Ethical Farming Ireland is a non-profit organisation fighting to end factory farming. Our group consists of volunteers who share this vision and aim to improve conditions for farm animals.
Our food system is broken. Since the end of the second world war, farming has become more intensified with little regard to either the welfare of the animals being farmed or the devastating impact on our planet.
Half of the world’s wildlife has been wiped out in the past 40 years and two thirds of this loss is driven by food production, with animal agriculture being a major contributor to greenhouse gases worldwide. Mega crops are grown to feed farmed animals, food that we could eat ourselves. Large swaths of the Amazon are being cleared to grow these crops and also for cattle to graze. Run off from fields heavily sprayed with artificial fertilizers and pesticides are creating huge ‘dead zones’ in our oceans and lakes.
However, there is a growing movement of farmers who want to bring about change by regenerative farming. They are generally small scale livestock and crop farmers that use their livestock and other farming methods to rewild the land. We can rebuild our soils and move towards more plant based farming and agro-forestry. We need to greatly cut down our consumption of meat, dairy and fish and must support small, sustainable farms, avoiding intensively farmed produce, whether we are vegan, vegetarian, flexitarian or meat eaters.
Ethical Farming Ireland is a new group established to campaign for improved conditions for farm animals that also benefits our environment. All animals deserve a life free of pain and stress and all animals should be able to fully carry out their natural behaviours, including caring for their young. This means getting animals out of the factories and back into the fields where they belong. It also means an end to long distance transport and live export.
We have to change our mindset and stop expecting cheap food, all purchased in one location. There is no such thing as cheap food, there is always a cost, we just can’t always see it.
