Food waste is something that isn’t mentioned as often when speaking about the climate crisis, as it is only accounting for 10% of the total percentage with the climate crisis.  

The main issue with food waste is the significant resource waste it uses to bring your food from fork to plate, but also the carbon monoxide emissions. Deforestation is another major consequence for the ever-growing demand on the agriculture sector. 

On a global scale, the average number of hectares of forests lost is 10 million each year. This happens everywhere but is most apparent in tropical forests in Brazil, Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  

Climate activist Arielle Calajate, who is involved in multiple eco-friendly initiatives said, “People don’t realise how truly important the trees are to the climate, and responsible for a lot of what food we can eat. They give us fruits, nuts, healthy soil for food, a water cycle regulation, and pollination. So many important things are given to us by trees.” 

Ireland’s deforestation rate is historically low for 2024, with only 670 hectares of trees lost. From 2001 to 2023, Ireland wasn’t as lucky and lost a total of 161,000 hectares of trees. For the small isle of Ireland, it meant we had lost 19 per cent of our national tree coverage from 2000 onwards. 

According to Calajate,“by cutting down trees to provide us with more food, we are effectively hurting the one thing that is helping to keep everything okay. This is something the earth has been doing for centuries, long before we started abusing it.” 

Statistics released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that Ireland has wasted over 835,000 tonnes of food waste in 2023. This means that the average weight of food waste for a person in Ireland is 162kg. Ireland’s food wastage is higher than the European average, which is 132kg per person.  

Statistics released by The Central Statistics Office (CSO) stated that food and non-alcoholic drinks increased in waste from 4.7% in the beginning of 2025. It is now at 5.0% in September 2025. 

When you keep food in a highly acidic environment of vinegar or brine, it can add to the shelf life of that food for months, when they are properly preserved and sealed. This way of preserving food helps to prevent spoiling by preventing bacteria from growing.  

Statistics by the Environmental Protection Agency mention that global food waste accounts for 8-10% of the total greenhouse gas emissions. When food is disposed of in landfills, it releases methane gas, which is a potent gas with a climate warming potential that is 84 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. 

There is no problem with the usage of agricultural land to produce food for the growing population, the problem lies in large percentages of these patches of land are used to grow food which is not consumed and wastes valuable resources.  

Research done by the World Bank Organisation found that around 70% of the world’s water usage is used for food. This makes food a significant waste of freshwater and groundwater resources. Another resource used is the energy consumption, as 38% of the total energy used globally for food, is for food that is never eaten. 

Your own impact on food waste can be a big help to stop the growing problem of food waste and its depletion of natural resources, and most are decisions that can be made at home. Buy in smaller quantities, if possible, from your local markets.