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LAST UPDATE | 5 Apr 2019
MINISTER RICHARD BRUTON has defended an initiative which is advising children to reduce the amount of meat they eat, following backlash from the Irish Farmers Association.
An Taisce’s Green-Schools programme, which promotes measures to reduce carbon footprints and works towards environmental sustainability, published a climate action resource pack for teachers this week.
It included a foreword from Environment Minister Richard Bruton who said it was developed “with support provided by [his] Department under the National Climate Change Action and Awareness Programme”.
However, with suggestions such as “Meatless Mondays” in schools and measures to “reduce the amount of meat and dairy” consumed by students, the IFA has called for the withdrawal of the resource.
“This is beyond the remit of An Taisce and it is not consistent with dietary advice given by the Department of Health, the competent authority, on balanced diets,” IFA president Joe Healy said.
Speaking on Today with Sean O’Rourke, Bruton defended the initiative and when asked if he had informed himself enough before endorsing it, he said he had.
The Minister also told RTÉ that it wasn’t dietary advice but a debate around what people might do, citing Joe Healy’s claim that An Taisce is crossing a line by including dietary advice in a resource pack.
On ‘Meatless Mondays’, Bruton said that families are asked to discuss the issues and debate the carbon impact of different food choices.
It is, of course, true that the impact on eating meat compared to eating grain is very different in terms of its carbon footprint.
“This is an important debate that young people are leading and we must show that we are capable of making the changes and providing a road map for people to follow,” Bruton said.
When asked whether or not he thought farmers are under enough pressure at the moment, the Minister said that farmers are leading change and have “bought into this, we shouldn’t be defensive about a debate that is being led by young people”.
‘Must be withdrawn’
Following Bruton’s interview today, Healy said there is mounting anger among farmers because he is supporting “a call for teenagers to consume less meat and dairy products”.
“This pack must be withdrawn and amended before it goes back into circulation.”
The revised nutritional guidelines from the Department of Health in 2017 recommended one serving of either meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and nuts, for a lunchtime snack or after-school meal.
Farmers are extremely angry that packs like this would be distributed in schools advising students to consume less meat and dairy when both are an important part of a balanced diet.
“What our children are taught in school should be based on scientific findings proofed by the appropriate state agencies and government departments,” Healy added.
A spokesperson for the Green-Schools programme said it would not apologise for outlining measures to help tackle climate change.
“The resource, which is part of the Green-Schools voluntary programme, has not – as claimed by the IFA – been distributed in schools,” she said.
“Rather, through a nationwide press release and the Green-Schools social media channels, its availability to download has been promoted. It is a complementary resource for teachers taking part in this optional, voluntary programme.
Green-Schools cannot apologise for promoting actions to help our environment.
“International research has long been suggesting that in order to meet our climate obligations and reduce our carbon footprint, we should reduce our meat and dairy intake.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said it was not the lead department for the Green-Schools programme and “it is a matter for individual schools what material they use to support teaching the curriculum”.
With reporting from Adam Daly
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I’ll just have to check their website or social media while driving now for updates….
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: Could this possibly be connected? https://www.broadsheet.ie/2019/02/07/jam-today-rte-and-aa-roadwatch/
@Here’s How Podcast: Full story on the podcast here: https://blog.hereshow.ie/2019/02/heres-how-82-rte-and-the-aa/
@⚡ Seánie ⚡: You might have to pay for this service now|
Elaine o Sullivan AA road watch ! I’m gonna miss her voice
@Marko: and Ester Moore ODonoghue
@Marko: Arwen Foley was the one for me.
@Alan McArdle: Lorraine Keane anyone?
@Bill Spill: I certainly would. Met her at electric office many years ago. What a lady
@Adrian O’Donnell: Electric Office? Were you having a picnic together?
@Marko: sometimes sounded like she said the A 3 times. Maybe she’d been out the night before.
No more rind-a-bits being busy so.
@theseadoc: nothing will stop the dunkettle interchange being blocked
@Stuart:
@Stuart:
@Stuart: ah the memories of random places we only know through this broadcast! They might not even exist half of them.
Typical big buyer slashing overheads, and never mind who it affects.
@John Nolan: Ridiculous comment. Are they not entitled to make business decisions in their own interests? Why don’t you set up a traffic notification service and provide it to radio stations if it means so much to you?
What ever became of electric Eddie, eye in the sky… Probably dead and buried somewhere on the Con Colbert road, the only location with traffic back in the day
@Shay Murray: it’s driver is stuck at the Red Cow Roundabout
Who’s going to provide traffic reports for the radio stations now ? It’s a major loss for serious road users. It was fantastic to hear the traffic reports on the hour after the news and if something was happening on the road your driving on, you were notified of it. Another backwards step. In the UK, you don’t even have to wait for the news, the traffic reports interrupt whatever station your listening to.
@Sean Walsh: that is because the traffic situation in the UK is an absolute ball breaker. Not even comparable to here. Or was a ball breaker, pre covid..
Laren behan … a beautiful voice !
How will I find my in into the meeja now, love island won’t take me, AA roadwatch gone, crimewatch auditions go nowhere, and I won’t stoop to fair city levels just yet!
At least that’s a few annoying voices off the airwaves.
Useless anyway. Radio reports are brutal. Dublin 103.2 for traffic reports in real time.
@Jimmy Reid: hasn’t been the same since John left though.
Was never helpful to me. Everytime it was the same report “traffic heavy on the dunnekettle” its always heavy.
@Michael: The AA are losing money – most if not all insurance companies or garages provide breakdown cover
Have they an app? They could seek to integrate their real time info with Google maps.
@HarveyLemonade: Where there’s a will, there’s a Waze.
@HarveyLemonade: you can see traffic build ups on Google maps and Apple maps if you Amber lines on maps that’s traffic build up and red lines is traffic at a stop. Also Apple maps is eventually bringing in incident reporting to Ireland like Waze where you can report traffic, accidents speed checks etc
Patnav on Nova will have to do.
A fantastic podcast on the whole situation.
https://blog.hereshow.ie/2019/02/heres-how-82-rte-and-the-aa/?ref=Broadsheet
Bring back The eye in the Sky ! Helicopter service.
They were always rubbish anyway. I well remember the bad old days when I lived in Kildare, and you’d regularly hit a monster traffic jam on the N7 that AA Roadwatch would conveniently have forgotten to mention.
Lorraine Keane, AA Roadwatch
Why? Nooooooooo!
No more helpful mentions of their names by RTÉ presenters in order to help them up on the “celebrity” bandwagon ” ah well Swings and rindeabouts I suppose.
No more traffic “Nooze” then?
Karen Chew all day long.
Anyone remember the ozzie girl,BUMPER TO BUMPER..
@Peter Bell: that does rind a bell Peter.
@Peter Bell: that does ring a bell Peter.
Can’t read websites while driving
Delighted.
The AA and RTÉ themselves are no longer of any relevance.
What motorist would wish to have constant blabbering on a radio, same format from the same sounding stations who constantly have to announce their frequency or name to stay relevant.
Get an iPod or a subscription to Spotify or similar.
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