Video promoting Irish food gives graphic account of meat production

Footage from an abattoir features in the first of 10 short films about Irish food and the people who produce it, made by Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine of US food and travel website The Perennial Plate, in partnership with Fáilte Ireland.

The couple spent eight weeks filming in Ireland in September and October and the 7½-minute film, about McGrath family butchers in Lismore, Co Waterford, went live this afternoon.

It follows Michael McGrath, his son John and wife Mary at work in their shop, farm and abattoir, and includes footage of one of their cattle being slaughtered and butchered.

The McGraths have been in business at their Lismore premises since the 1890s, and the film tells of their efforts to keep the family business alive in the face of competition from supermarkets. “You’re only as good as the last bit of steak you sold,” McGrath says.

“Our salvation is having our own abattoir, if we didn’t have our own abattoir we could be gone as well,” McGrath tells the cameras, adding that it gives them “control over what we’re selling”.

The two-time James Beard award winning Perennial Plate web documentary series is in its fourth season and has more than 20 millions views across Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook. Its makers are known to never shy away from the realities of food production. According to their website, Mirra Fine became a vegetarian as a result of the first episode of the show.

“I started making this series in November of 2009 and the first scenes I filmed were the events preceding Thanksgiving dinner. As such, parts of this video are not for the squeamish, but what you see is reality. When we eat meat, animals die. If you can’t watch it happen, or even do it yourself … it may be time to reconsider dinner,” Daniel Klein says in the introduction.

Klein and Fine, who travel with their toddler son James, film in four destinations for each season in the series, which they say is “dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating”.

Ireland’s Ancient East, Dublin and the Wild Atlantic Way were the Fáilte Ireland tourism destinations the couple explored, and forthcoming films will feature the Green Barn restaurant opening at Burtown House in Co Kildare and the making of Bertha’s Revenge gin at Ballyvolane House in Co Cork.

Dublin footage will include The Fumbally cafe and chef Katie Sanderson, Andrew Douglas's Urban Farm project and crab fishing in Howth. Wild Atlantic Way stories will include turf-smoking salmon in Donegal, making goat's cheese on the Aran Islands and winterage in the Burren.

During his visit to Ireland, Klein, who is a trained chef and has worked and trained at some of the world’s top restaurants including The Fat Duck and Mugaritz, said “Food, people and stories are why we travel, and film is the perfect way to share culture and inspire others to partake in the adventure. With its stunning greenery, rich history, world renowned chefs and natural beauty, Ireland is the perfect backdrop for our documentary series.”

Fáilte Ireland's head of food tourism, John Mulcahy, said: "Food is an essential part of the holiday experience, worth €2 billion per annum and by teaming up with The Perennial Plate, with its extensive reach, we are sure to encourage more people to consider Ireland, and its food, when making that all important decision about where to holiday."

See theperennialplate.com