimise this impact and to reduce emissions, while at the same time sustainably growing our food exports. Although the sector has expanded between 1990 and 2016, it should be noted that emissions from the sector reduced by 3.5% during this period. In the same period, overall national emission levels rose by 10.4%. This serves to highlight the successful efforts being made by the agrifood sector to reduce emissions and grow sustainably.

While accepting the serious nature of the climate change challenge, it is important to stress that progress is being made by the agrifood sector. Important initiatives aimed at further reducing agriculture's impact on the environment are already under way. However, we must realise that the mitigation potential of agriculture and food production is limited compared with other sectors of the economy, as agriculture emissions arise largely from biological processes. The livestock and meat sector will continue to focus on sustainable intensification, driving increased efficiency and improved productivity, better grassland management and reduced inputs per unit of output. Ireland's grass-based systems give us a unique advantage in the production of beef and lamb. It should also be recognised that the Irish pig and poultry systems are among the most efficient in Europe and are making significant strides in emissions reduction.

A key initiative on the beef side has been the introduction of the beef data and genomics programme, which is targeting improvement in key productivity parameters such as age at slaughter, calving interval, age at first calving and so forth in order to lower the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions and to deliver dividends in the economic performance of beef enterprises for farmers. While the scheme has only been in place for a short number of years, ICBF data already demonstrate the progress made on these productivity criteria and the benefits accruing in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of carbon footprint Ireland is one of the most efficient beef producers in Europe and work is actively under way to make further improvements in this area. The Bord Bia quality assurance schemes now include a significant carbon footprint element which accumulates a range of information used to generate a carbon footprint for individual farms. This information can be used to help producers identify areas within the farm where efficiencies can be made. Ultimately these efficiencies, once adopted, have positive impacts on farm level carbon footprint and on the bottom line for farmers in terms of profitability.

Meat processors have been involved in a range of initiatives, at both production and processing levels, aimed at improving efficiencies and animal performance, delivering sustainable intensification and minimising emissions from the sector. These initiatives include using demonstration farms to highlight to the wider farming community the benefits of particular types of production systems and improved management practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving margin at farm level. MII also provides support for the Teagasc BETTER Farm Beef Programme, whereby processors have provided financial support and expertise to these groups. A key element in these better farms is a focus on grassland management, breeding and production methods, all of which are important to maximise efficiency. In addition to processor involvement in the BETTER Farm Beef Programme, some individual processors have established their own demonstration and research farms to develop production and finishing systems either for suckler beef or dairy beef which deliver what the market is looking for while maximising best practice in breeding, feeding, grassland management and animal health for dissemination to farmers generally. I was glad the committee visited one of these processor farms in the latter part of last year. The invitation to visit another one is open to the committee at any time it might wish to avail of it during its busy schedule. We would be happy to arrange it if that would be helpful.

MII is working closely with Teagasc and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to establish a soil carbon sequestration project in order to demonstrate the potential of the soil carbon sink in Irish grassland and look at best practice to optimise carbon sequestration. Soil carbon sequestration is an important element of sustainable agricultural practices.

It will help to reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions at farm level and will help to increase soil productivity, increase water retention and reduce flood water run-off. The aim of the project is to develop greenhouse gas reduction blueprints for different farm types and foster greater integration between research, policy, producers and processors to maximise on-the-ground efforts to maximise carbon sequestration.

Healthy animals will ultimately perform and thrive better than animals which are sub-optimal. A key aspect of emissions is age at slaughter. By reducing this over time, the sector can make significant improvements in terms of emissions from the animal sector.

Animal Health Ireland plays a crucial role in maintaining and improving the national herd health status in Ireland. Since 2015, Meat Industry Ireland beef processing members have been providing significant financial support to Animal Health Ireland to run a specific programme, Beef HealthCheck. This programme aims to improve the health of the cattle herd by providing postmortem feedback to producers on lungs and livers harvested from the cattle. Detailed reports are provided to farmers allowing them, together with their veterinary practitioner, to identify appropriate interventions and practices which can help to improve animal health within their herd.

Together with Enterprise Ireland, Meat Industry Ireland has established the meat technology centre last year as an industry-led initiative which will build a strategic research and innovation base in beef and sheepmeat processing. Among the six pillars of research within the centre, there is a specific focus on genomics, with close co-operation between the centre, Teagasc and the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation. This is aimed at improving the genetic make-up of the national beef herd. The centre has already shown the potential for genetics to reduce age at slaughter, which is a key factor in the control of emissions. Another work stream within Meat Technology Ireland is meat safety, incorporating packaging with the primary aim of developing new processes and products to maximise the shelf life of Irish beef and lamb and, ultimately, to reduce waste. This is most relevant when considering that approximately one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted.

Within the pig meat sector, processors are working closely with Teagasc and University College Dublin to support various projects aimed at improving the health of the national pig herd, reducing the need for antibiotic usage at various stages of the pig life cycle and, ultimately, improving the efficiency of the national pig herd, thereby reducing emissions from the sector.

Meat processors are participating in Origin Green in which measurable sustainability targets are set against a baseline for continuous improvement. A detailed sustainability plan is developed by each company and independently audited each year to ensure companies are making progress towards reaching their goals.

As we continue to improve the sustainability and carbon footprint of our operations across the beef sector, we believe that continued support is needed for the beef data and genomics programme to maximise its coverage of the national suckler herd, to ensure it delivers on the real potential of breeding technology and to improve productivity and reduce emissions per kilogram of output. Major progress can be made on calving interval, age at first calving and overall livestock productivity. All of these will greatly enhance environmental and economic sustainability.

A relatively small reduction in the average age of slaughter would have significant benefits in terms of reduced emissions from the national herd. Further productivity in the beef sector is possible through the use of sexed semen. This has the potential to optimise dairy replacement heifer numbers while also enabling more usage of beef sires in the dairy herd offspring, thereby improving overall productivity.

The pig industry stakeholder group chaired by the Department in 2016 recommended that a substantial investment programme be introduced for pig enterprises. As productivity in the pig sector continues to increase, additional housing capacity is needed to optimise pig health and welfare. Improving housing standards will allow for increased energy efficiency by modernising lighting, ventilation, insulation and flooring.

Ultimately, this would have a positive impact on pig health and reduce emissions per kilogram of meat output.

A fuller range of initiatives is open to the sector. With appropriate support at Government level, collectively it could make further significant inroads towards minimising the impact of the agrifood sector on climate change. These include the installation of renewable energy facilities as well as anaerobic digestion at farm and processing level. Enhanced farm advisory services aimed at improving overall productivity, and therefore reduced emissions intensity, is a key requirement. We need to promote the use of the carbon navigator to identify potential emissions reductions and financial gains through better management practices. Knowledge transfer will play an important role in maximising on-farm efficiencies both for land and grass management, encouraging farmers to adapt appropriate management practices.

Post-2020, it is clear the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, will have a strong environmental focus. Properly structured, this can help agriculture contribute to climate change mitigation. However, to be effective, the future CAP must be fully resourced financially and needs to be focused on supporting active producers. The proposed direction of CAP post-2020, where the overall principles or objectives will be set at EU level but member states will draw up their own CAP strategic plan for implementation, could assist in determining which measures best suit local conditions. The Pillar 2 rural development programme must maintain a strong budget. It covers support for important schemes such as the beef genomics, on-farm investments through the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS. All of these schemes contribute greatly to improved environmental performance of the sector.

I outlined a range of measures in which Meat Industry Ireland member companies are already engaged. As an industry with an extensive and leading role in the agrifood business and the largest net exporter of beef in the EU, we recognise and accept fully we must and will do more to ensure the production and processing of meat products will continue to be conducted in the most sustainable manner possible. We know a significant increase in meat production cannot be considered in isolation from its environmental impact. That is why we are already committed to the range of actions outlined here. It is why we continue to explore other avenues where, together with Government and key stakeholders, we can intensify work towards an improved and sustainable environment for all.

Our credentials as the fifth most carbon efficient beef producer in Europe demonstrates we are on the right course better than anything. We do, though, have further to travel. We fully subscribe to the Food Wise 2025 objective that, as the food sector continues to develop and grow, development must be undertaken within a framework of sustainability. Equally, it must be acknowledged that the mitigation potential of agriculture and food production is limited compared to other economic sectors. Because agriculture is so strategic to the Irish economy and does not have the heavy industry counterweight other countries have, its greenhouse gas emissions are statistically disproportionately higher than countries where agriculture emissions are nominally much higher but represent a much lower proportion of total emissions. Nonetheless, agriculture emissions have reduced by 3.5% in the period up to 2016 compared to a rise of 10.4% in national emissions. That tells its own story.

Ireland has a number of natural advantages, including a temperate climate favouring a grass-based livestock production system that is far more efficient than intensive feed systems practised elsewhere. Curtailing output here while output increases in less carbon efficient areas of the world would be contrary to the global objective of mitigating climate change. It is the wrong solution to a global problem. I have not touched on trade agreements, in particular Mercosur. We might return to that during the course of our conversation later. Overall, as an industry, MII will continue to grow the sector responsibly and sustainably.