'I had a very nice Hereford steak last night': Taoiseach hits back on meat criticism
The Taoiseach has hit back at criticism against him for eating less meat.
Leo Varadkar said yesterday he was trying to reduce his carbon footprint by eating less meat.
Kerry TD Danny Healy Rae said
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He said: "Them fellas that are talking about stopping people eating meat have never worked hard.
"If you're a hard worker and do a hard days work there's nothing to bring you back and to revive again than a piece of good meat."
In the Dáil, Mr Varadkar rejected allegations that he was doing damage to farmers by eating less meat.
"I didn't give anybody dietary advice or suggest that anyone else do anything," said the Taoiseach.
"I was specifically asked what I was doing on climate change and I said that I was trying to eat less red meat, not giving it up.
"I had a very nice Hereford steak last night."
Mr Varadkar said yesterday that he was trying to eat less meat "both for health reasons and for reasons of climate change".
Earlier today, Independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice
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Fianna Fáil's Spokesperson on Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, also criticised Mr Varadkar, saying; "The Taoiseach has completely ignored the fact that Ireland has one of the most carbon-efficient beef production systems in the world.
"Irish beef farmers have work incredibly hard to achieve and maintain their record on climate change mitigation, but Leo Varadkar has failed to recognise this."
