A conference to highlight the global role and importance of meat and meat production was held in Dublin today.
The conference, titled 'The Societal Role of Meat - What the Science Says,' was organised by a panel of Irish and international scientists with meat-related expertise in association with the food research body Teagasc.
Coming ahead of the annual UN Climate Summit COP 27 in November, the conference brochure said it was critical to understand what the objective science in relation to meat is saying, as it is a subject too important to be influenced by ideology and incomplete or false description.
"There is a more urgent need than ever before to ensure that agricultural, industrial, governmental and educational stakeholders act on the basis of the best available scientific information regarding livestock farming and meat consumptions impacts on individual and population health, the environment and livelihoods," said Teagasc Assistant Director of Research Declan Troy.
In recent years there have been many contrasting claims and findings about the health advantages and disadvantages of red meat and its impact on the environment, diversity loss and climate change, many backed up by scientific studies, and many hotly debated.
As part of the two-day conference, a public statement to be known as the Dublin Declaration will be open for scientists to sign.
It points out livestock farming has happened for millennia, supports increasing availability of animal nutrition to address unmet needs of three billion people worldwide, acknowledges environmental challenges and raises concerns about one size fits all agendas such as drastically reducing livestock numbers.
Minister of State for Agriculture Martin Heydon was due to speak at the conference.
"It has never been more important to move forward with accurate and scientific understanding of meat's critical role in society," he said.
"Ireland welcomes the scientific effort embodied in the conference, and its contribution to global solutions that ensure meat drives solutions for a healthy future."
The conference was held in Teagasc's Ashtown facility in north Dublin.
