Food waste is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. That’s because, as it breaks down, food releases methane, a potent gas thought to cause at least 28 times more global warming than carbon dioxide. Plus with the rising cost of living costs it’s time to revise your purchasing habits and get creative with those leftovers.
From handling animals to operating machinery, farming today is a risky business. Of the 26 work-related fatalities recorded by the Health and Safety Authority (HSE) in Ireland in 2022, over half were within the farming sector. Despite a reduction in the total number of work-related deaths, farming fatalities were up compared to the previous year. Combine this with a startling 20 farming fatalities in 2019 and the picture is stark.
Irish agriculture is one of the most sustainable in the world, Irish farmers produce food of the highest quality with a low environmental footprint. Irish farmers are already making positive steps to make their farms more sustainable with 96% of farmers engaging with the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) agreeing to put measure in place to help improve water quality.
Ireland is one of the few EU countries to have introduced legislation specifically to promote farm plastics recycling. With the majority of Irish farmers embracing recycling materials statistics on farm plastic recycling are reassuring: in 2022, Irish farmers recycled around 37,000 tonnes of plastic wrap and silage pit covers; that’s enough farm plastic to wrap some 18 million silage bales. According to figures from the Irish Farm Films Producers’ Group (IFFPG), that represents a recycle rate of 88% of all plastics.
