The Ballymaloe Cookery School founder told Newstalk Breakfast this morning that farmers are leaving the profession because they are not being paid enough by supermarkets.
Ms Allen said stores are forcing farmers to keep prices low, and claimed the system could threaten Ireland’s national food security.
Food Security
“Many of us think that Ireland is very food secure but we import a huge amount of our food at the moment – even things we can produce easily,” she said,
“But one of the biggest problems is the poor prices that farmers are getting for their food. There is constant downward pressure on food prices from supermarkets.
“We have all been conditioned to think that cheap food is our right but farmers in many cases now are not being paid enough to produce food.”
Ms Allen said people are turning their backs on farming as a career.
“Parents are often discouraging their children against it,” she said.
“They are not being paid enough to re-invest in their businesses and the second generation see no future in farming so they’re going off to do something else.”
Low prices
Ms Allen said food prices are quite low in Ireland.
“We are spending less on food now [as a percentage of income] than we ever have been before on record,” she said.
“Even though the price of food has gone up and up, it’s actually not getting back to the primary producers and this is a real problem.
“Farmers in many ways, the people who feed us, are the most important people on the planet.”
Supermarkets
Tackling the issue must begin with supermarkets, according to Ms Allen.
“Somehow or other, the supermarkets have to pay a fair price to farmers,” she said.
“The more farmers get squeezed, the more concerns they have to cut, the less nutrient dense the food will be.
“The less nutrient-dense the food, the more we will have to spend on medication and so on.
“It’s a major problem and I don’t know how it’s going to be tackled - but it’s urgent.”
Ms Allen said farmers will be forced to cut corners if prices continue to remain low.
“The more corners that are cut in farming, the more damage that is done to the soil,” she said.
“With less nutrients in the soil, the less nutrients we will have in our food.
“Farmers, at this point in time, say that it would be fortunate if there were 50% of the nutrients in our food now than there were in the 1950s.”
Positivity
Ms Allen said it’s important to remain positive.
“The future of food is local and local production systems,” she said.
“There’s lots and lots of good things happening but there’s no question we are facing serious problems if we don’t wake up.
“We need to buy, if we can, from people who are practicing organic farming and demand that farmers are paid a fair price for their work.”
Ms Allen made a plea to the Government to include cooking in the national curriculum so that young people can cost-effectively make "nutritious and delicious" meals.
Main image: Darina Allen opening John Kingerlee exhibition at the Catherine Hammond Gallery. 18-6-11. Ros Drinkwater / Alamy Stock Photo
