Digital media specialist Aileen Moon proposed the post on Twitter, now X, featuring a photograph of actress Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City with the message that cutting down on red meat could make you “healthier, wealthier and more fabulous”.
The EPA tweet using a picture of Kim Cattrall
She said it was the latest in some “fun and accessible” posts that had got good public engagement and was approved by management. However, it infuriated farming organisations, which accused the EPA of overstepping its role and actively campaigning against Irish livestock products.
The EPA removed the tweet and was accused by climate and environmental organisations of caving in to lobbyists for the country’s biggest carbon-polluting sector.
The EPA said at the time: “We decided to remove the tweet to avoid any unnecessary attention on what is a complex area.”
Ms Moon, who now works for the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, wrote in a LinkedIn post on the one-year anniversary of the controversy that she had expected a reaction.
“For many Irish farmers, red meat production is their livelihood. They did what was expected and made official complaints,” she wrote.
However, she did not expect what came next. “An emergency meeting was held with an external communication agency.”
She said she was not invited, which was “rude”, but was instructed afterwards to delete the post.
“I argued that would be a mistake. I drafted a response instead, citing the sources of information used and explaining the satirical and humorous elements of the post,” Ms Moon said.
The post had highlighted the issue of food waste, with 10pc of meat thrown out, and suggested adopting Meat-Free Mondays or veggie lunches to start reducing consumption.
Ms Moon said research by the World Health Organisation, the United Nations and the EPA itself all supported the message.
“No matter what was said at the time, the reason the EPA deleted a post, one which was scientifically and environmentally sound, was chiefly at the behest of those working in agriculture,” she wrote.
The fallout was “horrible” and in subsequent meetings she was made to feel like a “trouble-making little girl”. “The ultimate outcome was that I lost faith in the EPA. There are some wonderful, whip-smart and passionate people working for the EPA. But they are not being well used currently.”
The EPA said it “can’t comment on an individual’s opinions or feelings”.
“As we stated at the time, we believed it better to remove the tweet in question because to reduce this complex debate to a single tweet would diminish the seriousness of the discussion we need to have,” a spokesperson said.
However, climate and environment researcher Sadhbh O’Neill said that discussion was still not happening.
“We need the EPA to speak out on this issue as they would about any other environmental or climate issue. The reality is that no agency in Ireland is doing that,” she said.