The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, has welcomed the start of a public consultation on Ireland’s draft National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap.
Details
According to a statement published on Gov.ie, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has stated that food waste contributes to approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions annually, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 is aiming to halve per-capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and decrease food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses, by 2030.
The statement noted that – as outlined in Ireland’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy – the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is the lead for the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, and that – in line with the commitment in the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy – the stakeholder-led ten-year strategy for the sustainable development of the agri-food sector, Food Vision 2030, includes an action to develop the National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap, which sets out a series of actions to deliver the reductions necessary to halve food waste in the next eight years, meet related targets, and promote the transition to a circular economy.
Submissions Now Invited
The statement published on Gov.ie added that submissions from the public and interested stakeholders on the draft National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap are now invited, and that the closing time and date for submissions is 5.30pm on Thursday 24 March of this year.
Minister McConalogue’s Statement
The statement published on Gov.ie included one from Minister McConalogue, in which he said, “In line with Food Vision 2030, I would like to encourage all relevant stakeholders in the agri-food sector, including retailers, foodservice, processors, consumer representatives and primary producers, to participate in this consultation. Tackling food waste – cutting back or eliminating it altogether – is good for food producers, consumers and the environment, and will require behavioural change by all of us. We want now, in this consultation, to hear from those who can provide insight into how food waste reduction can be achieved, and to achieve the target to halve our food waste by 2030.”
Minister McConalogue also said, “I am fully committed to pursuing ambitious food waste reductions and other measures that contribute towards a sustainable food chain in the agri-food sector. I look forward to collaborating across government on implementing this and other actions provided in Food Vision 2030, the Climate Action Plan, and the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy.”
© 2022 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
