Abstract
In the past fifty years or so, the diverse and colourful displays of animal offal and organ meats that used to be seen in butchers’ shop windows in Ireland, as well as in the UK and America, have all but disappeared. In Ireland, which has seen a gastronomic renaissance in more recent times, these traditional foodstuffs appear to have been slow to return to our plates. But have offal and organ meats a place in the future of the cuisine, and can the increased consumption of offal and organ meats, produced locally, contribute towards a more sustainable food production system, lower in carbon emissions, more supportive of biodiversity, kinder to animals, and healthier for humans? In a blended research approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods, this study employed an online survey as well as semi-structured interviews with selected expert voices, interviews which were then subjected to Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The research confirmed that the consumption of offal meats has undergone a steep decline, possibly as a result of economic prosperity and changes in taste, but also due to systemic changes in the production and distribution of meat in a more centralised and modernised food system. From a socio-cultural standpoint, it found that those who eat offal today are likely to be affluent and food-literate, and have high levels of cultural capital, in contrast perhaps to most of those who subsisted on it in mid-twentieth century Ireland. The study concluded that factors which influenced positive feelings in relation to offal may be rooted in culinary knowledge and a diverse dietary background. On the other hand, it noted that negative feelings towards offal could have origins in childhood experiences with food, “psycho-visceral” auto-responses, and cultural associations with poverty. It discovered that the perceived disconnect between the general population and the origins of its food, and a resulting deficit in culinary skills and knowledge, might be potential barriers to a revival of these foodstuffs in the future. It found that increased consumption of these foods could, however, help make the food production system in Ireland more sustainable, by contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.
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Recommended Citation
Toner, Niall
(2025)
"Why the Irish Don’t Eat Offal,"
European Journal of Food Drink and Society:
Vol. 5:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/ejfds/vol5/iss1/7