Dawn Meats and McDonald’s supporting the next generation of business leaders
The Great Agri-Food Debate is a joint initiative between Dawn Meats and McDonald’s. Students of food and agriculture from the third-level education sector gathered in Belfast at Riddel Hall, Queen’s University, for the 5th Annual Great Agri-Food Debate on the 26th & 27th February 2020. Teams from University College Dublin, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Queen’s University Belfast, Waterford Institute of Technology, University of Limerick and CAFRE all made the journey to Belfast for the two-days of debating. The event featured six debates, culminating in the final, in which students from UCD and WIT debated the motion “Global free trade, not subsidies, will deliver a sustainable future for European Agriculture”. UCD were triumphant, taking the trophy home for a 4th time.
The debates were moderated and judged by a range of representatives from the agrifood industry and beyond including Nina Prichard from McDonald’s, HE Mrs Deike Potzel, German Ambassador to Ireland, Pamela Byrne CEO Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Niall Browne CEO Dawn Meats and Dunbia and Tara McCarthy CEO Bord Bia.
Commenting Niall Browne, CEO Dawn Meats said;
“Each year we try to present students with controversial and substantive motions that are central to our industry. This allows students great latitude to display their skills in crafting, presenting and defending their arguments. Every year we are impressed by the technical knowledge of the teams and their confidence, wit and assuredness in presenting their views to us. As always, my congratulations to the winning team, and my thanks to our partners McDonald’s and the judges, moderators and most especially the participants for making this event such an on-going success.”
Commenting, Nina Prichard, Head of Sustainable and Ethical Sourcing, McDonald’s UK & Ireland said:
“We’re proud to support the 5th Great Agri Food Debate hosted for the first time this year at Queen’s University in Belfast. It’s wonderful to help deliver such a high standard of informed and impassioned debate, with students from colleges across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland participating. McDonald’s Farm Forward programme aims to shape a positive future for the agri-food sector across Ireland and the UK, we believe young people are vital to this conversation; which is why it is so encouraging to see students debating the issues of the day and coming up with innovative solutions to some of the challenges faced.”
