Food Security in Ireland
Although Ireland is a historically food producing nation, much of what we now produce is alcohol, beef and diary related produce for export. Conversely all it takes is a walk around any supermarket to see that a huge percentage of what we eat everyday is imported. This process is extremely reliant on both the ability of other countries to produce what we eat and on oil. It takes oil to grow it, be it in the form of pesticides and fertilisers, plastics and other protective covering, or fuel to cultivate and transport it. The average food basket we buy in the supermarket has travelled over two thousand miles to get here.
Ireland is therefore very vulnerable to food supply chain disruption from fossil fuel depletion, possible fossil fuel supply interruption in the case of war or conflict and climate change induced crop failures both here and abroad. Indeed the global food crisis itself may impact sooner or later on our own food consumption. Research undertaken by the Sustainability Institute, a Mayo based organisation committed to the propagation of ideas central to the concept of sustainability, and to providing a forum for appropriate training and instruction, suggests that in the event of a supply chain collapse, it will take at least 5-7 years for Ireland to re-build its food growing capability to a level compatible with feeding its population.
