Kepak announces food production and sustainability qualification
Irish meat processor Kepak, in partnership with Bangor University, has launched a Masters-level research degree in sustainable food production.
Bangor University’s School of Natural Sciences has partnered with Kepak Merthyr to offer an MRes Scholarship. The degree aims to provide an insight into how to improve the sustainability of current food production systems.
The degree’s research proposal, titled ‘Evaluating the potential for greenhouse gas reduction from a commercial beef supply chain’, looks to enable the student to make a tangible contribution in helping to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with beef production in Wales.
Dr Prysor Williams, project supervisor at Bangor University said: “The UK has pledged to be net carbon neutral by 2050. Consequently, the red meat sector is under considerable pressure to reduce its environmental impacts and has made ambitious commitments to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).
“By utilising Kepak data and the outputs of ongoing projects at the School of Natural Sciences, this studentship will help identify a number of key measures including efficiency, mitigation, and changes to production systems.”
Julie Finch, agriculture governance and compliance manager at Kepak, said: “Environmental issues are extremely important to us at Kepak. We have already made significant changes to become a more sustainable business and welcome the insight that the MRes Scholarship will offer, enabling us to do even more to make a positive impact in the communities in which we operate.”
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