Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has encouraged the public to have their say on Ireland’s draft National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap.
The closing date has been extended until Monday, March 28.
Global food waste is estimated to release 3.3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere every year, with Ireland producing over 1 million tonnes of waste annually, according to Minister McConalogue.
The minister called on everyone in the agri-food sector, including retailers, food service, processors and primary producers to participate in the consultation. He said:
“Tackling food waste, cutting back or eliminating it altogether, is a way of respecting the world-class food produced on farms and by our producers as well as playing a major role in protecting the environment.”
The National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap will set out a series of actions to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said.
Ireland has committed to achieve this target in line with the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Approximately half of food waste is estimated to come from the processing and manufacturing sector with the remainder arising from households, restaurants and food service, and retail and distribution, according to the department.
The Food Vision 2030 strategy for sustainable development in the agri-food sector seeks the development of a National Food Waste Prevention Roadmap which also aims to promote the transition to a circular economy.
Minister McConalogue added that the public’s insight into how food waste reduction can be achieved is invaluable and can help reaching the goal of halving Ireland’s food waste.