Dear Editor,
Following an article in the Irish Independent last Tuesday (Now 200,000 Cows Must Be Culled To Hit Climate Targets), I was surprised by the feigned care for animal welfare and farmers alike.
Firstly, over 30,000 cattle are slaughtered in Ireland each week of the year. This 200,000 figure represents just 6 weeks of cattle slaughtered, for beef, for failing to reproduce, falling milk production, and more.
This alleged concern for “culls” is nowhere to be seen through the present production and trading of beef and milk on the market.
Secondly, if there was genuine concern for farmers from politicians, there would be a genuine effort to diversify farming, transition to a model of regenerative farming, and reimagine agriculture as a sector which acts as a carbon sink for Ireland.
Farmers are already struggling. Farmers are some of the first awake and the last to bed. The work is never-ending, tough, physical labour, often in solitude.
Farm deaths are an unfortunately common occurrence as is depression, with over half of farmers experiencing poor mental health.
Rather than continuing to facilitate a system that is unrewarding for farmers, and detrimental to our planet and local environments, why not move to a system which rewards farmers for less work.
Farmers should be paid for land management, carbon sequestration, and supporting local biodiversity. In turn, farmers will earn for genuinely aiding the planet, whilst also having more time for themselves to engage with their community.
Whilst the framing of the original article is designed to elicit an emotional response, we must not fail to take heed of the stark warning the article presents – we are failing to meet our climate targets in a business-as-usual scenario.
This was confirmed by the EPA, with the release of new emissions projections which show Ireland is set to miss its legally binding climate targets for 2030.
Not only will this cost the taxpayer for decades to come; what’s more, it further contributes to the growing plight experienced by climate vulnerable nations.
Addressing Ireland’s largest greenhouse emitting sector can have many intersectional benefits – from improving farmers’ lives, to reducing emissions, to restoring ecosystems, and reducing the burden on the taxpayer. Unfortunately, some seem committed to preventing that.
Is mise le meas,
Criodán Ó Murchú – Peterswell, Co. Galway
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