In 1990 John McCarthy, a small meat trader, made a formal statement to An Garda Síochána. He alleged his company Emerald Meats was being defrauded as a result of a conspiracy between the department of agriculture and certain beef processing companies, including Goodman companies, in the handling of imported beef quotas under the Gatt trade agreement. A 17-year legal battle ensued which ended with the High Court awarding Emerald Meats damages of €2.5 million in a civil action against the department. If the courts proved a tough battle field, they were not unlike the meat industry itself with its tight…