The Chairperson of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Jackie Cahill and committee members are to meet with the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, Cindy McCain as well as other UN officials and representatives from the Department of Agriculture.
The meeting, at Leinster house tomorrow, will examine Ireland’s role in producing food to feed to the world’s growing population. Deputy Cahill notes that “Food security is back on the agenda since the Russian invasion of Ukraine” and says certainty of food supply cannot be taken for granted.
According to the UN, there are 345 million people globally who are acutely food-insecure. An estimated 40 million people are severely food insecure and in grave danger of plunging into famine. 45 million children under the age of 5 are now estimated to have acute malnutrition. Deputy Cahill is accusing environmentalists of wanting to curb output while paying little or no attention to how this will impact on the ability to feed the world’s growing population.
