SETU wins 9th Great Agri-Food Debate
SETU have been announced as the winners of the 9th Annual Great Agri-Food debate, organised by Dawn Meats and co-sponsored by McDonald’s.
The team from SETU (South East Technological University) secured the win by defeating Antrim-based CAFRE (College of Agriculture Food & Rural Enterprise) in what the judges described as a tightly contested Grand Final.
SETU were declared the winners having successfully opposed the motion that: “People believe social media influencers more than scientific fact about red meat consumption.”
The team from SETU included Ellen Feery, Brittany Davis, Edward Hatton, Alisha Flynn, Saoirse Cassidy and Ellen Doherty, the team captain.
In defeating CAFRE in the Grand Final, SETU made it four wins a row following successes in 2023, 2022 and 2021. SETU was established in May of 2022, but it was formed through the amalgamation of IT Carlow and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).
The semi-finals and the Grand Final of this year’s competition were held in-person on Thursday 28th November, on the winner’s home turf at the SETU Arena in Waterford.
Emma Forbes of CAFRE won the Best Speaker award in the Grand Final. Her fellow team members were team captain Victoria Morrison, Anna Jackson, Molly Cunningham, Caitriona O’Kane and Louise Weir.
The Great Agri-Food Debate provides an opportunity for agriculture students from colleges and universities in Ireland and the UK to compete by debating topical issues relevant to the agri-food sector.
The Grand Final was judged by Niall Browne, Chief Executive of Dawn Meats, John Byrne, Franchisee at McDonald’s, and John Murray, Director of Meat, Food and Beverages at Bord Bia. Jack Kennedy, Editor of the Irish Farmers Journal, moderated the Grand Final.
In total six teams from across Ireland and the UK entered the highly popular competition this year. They included teams from Scotland’s Rural College in Edinburgh (SRUC) and Harper Adams University in Shropshire, England.
Four universities progressed to the semi-final stage this year including SETU, CAFRE, University College Cork (UCC) and Munster Technological University (MTU).
Advancing to the Grand Final, CAFRE won their semi-final debate against MTU, proposing the motion: “The carnivore diet is an effective solution to modern health issues caused by processed foods”. MTU opposed this motion.
SETU won in their semi-final versus UCC. The SETU team proposed the motion: “Regulatory climate change polices are driving a wedge between consumers and farmers”, while UCC opposed.
The preliminary round of debates took place online, as in previous years, with this enabling wider participation in what has become a calendar moment for students studying agriculture related subjects.
Commenting after the debate, Niall Browne, Chief Executive of Dawn Meats said: “It is fantastic to hear lively discussions at this year’s Great Agri-Food Debate final and encouraging to know the future of the industry is secure with this cohort of students. Each year, we aim to address key topics in our industry, and it is a pleasure to listen to students voice their arguments and showcase their deep understanding of complex issues. I’d like to congratulate this year’s winning team, SETU. Many thanks to all involved, including the participants, judges and moderators, for making this event such a success.”
John Byrne, Franchisee at McDonald’s, said: “It was a privilege to attend and judge this year’s Great Agri-Food Debate. The debaters were passionate, smart and eloquent and I am confident that the future of the agri-food industry is in safe hands. McDonald’s remains committed to playing our part in supporting a forward-thinking and sustainable food sector across Ireland and the UK.”
The recordings of this year’s debates are available on the Dawn Meats YouTube channel.
