About Us!

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you and then you win!

It was a long uphill struggle for the organic sector in Ireland. Struggling against hostile big business interests, against an agriculture policy (dominated by those interests), against a misconceived, biased teaching.

You, the consumer, kept us going all these years and in a way this new distribution system is our thank you to you.

At times when attempts were made to take over control of the organic sector or water down our standards for organic production we stood up against it and fought our cases in our all interest.

"Vested interests gave the organic sector a hard time..."

Today much has changed. Organic farming is a firm part of agriculture policy. After 20 years – having started from zero – the first dedicated organic meat processing plant and warehouse in Ireland was built and opened by the Minister of State, Noel Treacy. This plant is the headquarter and centre of Ballybrado direct.

The pictures show the opening ceremonies and also the opening of the organic factory outlet, attended by more than 1,000 people.

"Minister of State, Noel Treacy unveiling the plaque at the opening ceremonies of the new Good Herdsmen plant"	"The Finke and Purcell Families."
"Food writer and journalist, John McKenna addressing the audience at the opening ceremonies."	"Ballybrado Direct Open Day - Fresh Fruit & Vegetable market.."

"A memorable day: The first dedicated organic meat plant and distribution centre has opened."
(From Left to Right) John Purcell, Director Good Herdsmen; Matt McGrath, Chairman Tipperary County Council; Noel Treacy, Minister of State; David Couper, Director Organic Trust; John McKenna, Food Writer; Josef Finke, Director Ballybrado direct.

What is the philosophy of Ballybrado direct? What does it stand for?

In these times of monopolies and globalization, Ballybrado direct is the opposite to the established patterns of industrial, long shelf life, tasteless, mass produced “food”, channeled through ever bigger multinational retail groups which have turned our food culture into a sterile, lifeless and superficial shopping culture.

Ballybrado direct is a grassroots development, based on real farms and gardens, family-run craftsmanship processing and authentic produce – be it from Irish organic farms, Italian organic producers or German organic artisan food specialists, just to name a few.

At a time, when a diversity of food cultures from around the globe is threatened to by replacement with a global food subculture we want to do our best to maintain the enjoyment of authentic food from dedicated food producers. This is for you to prepare – you the food lover who appreciates good food for what it is: a wonderful cultural achievement.

The corner stones of Ballybrado direct are:

1. Lowest Prices

   Good food cannot be cheap. Mainly, food is cheap today because of the questionable achievements of some food technicians who manage to get ever higher quantities of water, air and other low cost replacement ingredients into our industrial food. We, the initiators of Ballybrado direct, will never compromise on food quality, but we have reduced the number of parties involved in the supply chain and their unreasonable margins, especially on organic food.
   
   The way in which our supply chain has been organised – no frills, just good food – is a slim line, very cost effective way which guarantees lowest prices for your benefit. As you will see, many key organic products will cost 20% or even 30% less than you are used to. On top of this you will regularly find special offers.

2. Fresh quality, full of flavour

   In these times of factory food, Ballybrado direct wants to make a difference, by not compromising on the taste of food. Taste is the single biggest factor people nowadays are missing from our “industrial” food.

   Ballybrado direct is farm-based, a virtual farmer’s market, just that it spares you actually the travel and transport.

   However, it is not only fresh produce where taste is important. The same guidelines on flavour apply to our processors. Leaving food as natural as possible is our motto. You will not find flavour enhancers, processing aids or shelf life extending chemicals in any of our processed products, nor will our processors engage in processing practices which compromise taste.

   
   
   "Organic tastes just gorgeous..."

3. Widest Organic Food Range

   We know that the more people understand food, the more organic food they want to buy. Many families, especially those with small children, have made up their mind that they want to eat organic. Permitted pesticide residues, identified by our EU, do not differentiate between adults and small children. This is certainly a point where responsible parents decide not to rely on the EU but on their own common sense and judgement .

   In order to give our consumers the opportunity to eat organically as much as possible, we have committed ourselves to offer - as we develop - the widest range of organic food you will find anywhere in Ireland. Start with an organic breakfast, have an organic lunch and an organic dinner too. Choose from the whole food range: vegetable, fruit, meat, dairy products, juices, dry goods, snacks and (later in the year) even wine.
   
   
   
   
   If you are missing anything, let us know and we will get working on it.
   
   
   
   
   
   

   
   "You really want choice these days, don't you..?"

4. Environmental Awareness

   Concern about the future of our planet is one of the pillars of the organic movement. This is not confined to the principles of organic farming which have sustainability at their core, it also affect other aspects of the supply chain e.g. packaging, as we take great care to reduce the amount of packaging used. The goods are delivered in crates, which will be emptied at delivery and then taken back. We intended to use biodegradable crate liners, but at a cost of 1€ each, we refrained from this and use a PVC liner. You can return this to us or put it into your packaging waste bag for waste separation.

   Individual product packaging is only used for hygiene (meat, cheese, etc), protection from dirt (root vegetables, potatoes, etc), or as transport units (e.g. jars for jam, bags for dry goods, cartons for juice etc).

   Regarding the packaging material used, we try to make use of re-usable or biodegradable material wherever possible. It might not always be possible, especially at the beginning, but as our volume grows we will gain strength and with it the ability to improve the system.

   The whole distribution system itself is, of course, environmentally aware because it means that thousands of families don’t have to travel for their food shopping, and hundreds of producers don’t have to travel to markets. Instead, one person drives the goods to the depots; one person brings it to you.

5. More Information

   Food is too important an issue to be accompanied with insufficient or even absence of information.

   However, where should this information come from?
   
   
   
   How can young parents today know how to bring up a healthy family? Food and nutrition is hardly a topic at school, the times of three generations under one roof, where knowledge was passed on from grandmothers to mothers are gone

   
   
   
   
   
   "We show you what you can do with our products..."
   
   As organic producers we are actively looking for dialog with you. We want to give you as much information as possible for your decisions:

   • How goods were produced?
   • What was done, what not?
   • What is the difference between this organic product and its non-organic counterpart?
   • What you can do with this product (food preparation)?
   • What does this product do for you (nutritional and health information)?

On top of this we want to update you on all-important developments, relating to food, nutrition, health, organic goodness and everything we feel is important for a critical consumer nowadays.

Our first aim was, to get our website working. With this in mind we concentrated initially on the shop part, but as the year goes on you will find more and more information passed on to you.

Why organic producers seek the dialog with consumers?

The organic movement started on two levels. On the one hand you had people (especially young mothers) who had become worried about what they read about the food we eat today. This included not only the amounts of chemicals used in food production but also the denaturation process which affects the nutritional value of the food. These concerned people talked to their local farmers and told them that if they grow their food without these chemicals, they will buy it and their friends will too.

On the other hand we saw farmers who looked at the results of “modern” farming, what it did to the land, the livestock, the whole rural community. Their most prominent spokesperson had become the former EU commissioner Sicco Mansholt who then admitted that he had been wrong and agriculture had taken the wrong direction.

This dialogue between critical farmers and growers on the one hand and critical consumers on the other hand formed, from the very early stages, the foundation of the organic movement.

Today this dialogue is more important than ever. Young people especially, know less and less about food, food preparation, nutritional requirements and health. They become more and more hooked on an industry which promises freedom but delivers dependence.

Organic producers know that when people stop preparing their own food they are lost to the convenience industry. Processors and ready meal producers are generally not interested in prime quality, they look for the cheapest ingredients. This would give little room to organic producers in the future.

Dialogue for us organic producers means we want to share with you the enjoyment of food. Starting at the farm, moving into the kitchen and ending as a tasty delight on the table.

 "Dialogue for us organic producers means, we want to share with you the enjoyment of food..."

However, the reason why we want to talk to you directly is also that we know many more people would eat organic if it were less expensive. So we developed this new “No Frills System”, leaving out many middlemen and much glamour, but giving you direct access to the best food you can buy.

Dialogue with you also means you have direct access to the producers, those who are the experts on organic food. If you have a question, this question is answered directly. We bring transparency to the table, something on which trust can grow.

Please make use of our interactive website.