Food & Beverage

The global food system significantly contributes to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, depletion of freshwater resources, and environmental pollution. Nutrient runoff and pesticide use in industrial agriculture has drastically reduced insect populations, including vital pollinators, as well as destroying the soil microbiome. Alarmingly, a third of all food produced globally is wasted, contributing to a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In Ireland, food waste exceeds 750,000 tonnes annually – enough to fill Croke Park Stadium more than two times (EPA, 2024). This food waste alone results in a carbon footprint of up to 3.6 million tons of CO2.

To combat food waste, Ireland implemented the Waste Management – Food Waste Regulations in July 2010. This requires major food waste producers to separate and recycle it appropriately. Yet, prevention is always the most effective management strategy.

Agriculture accounted for 37.5% of Ireland’s GHG emissions in 2021 (EPA Ireland´s Provisional Greenhouse Gas Emissions, 2022). Significant contributors were:

Poor agricultural land and livestock management threatens water quality. The excessive nutrients from agriculture negatively affect over a third of rivers and a quarter of lakes in Ireland.

The Cultural Heritage Sector has a role to play in re-connecting rural communities with sustainable land, water, bog and forestry management practices. Creative Practitioners are well placed to deliver co-produced community art projects in rural regions, which can support continuity of small-hold agriculture and access to locally grown seasonal food.

The Cultural and Creative Industries as a whole can have a positive impact in addressing food waste and emissions from food & beverages. Particularly those working in:

It is key to work closely with suppliers and caterers to ensure the following:

Food Production

They are producing enough food at your production to feed everyone, but not too much.

Food re-distributor

Work with a food re-distributor such as Too Good to Go or Foodcloud, who can take on excess food and make sure it doesn´t go to waste.

Communication

Communicate staff and audience numbers as accurately and transparently as you can and dietary requirements.

Locally Produced

Choose locally produced food & beverage suppliers where possible to reduce transport miles and support the local economy.

Sustainable food & beverage policy

Implement a sustainable food & beverage policy for the event/festival/premesis, outlining what kind of packaging, cutlery should be used and how waste of any kind should be managed.

Non Meat Options

Internally as a team, consider exploring non meat options for meetings / gatherings to lower emissions.

For a quick comparison of different dietary choices and their environmental impacts, take a look at the below table. This shows the dietary Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and Nitrous Oxide (N2O) by diet group, standardised to 2,000 kcal and by age and gender:

Diet group	GHG emissions
	CO2 kg	CH4 g	N2O g
Vegans	2.16	4.39	0.71
Vegetarians	3.33	20.21	0.98
Fish-eaters	3.81	22.55	1.09
Low meat-eaters	4.21	28.99	1.29
Medium meat-eaters	5.34	40.88	1.73
High meat-eaters	7.28	65.40	2.62

Source: Scarborough et al, Nature Food, 2023

Choose responsibly, support local and redistribute waste