Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on June 19, 2014
The Energetic Evolution of the US Food System
In The Energy Cost of Food I detailed how incredibly energy intensive the US food system is, particularly noting how it likely requires at least 15 calories of industrial energy inputs to produce, process and distribute 1 calorie of consumed food. It hasn’t always been this way though; before 1900 the US food system likely delivered more calories of food than it required as energy inputs in the form of fuel and labor [1]. Only as our food system industrialized after 1900 did today’s energy deficit emerge.
The reasons for the meteoric rise in US food system energy intensity are multifaceted, and include the substitution of industrial fuels for human and animal labor through mechanization, as well as the rise of the food processing industry and the expansion of food distribution networks. Households use far more energy per unit of consumed food today too, if only because the refrigerators, microwaves and other appliances unheard of in 1900 are today commonplace, and are all powered by electricity.
What contributed to the decline in food system energy use after 1970? The Arab Oil Embargo, for the most part [2]. In the 1970s, due to political conflicts, several Middle East oil producing countries conspired to drive oil prices up to astounding heights, forcing many sectors throughout the US economy, including the US food sector, to invest in efficiency improvements and lay off workers as the country sank deep into recession. As oil prices relaxed after 1980 and the recession abated, the energy intensity of the US food system resumed its upward trajectory, which continues to this day.
In The Energy Basis of Food Security I make the case for reducing the energy intensity of food systems to sever the link between energy prices, which are rising and highly volatile, and food prices. If we use history is our guide though, the energy intensity of the US food system is on a steep upward trend that even the Arab Oil Embargo couldn’t permanently derail. Given that energy prices have again reached commanding heights – enough to hinder economic growth, according to most economists – I expect that investments within the food sector are already being made to enhance system-wide efficiency. The million dollar question is whether those investments will be enough to make a real, a permanent, difference, or whether they’ll be targeted towards shortsighted measures that amount to putting bandaids on a mortal wound.
It takes energy to get food. It always has, and it always will. The US food system, and those of many other countries, has risen to commanding heights in terms of its energy intensity. Rising energy prices will eventually end that trend, or make food so expensive that those of lesser means take to the streets in protest. How we adapt to this reality will define us as a species over the coming century. Food activism is rising up like a wellspring around the world, creating an opportunity for us to ponder whether our food system’s development path is a viable one over the long term, and hopefully the facts and figures I’ve offered here can lead people to engage with their food system’s evolutionary path and lead it towards a better outcome.
12 Comments on "The Energetic Evolution of the US Food System"
Meld on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 10:40 am
This is the real issue. Growing your own food is one thing but you need to keep on eye on how this is going to work as Industrail Civ shuts down. I’m laughed at at my allotment because I run a closed system. I mulch with comfrey grown on site and use nettles as a cover crop, save my own seed and leave all plant matter and weeds where it falls (chop and drop system) The only input onto my land is sunlight , the rest comes from the healthy no dig soil recycling everything.
It looks messy but it’s filled with food and wildlife and costs me nothing but the rent.
Northwest Resident on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 11:09 am
Meld — Closed system = sustainable system. I’m sure you agree. Like a forest — things grow then die, they decay in place and become nutrients for the new growing things — animals eat other plants and animals/bugs that themselves obtain nutrition from the forest, but then the animals doing the eating also die and return their nutrients for recycling into the close system. Everything, all nutrients, stay inside the closed/sustainable system, with the sun providing all the energy and additional material being added daily by plants sucking nitrogen and other nutrients out of the air, and with the constant rain of space dust settling down through the atmosphere.
Anybody who wants to have a sustainable garden/food production “system” needs to closely imitate the closed-system of the forest.
To start a sustainable food production system, you probably have to start out with importing a lot of nutrients — fertilizers for example, or in my case, going out into the forest and hauling back many extra-large plastic bags stuffed full of leaves and other mulching material (stealing from another closed system — but just a little!).
If all farming was done like this, there would be no problems. The problems come when the food/produce grown on the mega-farms is all shipped off to market, leaving nothing — no nutrients whatsoever to recycle back into the soil, which is why they need the chemical fertilizer inputs.
J-Gav on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 12:37 pm
“If all farming was done like this, there would be no problems.” Well, maybe a few problems – hailstones for example, or other extreme weather events.
All in all though, sounds like you guys have got it pretty well figured and I wish you the best of luck.
Northwest Resident on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 12:47 pm
J-Gav — Thanks for the best wishes. And about my “no problems” comment — I should have said “no environmental soil quality degradation problems” — to be more exact. Because yeah, there are the hail storms, the blue jays and crows, the bugs, the fungus, the all-to-frequent stupid mistakes, the lack of strength and/or health required to do the work, the rain, the wind, etc… Being a successful farmer, I have learned, requires far more effort than just planting a few seeds, watering them and watching the food grow. Anybody who has some seed stashed away and thinks they are going to raise their own food for the first time in a collapse scenario is in for some very rude surprises. Better to get started asap, make all the mistakes, learn from them and step up to the next level. Just imo…
Davy, Hermann, MO on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 2:01 pm
Guys, my garden kicks my butt. There is so much more I would like to do and just don’t have time. I need the 19 century 7 kid family with a good wife and lots of luck.
Roman on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 8:16 pm
The only plants that should be grown on this planet are perennial fruits, nuts and berries. All useless plants(weeds) need to destroyed. But Homo s. enjoy fighting nature while being raped by her.
farmboy on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 9:08 pm
Roman; so how close are you to achieving a pure perennial diet?
Makati1 on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 9:15 pm
Roman, there are no “useless” plants on earth. They are ALL part of a balanced cycle as are such insect “pests” as mosquitoes and flies. If you start eliminating the “useless” ones, you will upset the cycle and who knows where it will end. Dead soil maybe? Dead rivers and oceans? We have been trying to kill them for about 100 years with chemicals and they are only getting stronger.
Do you really understand ecology? Maybe a class at the local community college would help balance your biology education. I know you didn’t learn anything useful in public school. They don’t teach anything useful unless you went to school over 50 years ago.
Roman on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 9:20 pm
Animals like wild pigs and chickens could eat all the fruits that fall and the can be hunted and trapped. I think this planet could be terraformed to be more hospitable to human life. Why is no one trying to breed oaks to produce low tannin high nutrition acorns. Food should be self propagating.
chilphil1986 on Thu, 19th Jun 2014 9:37 pm
I harp on this at home and my own family just looks at me like I’m from a different godd**n solar system. It pisses me off. Then I turn to my chestnut trees and water the shit out of them from my rainwater cisterns in frustration.
peakyeast on Fri, 20th Jun 2014 5:01 pm
Now my garden is a complete mess… Eventually i might clean it up. Now its full of nettles and ground elder (i hope i found the right translations) which are considered useless weeds. They are actually extremely nutricious and grow like crazy – i wont starve if i dont clean up. 😀
peakyeast on Fri, 20th Jun 2014 5:03 pm
stinging nettles btw.