Those making traditional farm foods are at risk of being steam-rolled out of existence by flawed EU policies and the new dominance of world trade considerations, the food writer and cook, Myrtle Allen of Ballymaloe House, has predicted.
Small producers gave capitalistic society a benign face and were "saving us from totalitarianism". Yet they were in danger of extinction, particularly because of agricultural reform dictating to the disadvantage of small agricultural enterprises, said Ms Allen.
Every valley in Sicily had its own kind of cake. It was a great mistake to obliterate them. In Ireland there were just half-a-dozen small flour mills left. Different flours meant distinct breads. "Once they are gone, we will all have the same flour."
The more mass-produced foods were on sale, the more consumers and retailers were looking for special, unusual, different and delicious products. So many consumers did not want what agriculture was offering, she said at the event, broadcast on the Internet.
Only big businesses - notwithstanding support for small producers from Bord Bia - were having the door opened for them. Speciality producers were often left struggling with no easing of taxes and "inspectors coming in droves".
The Irish Times food writer, John McKenna, said a speciality food was first defined by a person. Where mass-produced food was defined by the anonymity of an industrial process, it was not possible to separate a speciality food from the person who produced it. This was why genetically modified food was not desirable; it did not offer greater diversity. "We don't want leeks grown in China to taste the same as those grown around Portlaoise."
Speciality food was also defined by place, dictated by local flora and fauna; a unique microclimate. "Each offers unique flavours. Wicklow lamb is different from Connemara lamb, and within Connemara the mountain lamb is again distinct in flavour from the conventional lamb.".
Where 15 years ago Ireland had just two cheeses, a revolution in artisan food production had occurred, which enabled full realisation of the potential of distinctive Irish ingredients. Once introduced to this exciting new world, there was no going back for consumers.
"Their appreciation for foods is the equivalent of climbing a ladder; once you ascend to a higher plateau, once you move on from Liebfraumilch to Chardonnay, from bland whiskey to an expert blend or a single malt, from a piece of industrially processed fish to a piece of wild fish expertly smoked, then there is no question of descending the ladder. You must move ever upwards."
