We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE IRISH FOOD board wants to know how to “win back” vegetarians and vegans as the number of consumers opting for plant-based foods continues to rise.
Bord Bia recently issued a tender for a firm to provide consumer insight on “foodisms” such as vegetarianism, veganism and flexitarianism.
In the tender document, the State-backed agency said that it is looking to find out more about these consumers, researching the motivations that are driving people to change their diets.
With this information, it plans to figure out how the Irish food and drink sector should respond to the “challenges and opportunities that are presented by this shift”.
In particular, Bord Bia said that it would like to understand the messaging that Ireland’s meat and dairy industries could use “to win these consumers back or reassure them about their food choices”.
At the same time, however, it is also looking for growth opportunities for Irish plant-based food providers.
Changing diets
Bord Bia said that there has been a “huge shift in the ‘what and why’ of food consumption” in recent years.
It noted that in the past, diets that limited or excluded meat, dairy and eggs were often “viewed as fringe” in Ireland.
However, it said that the situation has undergone a rapid change, driven by younger consumers moving away from animal products, and by celebrities, companies and government agencies promoting plant-based alternatives.
Bord Bia estimates that 8% of the Irish population are now vegetarian, while 2% are vegan.
However, an increasing number are ‘flexitarian’, meaning that they limit the amount of meat or dairy products in their diet.
According to the National Dairy Council (NDC), 41% of Irish women and 30% of Irish men are now avoiding or limiting their dairy consumption, with one in 10 believing that cow’s milk is unhealthy.
In response, the NDC launched a controversial marketing campaign last year to encourage young people to consume dairy. It has blamed social media ‘influencers’ for spreading negative messages about its products.
However, the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland received over 100 complaints about the campaign, which was criticised for its use of the phrase ‘plant-based’ in relation to dairy milk.
Future proofing
With its proposed research, Bord Bia is hoping to “future-proof” the Irish food sector, helping it adapt to changes in consumption by getting clarity on the motivations and attitudes of consumers.
“It is imperative that the Irish food and drink industry is informed by consumer insight in this area so that it can provide relevant and compelling propositions within both the area of plant-based and meat and dairy nutrition,” it said.
The organisation plans to research five “key markets of interest” – the US, UK, Sweden, Germany and Ireland – as these countries have a higher incidence and growth rate of vegetarianism, veganism and flexitarianism.
It is looking to conduct a cross-country study into consumers following these diets to get a better understanding of who they are, how long they have been following their diet and how committed are they are to their food choices.
Written by Sarah Harford and posted on Fora.ie
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
An Bord Bia should take the new trends on board and be flexible enough to move into new markets. Studies like The China Study have proven that dairy products are not good for us. People no longer want to support a cruel and exploitative industry. The dairy industry is not good for the environment either. Veganism is on the rise worldwide, no amount of money spent to promote the dairy industry will change that. Very little of the vegan food on offer in Irish supermarkets is produced in Ireland, our government food agencies should be working to do something about that.
@Eithne Brew: spot on
@Eithne Brew: The China study does not say that.
@Tim Pot: The China study does say that. The study found that in parts of China where meat and dairy aren’t consumed heart disease and some cancers are nearly non existent. Then when Chinese people immigrate to Western Europe and the USA and start eating what we eat, they are struck down with the same cancers and heart problems..
@David Garland: No the best selling book based on the china study claimed that. The actual study did not, and essentially claimed the opposite.
@Tim Pot: The book was written by the same person who carried out the study.
Good luck with that! Vegans and vegetarians are very aware of the cruelty that exists in the farming industry, not to mention its environmental impact so I doubt they’ll have any interest in what Bord Bia has to say! We should all be trying to cut down on our meat-eating, not increasing it. I was only reading an article yesterday about how young unweaned Irish male cows are being held in awful conditions with inadequate food and water en route to Europe for slaughter, which is the by-product of our thirst for cow’s milk. Raising cows, pigs and sheep for slaughter requires huge amounts of land to feed them, land which could be used for growing other things, plus Ireland has one of the highest rates of air pollution from farming in Europe. It might be our tradition but it’s not sustainable.
@Lorna McC: ‘Young unweaned irish male cows’ you mean bull calves?
@Lorna McC:
You can’t have a young male cow. Typical misinformation
@Tony Brady: Semantics!
Calling male calves ‘cows’ doesn’t change any of the other information and is actually irrelevant to the point @Lorna McC is making.
I take it that you have no substantial argument against the point that she is making since you are picking on her for the name given, a term that exists as a wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Male_cow
Warmed up Death on a plate. No thanks.
With so much food choices out there people can choose alternatives.
No need to kill and be cruel in order to satisfy your taste buds.
Recommend people watch documentary called cowspiracy and another called food choices. A good TED talk called beyond carnism.
We are conditioned to eat meat – we don’t think or question why.
@Niallers: Cowspircy based lots of the assumptions on a method of agriculture that is only based in the USA. We farm VERY differently in Ireland and also in europe. Even then the arguments made in Cowspiracy were ‘back of the envelope’ at best.
@Tim Pot: So Tim are you are baby cow by any chance? If you’re not there is no need at all to consume cows milk. Do you honestly think the human race has evolved to the point that we need the milk of another animal to survive? It ridiculous!
@David Garland: we also don’t ‘need’ to comment on the article, yet here we both are….
@Tim Pot: meat cannot be procured through any way but violence unfortunately, so if Ireland’s farming differs slightly from USA its all the same to the countless animals who suffer needlessly so people can enjoy mediocre unhealthy animal products.
They need to come into the 21st century..They seem to think vegans are somehow deluded victims of social media nonsense but the reality is that the horrendous cruelty of the meat and dairy “industries” has been exposed to ever increasing numbers of people, also the health benefits of meat and dairy free diets is very appealing to people..the advertising of the meat, dairy and fur sectors is what has been conning people for too long
Why would anyone who has huge health gains from changing their diet go back to eating the things that caused them the problems. Why would we be adding to the suffering of animals when we know better. Why would snyone encourage anyone else to do something that it so bad for them. Money . Plain and simple .
If board bia want to know they should ask them. They love talking about it.
@Brendan Hughes: They’ve taken the time to understand where their food comes from and know that if they eat meat that an animal has to go through a cruel death in order to satisfy their taste buds.
They choose not to be cruel.
People for the most part believe they like animals and would never harm an animal yet without really thinking they kill hundreds of animals each year.
@Brendan Hughes: Actually Im vegetarian and i hate talking about it to anyone cos of the same questions over and over..”why are you vegetarian?” ‘Do you not miss rashers” “what do you eat for Christmas dinner?”
@Brendan Hughes: If you look at it objectively you will see that people who eat meat talk about eating meat & fish much more than people who don’t eat meat/fish.
The hostility and aggression from some people when they hear a person is Vegetarian is sometimes shocking.
@Niallers: I’m a meat eater and this is true, advertising and marketing push meat on us all day every day and nobody bat’s an eyelid, as soon as someone sees a vegan advert they flip.
@BigBear321: Agree there is lots of meat advertisement, but they don’t try to sell it by describing vegetables as the root of all evil.
@Tim Pot: fair point Tim, meat doesn’t advertise veggies as being evil. And in fairness, vegan products don’t advertise that way either.
Its in raising awareness on the ideology of veganism where we outline the violent ideology of carnism (eating animals for pleasure.)
It’s natural for people to get worked up on both sides as it’s an emotive topic, vegans are trying to protect animals, their health and the planet.
Carnists are trying to keep their farming livelihood, so they’re going to fight back too.
@Conor Dowling:
I would disagree, I have seen plenty of vegan advertisement attempting to portray farmers as monsters, hell bent on being as cruel as possible to the animals that have been entrusted to them.
The reality however, is that most farmers spend their entire careers, caring for and protecting their animals and the land that they farm. As I’m sure you know already.
Why not promote the healthiness of vegetables, and how tasty they are, rather than attack the same part of society that will grow your vegetables.
Will people buy a carrot because it is not a cow, or because it tastes nice?
@Trish O’Leary-Dunne: I’m a bioajaj
Animal based food is not only about protein & energy. It also contains animal hormones that aren’t designed for humans & can cause humans to behave like animals…with excessive anger & aggression. Before the animal dies a cruel death, it’s body should be producing a lot of stress hormones. On one hand people consume these hormones from meat & on the hand they try to de-stress themselves through yoga or exercise. Is it not better to treat the cause first, rather than try to fix the symptoms?
@kartz: There are no animal hormones in Irish or European meat. They are not allowed and have been banned from use for years. Irish meat is safe.
@Tim Pot: Not for the cow or pig .
@Niallers: Use of hormones was banned in 1996.
@Tim Pot: He’s talking about the natural hormones that are rushing through the cows blood stream in the minutes before its killed. Do you not think a cow can see and smell death all around it. It knows its going to die. It gets the same “Flight or Fight” rush we get when we’re in immediate danger. All that adrenaline and hormones are rushing around its body telling it to get out of there. That’s what you’re eating when you eat beef and other meats..
@David Garland: In Ireland, animals are kept as stress free as possible, throughout all stages of their life and especially at the point of slaughter.
Not only is this good from an animal welfare point of view but also as the stress can impact the quality of the meat, so it is in the interest of the farmers and the meat industry to allow the animals be as stress free as possible.
Surley the answer is to adapt to the new changing reality of people’s food choices rather than try to convince people they are wrong and bring them back?
I’d really recommend that those carrying out this research for Bord Bia read a book called Farmaggedon: The true cost of cheap meat. It not only covers meat but also milk. To save time on reading the book they can YouTube it and there are some videos that summarise https://youtu.be/ykwInkYWvZ4 . Now as researchers you could view my comment as biased but the book does also focus on the negatives of dairy alternatives like the rainforests bring cut so that almonds can be grown. So please give that some research so that it gives a fuller knowledge : )
@JC O’Connachain: not only that, almond milk requires an incredible amount of water. Something ridiculous like 90% of the worlds almond milk is produced in…… California! Which has no source of water of it’s own. Its even going to pump water from the great lakes! Hardly sustainable. I don’t drink dairy milk either so which is worse? Catch 22
@Darren Sheils: so don’t drink almond milk. It isn’t as tasty or good for you as soy/oat milk anyway. Plenty of options out there.
@Holly Flynn: I didn’t say I drank it. Plenty of options not to drink milk of any sort
@Darren Sheils: don’t drink almond milk..choose oat milk?
@Darren Sheils: you’re right, I misread your post sorry
The meat industry is so inefficient thst given rising populations, more people should be vegetarian. Its very simple.
Not all land and climates are suited to Avocados, Almonds and Quinoa.
A healthy diet is one that is varied.
A sustainable diet is one that is local.
Very simple.. stop exploiting animals.. problem solved.
Good luck glossing over the horrors of intensive pig, chicken and duck farming, live animal exports, the fact our ‘grass fed’ cattle are spending most of the year in sheds because of the weather. Farming in this country is as brutal as ever.
@Christine Gleeson: In Ireland, our dairy and beef cattle, (and sheep) spend most of their time outdoors. This year was a tough year, and a lot of farmers had to keep stock housed for up to 6 months, normally we house for about 4 months. When housed we feed silage (preserved grass) predominately and then concentrate (grains) to improve the nutrition of the total feed. It costs us more to keep the animals in the shed and so it is in the interest of the farmer to reduce the amount of time the animals spend in their housed shelters.
Foodism? Fck you. I’ve been a vegetarian for nearly 15 years. I did it because I could no longer support unnecessary cruelty. No amount of market research or advertising is going to change that.
@Seán J. Troy: Triggered much?
@Ian Walsh: Trigger much?
@Ian Walsh: I’m not triggered at all. Just irritated at the description of my lifestyle choice as a foodism. It’s not a fad like paleo or Atkins. It’s a long term, deeply personal decision. I don’t think four hundred million people in India would call it a foodism.
@Ian Walsh:
I’d call Seán J. Troy’s response caring, considerate and kind. Please don’t commit personal attacks instead of providing useful arguments, you just waste everyone’s time.
Irish Farmers produce some of the safest meat & dairy in the world, (no hormones, very low usage of antibiotics – only where necessary)
Irish Farmers produce some of the most environmentally friendly meat and dairy through the predominately grass based system.
Ireland has some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world.
@Tim Pot: to suggest we have high standards is laughable at best. We’re infamous for being the puppy farm of Europe, thousands of greyhounds who don’t make the grade for racing go missing every year and we’re now shipping off
@EillieEs: To suggest we don’t is ignorant at best.
Animal Welfare Act 2013. This new law insists that people must provide the “five freedoms” to animals under their care: freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort (by providing adequate living conditions), freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal behaviour, and freedom from fear and distress.
Irish meat and dairy are produced to very high standards of animal welfare.
@Tim Pot: Freedom from pain? We bolt gun these poor animals and then slit their trout. Very high standards of animal welfare…..NOT. Stop kidding yourself. The dairy and meat industries are dying a slow death. Welcome to the 21st century..
Let’s spare a thought too for the millions of animals killed and natural habitats destroyed to grow unprecended of amounts of soybeans. No free lunch here.
@Michael Herron: seeing as the vast majority of soy beans go to feed animals who are raised for slaughter your argument doesn’t hold much weight. Veganism is not cruelty free, we know that. It is about doing the least amount of harm possible.
@Michael Herron: most of the soya beans are grown to actually feed the animals that will eventually be slaughtered…
@Holly Flynn: good point. What do you about farm animals raised for slaughter on the most humane end of the spectrum. Might their lives not be net positive experience in some cases?
@Michael Herron: it doesn’t matter how humanly you raise the animal and kill it, they still die just for a few moment of taste for a person.
@Katie: False. the soya used in animal feed is a byproduct after most of the oil is removed
@Holly Flynn: I don’t think you quite get my question, but no worries.
I’m glad Bord Bia are taking notice of plant based eating in Ireland, that means it’s having a significant impact. Rather then try to win back customers who no longer want to eat the flesh and excretions of dead animals, they should embrace sustainable plant based food and try to educate the country about the realities of the meat and dairy industry. The cruelty of factory farming and its resource intensive toll on climate change.
Referring to animals as “stock” says it all though. The thought of eating a dog, or drinking cat’s milk is beyond proposterous, to anyone on this thread… So why have we designated cows and pigs slaughter worthy? Honestly, is it the taste? Is that not a bit frivolous? Surely it’s not for health benefits, any doctor will tell you to limit your intake of pork, beef and dairy.
So what could possibly be the reason to keep the meat and dairy industry going? The same reason most suffering exists in the world… Greed.
@Conor Dowling: Ireland does not farm in factories. You will note all those green fields in the countryside have animals on them.
Ireland’s grass-fed approach results in one of the lowest carbon footprints for animal production in the world.
Numerous health benefits of meat, fish and dairy are widely known.
The average drystock farmer (meaning beef/lamb) has an average income of ~€20,000 That includes the european subsidies. Not sure I would class that as greed.
@Tim Pot: killing hundreds of thousands of animals against their will each year in an automated system, whether its in doors or outdoors is in an inhumane factory like process, being outdoors for some of that process doesn’t somehow make the killing okay no matter how much you try to convince yourself.
The health benefits of meat, dairy and fish pale in comparison to the health benefits of a plant based diet. The I’ll effects its meet and dairy are shocking, clogged arteries, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and erectile dysfunction.
So if farmers aren’t even making money from it, why be involved in such a cruel system then? Tradition? A stubborn refusal to evolve with a society that no longer Needs meet and dairy?
@Conor Dowling:
The majority in society has clearly decided that the production of meat and dairy is acceptable. Go to your local supermarket for evidence.
Keeping livestock outside on grass pastures is about as far from a inhumane factory process as you will find. Animals would have far greater stresses in the wild as they naturally succumb to predation, diseases and starvation.
I have already mentioned the high welfare standard that animals in Ireland are kept in.
The health risks of a vegan diet (according to Dr. Google) are as follows: Liver toxicity, low sperm counts, mobility problems, low vitamin A and B12 intake, thyroid issues, hormonal imbalances, poor mineral absorbtion, etc. My point is that there is no winning diet.
Farmers are making money from agriculture, just not much. They also mostly have families to care for, are very much involved in their local communities, and take immense pleasure and pride in caring for their animals and being custodians of the land for the next generation.
They should stop promoting eating disorders like veganism.
@DPentony: veganism is only trying to make less of a negative impact on the planet.
These hippie vegetarian/vegan dropouts need to be re educated at Bovine University.
@Graeme Murphy: if you’re going to make an amusing comment, try to make it amusing
@Graeme Murphy: Must be all the meat and dairy that is giving you that sharp killer wit. Put down the WW2 survival handbook and step into the 21st century. You probably still put lard on your bread.
Social media influencers are not the problem. Climate change and cruelty are. Agriculture (mostly beef and dairy) accounts for about a third of Irish CO2e emissions (see recent EPA report). That’s more than energy and more than transport. This is not some abstract problem. Tens if not hundreds of millions of people will die as a result of the gases we are releasing right now if we don’t do something soon.
The massive amount of people who are changing their diets are doing so because they know that a) raising animals in captivity for slaughter is immoral, b) feeding plants to animals and then eating the animals is incredibly inefficient in terms of nutritional value, land and water use and c) that the methane and N2O that are being released by animal agriculture are major contributors to the greatest problem facing humanity today.
So yeah, good luck with your ad campaign mate
have your say