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DkIT finish 3rd in the Great Agri-Food Debate 2023

24 March 2023

Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) finished a proud third in the Great Agri-Food debate, an annual debating competition open to agriculture students at educational institutions across Ireland and the UK.

The annual event, now in its eighth year, is sponsored by Dawn Meats and McDonalds and involves teams holding virtual debates on topical issues affecting the food and agriculture industry. 



DkIT’s team was Sarah Armstrong (captain), Sarah Bolger, Ciara Smith, Oisin Cassidy and Ciaran Gunn. They are all students on the BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Agriculture and BSc (Hons) in Agri-food programmes. 

In their debate against University College Cork, DkIT had to oppose the motion “An exclusively plant-based diet is neither healthy for planet nor person" and lost out narrowly in what the panel of judges described afterwards as a 'very close contest'. While everyone was disappointed to lose, there was some consolation in finishing with the third highest score in the competition and recording DkIT’s best ever finish.  

Siobhán Jordan, Head of Department of Agriculture, Food and Animal Health remarked that the result was a fantastic achievement, and she praised the team for giving their time to the event and representing DkIT so well on a national platform. 

The other participating teams were drawn from UCD, Progressive Young Farmers, Aberystwyth, Southeast Technological University, Munster Technological University, and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). 

View the debate 

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