Dr. Elaine McGoff:

The Ukraine war highlighted how insecure we are. I know fertiliser and grain were very difficult to come by. I read many articles. Members of the farming community were panicking to a certain extent about how they were going to manage to feed their livestock and have enough fertiliser to grow enough grass. In terms of food security, the ratings I often hear are based on international trade routes that are functioning. When they stop functioning, we are in trouble because we have a high input system that needs a lot of fertiliser and grain to produce all the meat and milk we do. An Taisce would always advocate for better food sovereignty, more tillage and more vegetables. Obviously, there are market problems there and farmers growing vegetables are going out of business left, right and centre. We need a broader conversation about this. We need to support farmers to grow the food that humans in Ireland eat.