South East Technological University’s Great Agri Food debate team had a fantastic win in the final of what was a hotly contested competition over this semester.
The SETU team took on University College Cork in the final which took place in London last week with SETU opposing the motion “The solution to negative consumer perceptions of red meat is more honest communication”.
UCC were very formidable opponents, having fought off a challenge from Dundalk IT to make it to the finals and SETU defeated Aberystwyth University of Wales on their journey to London.
Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats and Dunbia spoke after the event saying that “the judges’ decision was unanimous and that SETU had been the clear winner”.
The winning team were Patrick Shanahan from Limerick who is the team captain and a final year Agricultural Science student, Owen Maleady from Westmeath who is a final year Land Management student, Aoife Meagher from Tipperary who is in final year Food Science and Innovation, and Ciara Leonard from Offaly, Maud O’Callaghan from Waterford and Cormac Loughran from Meath who are all in 3rd year of the BSc in Agriculture course.
This is the third win in a row for the SETU team, a massive achievement from the department of land sciences, the students and mentors. The team went to London well prepared for the debate by a large group of mentors including Rachel O'Dowd, Eleanor Kent, Sara Vero, Denise O'Meara, Rachel Doyle and Tony Woodcock.
Ahead of the final, the team met with the Irish Ambassador to Great Britain, Mr Martin Fraser.
The annual Great Agri Food debate is sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonalds and this year took place in the prestigious Butchers Hall in London on Tuesday, 28 March.