Ireland's White Gold Boom

07/30/20 • 37 min

Ireland produces somewhere in the region of 13% of the world's infant formula. Research has revealed that for every kilo of formula produced, the true carbon cost is anywhere between four and 11 kilos of greenhouses gases. Alongside Australian expert in the economics of infant feeding Dr Julie Smith, Green Bites takes a deep dive into the environmental and ethical impacts of Ireland's €1.3 billion White Gold Boom.

Previous Episode

What's the beef with beef?

Do you think a vegan diet will save the world? This episode might make you think again.

We meet Sligo farmer and artist Clive Bright, whose 120 acre organic farm raises 100% grass-fed beef for Clive’s direct-to-customer company The Rare Ruminare. Clive has transformed his farm from standard dairy, complete with spraying and fertilisers, to the mob-grazing system he uses today, where trees play a vital role in improving his pastures. He’s been certified organic for six years.

Clive believes a truly sustainable food system necessarily includes livestock. In revolutionising his approach to farming, he says he's managed to insulate his livelihood against the commodity market and a food system he sees as broken.

Next Episode

The Knowledge of Salmon

From smoked salmon to sushi, salmon is widely eaten and widely loved. But wild Atlantic salmon stocks are in a dangerous decline. Ireland plans to double its farmed salmon exports in the coming years and yet our government licensing system hangs in a 13-year stasis.

With John Murphy of Salmonwatch Ireland and Catherine McManus of MOWI, the Norwegian aquaculture giant who produce the bulk of Ireland's organic farmed salmon, Green Bites goes fishing for the truth about the sustainability of salmon.