Food Matters

Meet Máiréad, a beacon of inspiration in the realm of Irish organic horticulture and a proud representative of the increasing number of female farmers in Ireland. Entering into the world of organic farming during a career break from healthcare in 2017, Máiréad has since cultivated not just crops, but a vision: Garraí Mara. It's more than just a farm; it's a testament to Máiréad's dedication to health promotion, mental well-being, and sustainable farming practices. As someone who understands the profound healing power of nature and the importance of consuming fresh, organic produce, Máiréad has intertwined her expertise from her healthcare days and her passion for farming. And in the heart of the Gaeltacht, she's also keen on promoting the Irish language, making her endeavors at Garraí Mara a blend of culture, health, and food sustainability.

John Gibbons is one of Ireland best-known environmental journalists and commentators. A very familiar voice on radio shows like The Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today FM, John is also behind the blog Think or Swim, and writes regularly in national print media. 

In this episode of Food Done Right, John joins GIY to talk about how things have changed, both for better and worse, over the last 15 years since he first became  involved in climate action. They also discuss how environmental advocates can stay sane in the face of the horror of climate change and how to communicate the problems effectively amidst apathy, denial and fatalism. 

A fascinating panel discussion from GIY’s Harvest festival where four experts in food production and sustainability discuss the global issues that have been affecting us in recent years. They reflect on how the COVID-19 Pandemic, the War in Ukraine and Climate Change have impacted our food systems and they explore what we can do to become more resilient and diverse in our local food systems.

 Our panellists were:

John Gibbons - Environmental commentator, Irish Times Columnist and weekly contributor to The Last Word with Matt Cooper’s on Today FM.

Steve Collins - Medical Doctor, with a PhD in Nutrition. Steve won a MB for his Humanitarian work in Africa and had recently returned to Ireland and is now growing Aronia Berries on a mountainside in West Cork.

Kitty Scully - Writer, presenter, and well-known Gardener. Kitty has recently been to South Africa as part of her study and research in Regenerative Agriculture. She is also Co-ordinator of Organic Growers Ireland.
 
Richard Mee - Our own Head Grower GIY HQ. Richard has accumulated over 40 years of growing experience. He studied for a BSc in Horticulture at Reading University and an MSc in Organic Farming at the Scottish Agricultural College. In addition to the UK and Ireland, Richard has grown veg all over the world, including Central America and Africa.

The food given to the sick, or those in institutional care, says a lot about the value we place on it in society. Hospital food has long exemplified a degraded view of food, but Joyce Timmins' efforts at Rotunda Hospital have won her awards and sparked a new conversation. Horticultural therapist Rachel Gerrard coordinates the garden at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, where growing is integral to recovery and homegrown food makes its way onto patients' plates.

Chefs play a major role in determining food trends. Advocacy specialist Paul Newnham works to mobilise chefs globally to take action towards addressing SDG2, Zero Hunger. In what might seem contradictory, this movement includes high-end restaurants, where the trends these top chefs create have the potential to change food culture more widely. At Michelin starred Aimsir, Tom Downes describes how he left his role in the kitchen to take over the on-site farm, seeking to educate the food world about the importance of hyperlocal, seasonal food.

The major global tech companies have created their own food culture over the last decade, characterised as excessive and wasteful at times, but trail-blazing elsewhere. Airbnb's former Executive Chef Maurice McGeehan explains more, before detailing the food needs of very different professionals - Irish rugby players. Tim Holmes then takes us behind the scenes of the veg garden tended by the team that bring us Guinness.

Northern Europe is generally a good place to look for how the world should function sustainably. In Holland, Geert van der Veer's organisation Herenboeren enables groups of 200 people to co-invest in a farm and take control of the food supply in their area. In a housing estate in Kildare, Pat Pender and his neighbours have transformed wasted land to do the same at an even more local level.

School closures during lockdown revealed the dependency so many children have on school meals. Serial food entrepreneur, writer and researcher Michelle Darmody explains how it also revealed the quality of these meals and the lack of emphasis on food literacy in our education system. On the opposite side of the world in Zambia, teacher Charles Banda is working to address similar problems by creating his own school garden, inspired, somehow, by GIY's TV series Grow Cook Eat.

The global food system is at its worst in American households. Roger Doiron campaigned for the White House to create a kitchen garden to help educate Americans about their food, which has survived the tumultuous transitions of power over the last decade. One former Obama campaigner turned Irish resident, Erin Fornoff explains how growing food can be done anywhere, including the roof of her houseboat.  

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