A Crisis of Blood – The Slow Death of Ireland’s Fresh Blood Black Pudding Tradition

Fresh blood black pudding is one of the oldest foods of Ireland, yet rapidly declining access to fresh animal blood means this is a food under threat of extinction. Underpinning this crisis is the shuttering of abattoirs capable or willing to collect blood at slaughter. However, this is a crisis hidden from view of the consumer as proliferation of cheap mass-made puddings reliant on imported dried blood obfuscates the issue. The result is that this is a food crisis experienced only by those who