SETU can help solve food waste problem
Cynthia Ní Mhurchú says SETU can help solve the food waste problem while also creating high-end jobs
South East Technological University (SETU) can help address issues around food waste while at the same time create high end jobs in the south east region.
That’s the view expressed to Waterford News & Star by Ireland South MEP candidate, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú.
On average food waste costs Irish householders around €60 per month or around €700 per year.
Ms Ní Mhurchú wants to use more EU research and development funding to ensure that SETU can be at the centre of the solution to a growing food waste problem.
Figures from Eurostat showed Ireland was one of the biggest food wasters in Europe and Ms Ní Mhurchú, who is on the governing board of SETU, feels better use should be made of the Horizon Europe fund.
“We can use the Horizon Europe fund, a €95 billion fund, to channel research funds into SETU, to devise solutions to the problem of food waste,” she said.
“There are a number of ongoing EU funded projects dealing with food waste including the SISTERS project,” she added.
“This is a partnership of universities across the EU that are working together on solutions to cut food waste by €3 billion annually in North West Europe; that is funded by Horizon Europe.”
She said she wants to see a doubling of Horizon funding for SETU to support ongoing research including the application of ‘Internet of Things’ and Big Data technologies to food supply chains with the aim of reducing waste.
“I think we can also expand research around innovations in packaging for processors and retailers; and awareness campaigns for retailers and consumers on food loss and waste,” said Ms Ní Mhurchú.
She also commented that SETU had, in the past, focused research on how food waste can be turned into animal feed, fertiliser and other secondary industrial compounds.
Expanding on the issue she said: “I think this is an area we can expand and develop our research capabilities.”
"In the EU we waste 89 million tonnes of food every year, accounting for 20 per cent of the total food produced in the EU,” added Ms Ní Mhurchú.
“The value of this food is estimated to be in the region of €143 billion, impacting each stage of the Food Value Chain,” she said.
The EU has committed to halving food waste by 2030 and Ms Ní Mhurchú said she wants rural Ireland to be at the centre of innovations around solving the food waste problem.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledges that food waste is a global problem that has environmental, social and economic consequences. According to the EPA over one quarter of food produced globally is wasted and it's a significant contributor to climate change.
