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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Why Our Food is So Dependent on Oil
  • Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 09:06:39 -0700


Why Our Food is So Dependent on Oil
Contributed by Norman Church
Friday, 01 April 2005

"Concentrate on what cannot lie. The evidence..." -- Gil Grissom

INTRODUCTION

Eating Oilwas the title of a book which was published in 1978 following the

first oil crisis in 1973 (1). The aim of the book was to investigate the
extent to which food supply in industrialised countries relied on fossil
fuels. In the summer of 2000 the degree of dependence on oil in the UK food

system was demonstrated once again when protestors blockaded oil refineries

and fuel distribution depots. The fuel crises disrupted the distribution of

food and industry leaders warned that their stores would be out of food
within days. The lessons of 1973 have not been heeded.

Today the food system is even more reliant on cheap crude oil. Virtually
all of the processes in the modern food system are now dependent upon this
finite resource, which is nearing its depletion phase.

Moreover, at a time when we should be making massive cuts in the emissions
of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere in order to reduce the threat posed

by climate change, the food system is lengthening its supply chains and
increasing emissions to the point where it is a significant contributor to
global warming.

The organic sector could be leading the development of a sustainable food
system. Direct environmental and ecological impacts of agriculture on the
farmare certainly reduced in organic systems. However, global trade and
distribution of organic products fritter away those benefits and undermine
its leadership role.

Not only is the contemporary food system inherently unsustainable,
increasingly, it is damaging the environment.

The systems that produce the world's food supply are heavily dependent on
fossil fuels. Vast amounts of oil and gas are used as raw materials and
energy in the manufacture of fertilisers and pesticides, and as cheap and
readily available energy at all stages of food production: from planting,
irrigation, feeding and harvesting, through to processing, distribution and

packaging. In addition, fossil fuels are essential in the construction and
the repair of equipment and infrastructure needed to facilitate this
industry, including farm machinery, processing facilities, storage, ships,
trucks and roads. The industrial food supply system is one of the biggest
consumers of fossil fuels and one of the greatest producers of greenhouse
gases.

Ironically, the food industry is at serious risk from global warming caused

by these greenhouse gases, through the disruption of the predictable
climactic cycles on which agriculture depends. But global warming can have
the more pronounced and immediate effect of exacerbating existing
environmental threats to agriculture, many of which are caused by
industrial agriculture itself. Environmental degradation, water shortages,
salination, soil erosion, pests, disease and desertification all pose
serious threats to our food supply, and are made worse by climate change.
But many of the conventional ways used to overcome these environmental
problems further increase the consumption of finite oil and gas reserves.
Thus the cycle of oil dependence and environmental degradation continues.

Industrial agriculture and the systems of food supply are also responsible
for the erosion of communities throughout the world. This social
degradation is compounded by trade rules and policies, by the profit driven

mindset of the industry, and by the lack of knowledge of the faults of the
current systems and the possibilities of alternatives. But the
globalisation and corporate control that seriously threaten society and the

stability of our environment are only possible because cheap energy is used

to replace labour and allows the distance between producer and consumer to
be extended.

However, this is set to change. Oil output is expected to peak in the next
few years and steadily decline thereafter. We have a very poor
understanding of how the extreme fluctuations in the availability and cost
of both oil and natural gas will affect the global food supply systems, and

how they will be able to adapt to the decreasing availability of energy. In

the near future, environmental threats will combine with energy scarcity to

cause significant food shortages and sharp increases in prices - at the
very least. We are about to enter an era where we will have to once again
feed the world with limited use of fossil fuels. But do we have enough
time, knowledge, money, energy and political power to make this massive
transformation to our food systems when they are already threatened by
significant environmental stresses and increasing corporate control?

The modern, commercial agricultural miracle that feeds all of us, and much
of the rest of the world, is completely dependent on the flow, processing
and distribution of oil, and technology is critical to maintaining that
flow.

Oil refined for gasoline and diesel is critical to run the tractors,
combines and other farm vehicles and equipment that plant, spray the
herbicides and pesticides, and harvest/transport food and seed

Food processors rely on the just-in-time (gasoline-based) delivery of fresh

or refrigerated food

Food processors rely on the production and delivery of food additives,
including vitamins and minerals, emulsifiers, preservatives, colouring
agents, etc.

Many are oil-based.

Delivery is oil-based

Food processors rely on the production and delivery of boxes, metal cans,
printed paper labels, plastic trays, cellophane for microwave/convenience
foods, glass jars, plastic and metal lids with sealing compounds.

Many of these are essentially oil-based

Delivery of finished food products to distribution centres in refrigerated
trucks. Oil-based, daily, just-in-time shipment of food to grocery stores,
restaurants, hospitals, schools, etc., all oil-based; customer drives to
grocery store to shop for supplies, often several times a week


ENERGY, TRANSPORT AND THE FOOD SYSTEM

Our food system is energy inefficient...

One indicator of the unsustainability of the contemporary food system is
the ratio of energy outputs - the energy content of a food product
(calories) - to the energy inputs.

The latter is all the energy consumed in producing, processing, packaging
and distributing that product. The energy ratio (energy out/energy in) in
agriculture has decreased from being close to 100 for traditional
pre-industrial societies to less than 1 in most cases in the present food
system, as energy inputs, mainly in the form of fossil fuels, have
gradually increased.

However, transport energy consumption is also significant, and if included
in these ratios would mean that the ratio would decrease further. For
example, when iceberg lettuce is imported to the UK from the USA by plane,
the energy ratio is only 0.00786. In other words 127 calories of energy
(aviation fuel) are needed to transport 1 calorie of lettuce across the
Atlantic. If the energy consumed during lettuce cultivation, packaging,
refrigeration, distribution in the UK and shopping by car was included, the

energy needed would be even higher. Similarly, 97 calories of transport
energy are needed to import 1 calorie of asparagus by plane from Chile, and

66 units of energy are consumed when flying 1 unit of carrot energy from
South Africa.

Just how energy inefficient the food system is can be seen in the crazy
case of the Swedish tomato ketchup. Researchers at the Swedish Institute
for Food and Biotechnology analysed the production of tomato ketchup (2).
The study considered the production of inputs to agriculture, tomato
cultivation and conversion to tomato paste (in Italy), the processing and
packaging of the paste and other ingredients into tomato ketchup in Sweden
and the retail and storage of the final product. All this involved more
than 52 transport and process stages.

The aseptic bags used to package the tomato paste were produced in the
Netherlands and transported to Italy to be filled, placed in steel barrels,

and then moved to Sweden. The five layered, red bottles were either
produced in the UK or Sweden with materials form Japan, Italy, Belgium, the

USA and Denmark. The polypropylene (PP) screw-cap of the bottle and plug,
made from low density polyethylene (LDPE), was produced in Denmark and
transported to Sweden. Additionally, LDPE shrink-film and corrugated
cardboard were used to distribute the final product. Labels, glue and ink
were not included in the analysis.

This example demonstrates the extent to which the food system is now
dependent on national and international freight transport. However, there
are many other steps involved in the production of this everyday product.
These include the transportation associated with: the production and supply

of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium fertilisers; pesticides; processing
equipment; and farm machinery. It is likely that other ingredients such as
sugar, vinegar, spices and salt were also imported. Most of the processes
listed above will also depend on derivatives of fossil fuels. This product
is also likely to be purchased in a shopping trip by car.

...is dependent on oil...

One study has estimated that UK imports of food products and animal feed
involved transportation by sea, air and road amounting to over 83 billion
tonne-kilometres (3). This required 1.6 billion litres of fuel and, based
on a conservative figure of 50 grams of carbon dioxide per tonne-kilometre
resulted in 4.1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (4). Within the
UK, the amount of food transported increased by 16% and the distances
travelled by 50% between 1978 and 1999.

It has been estimated that the CO2 emissions attributable to producing,
processing, packaging and distributing the food consumed by a family of
four is about 8 tonnes a year (5)

..and is unnecessarily contributing to carbon emissions.

It is not that this transportation is critical or necessary. In many cases
countries import and export similar quantities of the same food products
(6). A recent report has highlighted the instances in which countries
import and export large quantities of particular foodstuffs (6). For
example, in 1997, 126 million litres of liquid milk was imported into the
UK and, at the same time, 270 million litres of milk was exported from the
UK. 23,000 tonnes of milk powder was imported into the UK and 153,000
tonnes exported (7). UK milk imports have doubled over the last 20 years,
but there has been a four-fold increase in UK milk exports over the last 30

years (1495db14.jpg .

Britain imports 61,400 tonnes of poultry meat a year from the Netherlands
and exports 33,100 tonnes to the Netherlands. We import 240,000 tonnes of
pork and 125,000 tonnes of lamb while exporting 195,000 tonnes of pork and
102,000 tonnes of lamb (6).

This system is unsustainable, illogical, and bizarre and can only exist as
long as inexpensive fossil fuels are available and we do not take
significant action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

GLOBALWARMING AND FINITE OIL

The threat of global warming and the need to reduce carbon emissions

The nearness of the depletion stage of oil supplies

Discovery of oil and gas peaked in the 1960s. Production is set to peak
too, with five Middle Eastern countries regaining control of world supply
(9). Almost two-thirds of the world's total reserves of crude oil are
located in the Middle East, notably in Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq (10). An

assessment of future world oil supply and its depletion pattern shows that
between 1980 and 1998 there was an 11.2 per cent increase in world crude
oil production, from 59.6 to 66.9 million barrels of oil per day (10).
Current world production rates are about 25 Gb (billion barrels) per year.
A simple calculation shows that if consumption levels remain constant,
world crude oil reserves, at approximately 1 trillion barrels, could be
exhausted around 2040 (11).

The oil crises of the 1970s when the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) states reined in their production have passed into folk
memory. However, they were accompanied by massive disruption and global
economic recession. The same happened in 1980 and 1991 (12).

Colin J. Campbell, a pre-eminent oil industry analyst, believes that future

crises will be much worse. The oil shocks of the 1970s were short-lived
because there were then plenty of new oil and gas finds to bring on stream.

This time there are virtually no new prolific basins to yield a crop of
giant fields sufficient to have a global impact. The growing Middle East
control of the market is likely to lead to a radical and permanent increase

in the price of oil, before physical shortages begin to appear within the
first decade of the 21st century. The world's economy has been driven by an

abundant supply of cheap oil-based energy for the best part of this
century. The coming oil crisis will accordingly be an economic and
political discontinuity of historic proportions, as the world adjusts to a
new energy environment(9).

The three main purposes for which oil is used worldwide are food, transport

and heating. In the near future the competition for oil for these three
activities will be raw and real. An energy famine is likely to affect
poorer countries first, when increases in the cost of paraffin, used for
cooking, place it beyond their reach. Following the peak in production,
food supplies all over the world will begin to be disrupted, not only
because of price increases but because the oil will no longer be there.

IS ORGANIC ANY DIFFERENT?

The organic system is more energy efficient to the farm gate...

One of the benefits of organic production is that energy consumption and,
therefore, fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, are less
than that in conventional systems.

The energy used in food production is separated into direct and indirect
inputs. Indirect inputs include the manufacture and supply of pesticides,
feedstuffs and fertilisers while direct energy inputs are those on the
farm, such as machinery. One measure of the energy efficiency of food
production that allows a comparison between different farming practices is
the energy consumed per unit output, often expressed as the energy consumed

per tonne of food produced (MJ/tonne) or the energy consumed per kilogram
of food (MJ/kg).

A study comparing organic and conventional livestock, dairy, vegetable and
arable systems in the UK found that, with average yields, the energy saving

with organic production ranged from 0.14 MJ/kg to 1.79 MJ/kg, with the
average being 0.68 MJ/kg or 42 per cent (13). The improved energy
efficiency in organic systems is largely due to lower (or zero) fertiliser
and pesticide inputs, which account for half of the energy input in
conventional potato and winter wheat production and up to 80 per cent of
the energy consumed in some vegetable crops.

In conventional upland livestock production, the largest energy input is
again indirect in the form of concentrated and cereal feeds. When reared
organically, a greater proportion of the feed for dairy cattle, beef and
hill sheep is derived from grass. In the case of milk production, it has
been found that organic systems are almost five times more energy efficient

on a per animal basis and three and a half times more energy efficient in
terms of unit output (the energy required to produce a litre of milk) (13).

...but not when it goes global.

So far so good - but once passed the farm-gate, things begin to go wrong.
Britain imports over three-quarters of its organic produce, and despite
consumer demand, only two per cent of its land is organically farmed (14).
As the market has grown it has been met by imports.

A study looking at the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions when

importing organic food products to the UK by plane (15) found that carbon
dioxide emissions range from 1.6 kilograms to 10.7 kilograms. Air transport

of food is the worst environmental option but road transport, especially
unnecessary journeys, is also bad. For example 5kg of Sicilian potatoes
travelling 2448 miles emits 771 grams of carbon dioxide.

The problem is that, overall, human beings have developed a tendency to
deal with problems on an ad hoc basis - i.e., to deal with 'problems of the

moment'. This does not foster an attitude of seeing a problem embedded in
the context of another problem.

Globalisation makes it impossible for modern societies to collapse in
isolation. Any society in turmoil today, no matter how remote, can cause
problems for prosperous societies on other continents, and is also subject
to their influence (whether helpful or destabilising).

For the first time in history, we face the risk of a global decline.

Shocks to the system

As already stated, the three main purposes for which oil is used worldwide
are food, transport and heating. Agriculture is almost entirely dependent
on reliable supplies of oil for cultivation and for pumping water, and on
gas for its fertilisers; in addition, for every calorie of energy used by
agriculture itself, five more are used for processing, storage and
distribution.

Since farming and the food industry are not famous for spending money
unnecessarily, there must be a presumption that there is very little
short-term 'slack' which would allow its demand for energy to be reduced at

short notice without disruptions in food prices. In the case of transport
and heating fuel, there is more scope for saving energy at short notice;
cutting leisure journeys, for instance, wearing extra pullovers and, in the

slightly longer term, driving smaller cars have a role to play while, in
the longer term, there is a totally different low-energy paradigm waiting
to be developed. But it is the short term that has to be survived first
and, in that short term, the competition for oil for food, transport and
heating will be real and raw.

Through its dependence on oil, contemporary farming is exposed to the whole

question of the sustainability of our use of fossil fuels. It took 500
million years to produce these hydrocarbon deposits and we are using them
at a rate in excess of 1 million times their natural rate of production. On

the time scale of centuries, we certainly cannot expect to continue using
oil as freely and ubiquitously as we do today. Something is going to have
to change.

The same applies more widely to every natural resource on which industrial
civilisation relies. Furthermore, one might think that there is a
compounded problem. Not only are there more people consuming these
resources, but their per capita consumption also increases in line with the

elaboration of technology. We seem to be facing a problem of diminishing
returns, indeed of running out of the vital raw materials needed to support

our economic growth.

Almost every current human endeavour from transportation, to manufacturing,

to electricity to plastics, and especially food production is inextricably
intertwined with oil and natural gas supplies.

Commercial food production is oil powered. Most pesticides are petroleum-
(oil) based, and all commercial fertilisers are ammonia-based. Ammonia is
produced from natural gas
Oil based agriculture is primarily responsible for the world's population
exploding from 1 billion at the middle of the 19th century to 6.3 billion
at the turn of the 21st
Oil allowed for farming implements such as tractors, food storage systems
such as refrigerators, and food transport systems such as trucks
As oil production went up, so did food production. As food production went
up, so did the population. As the population went up, the demand for food
went up, which increased the demand for oil. Here we go round the Mulberry
bush
Oil is also largely responsible for the advances in medicine that have been

made in the last 150 years. Oil allowed for the mass production of
pharmaceutical drugs, and the development of health care infrastructure
such as hospitals, ambulances, roads, etc.
We are now at a point where the demand for food/oil continues to rise,
while our ability to produce it in an affordable fashion is about to drop.

Within a few years of Peak Oil occurring, the price of food will skyrocket
because the cost of fertiliser will soar. The cost of storing (electricity)

and transporting (gasoline) the food that is produced will also soar.

Oil is required for a lot more than just food, medicine, and
transportation. It is also required for nearly every consumer item, water
supply pumping, sewage disposal, garbage disposal, street/park maintenance,

hospitals and health systems, police, fire services and national defence.

Additionally, as you are probably already aware, wars are often fought over

oil.

Bottom line?

If we think we are food secure here in the UK and other industrialised
countries simply because we have gas in the car, frankly, we are
delusional. Despite the appearance of an endless bounty of food, it is a
fragile bounty, dependent upon the integrity of the global oil production,
refining and delivery system. That system is entirely dependent on the
thread of technology. Modern, technology-based agriculture produces both
food, and seeds for next years food, on a just-in-time basis. There are
precious little reserves of either food or seeds to sustain any protracted
interruption.

Technology and the incredibly rich tapestry it has made possible has
created a false sense of security for so many of us. The thread is flawed;
the tapestry is now fragile; famines are possible. We must take that
seriously. . .

Our food supply, and our economic survival as a whole, depends on the
steady availability of reasonably priced oil. Is oil our Achilles heel?

This means our food supply is:

Vulnerable:

The oil supplies that fuel the food system could be exhausted by 2040 (19).

In many regions oil production has peaked and most reserves lie in the
Middle East. Food security is also threatened: for example, even if all UK
fruit production was consumed in the UK, of every 100 fruit products
purchased, only 5 will now have been grown in the UK.

Inefficient:

For every calorie of carrot, flown in from South Africa, we use 66 calories

of fuel. The huge fuel use in the food system means more carbon dioxide
emissions, which means climate change, which means more damage to food
supplies, as well as other major health and social problems.

Unsustainable:

Even organic supplies are becoming hugely damaging as imports fill our
shelves (17). One shopping basket of 26 imported organic products could
have travelled 241,000 kilometres and released as much CO2 into the
atmosphere as an average four bedroom household does through cooking meals
over eight months (11495db1f.jpg .

Other problems highlighted include loss of nutrients in food, increased
incidence and spread of diseases such as Foot & Mouth and other major
animal welfare problems. Poor countries producing food for distant markets
are not necessarily seeing benefits through increased and often intensive
production for export. The report reveals how such trends could be reversed

through industry, government and public action.

In other words, we wont have to run completely out of oil to be rudely
awakened. The panic starts once the world needs more oil than it gets.

To understand why, youve got to fathom how totally addicted to oil we have
become. We know that petroleum is drawn from deep wells and distilled into
gasoline, jet fuel, and countless other products that form the lifeblood of

industry and the adrenaline of military might. Its less well known that the

worlds food is now nourished by oil; petroleum and natural gas are crucial
at every step of modern agriculture, from forming fertiliser to shipping
crops. The implications are grim. For millions, the difference between an
energy famine and a biblical famine could well be academic.

Independent policy analyst David Fleming writes in the British magazine
Prospect (Nov. 2000),

With a global oil crisis looming like the Doomsday Rock, why do so few
political leaders seem to care? Many experts refuse to take the problem
seriously because it "falls outside the mind-set of market economics."
Thanks to the triumph of global capitalism, the free-market model now
reigns almost everywhere. The trouble is, its principles "tend to break
down when applied to natural resources like oil." The result is both
potentially catastrophic and all too human. Our high prieststhe market
economistsare blind to a reality that in their cosmology cannot exist.

Fleming offers several examples of this broken logic at work. Many cling to

a belief that higher oil prices will spur more oil discoveries, but they
ignore what earth scientists have been saying for years: there arent any
more big discoveries to make. Most of the oil reserves we tap today were
actually identified by the mid-1960s. Theres a lot of oil left in the
ground perhaps more than half of the total recoverable supply. Fleming says

that that is not the issue. The real concern is the point beyond which
demand cannot be met. And with demand destined to grow by as much as 3
percent a year, the missing barrels will add up quickly. Once the pain
becomes real, the Darwinian impulse kicks in and the orderly market gives
way to chaos.

Some insist that industrial societies are growing less dependent on oil.
Fleming says theyre kidding themselves. Theyre talking about oil use as a
percentage of total energy use, not the actual amount of oil burned.
Measured by the barrel, were burning more and more. In Britain, for
instance, transportation needs have doubled in volume since 1973 and still
rely almost entirely on oil. Transportation is the weak link in any modern
economy; choke off the oil and a country quickly seizes.

This wouldnt matter much, Fleming laments, "If the world had spent the last

25 years urgently preparing alternative energies, conservation
technologies, and patterns of land use with a much lower dependence on
transport." (He figures 25 years to be the time it will take a country like

Britain to break its habit.) Instead, "the long-expected shock finds us
unprepared."

SOME UK FOOD STATISTICS

UK food supply chain

UK food retailing market was worth £103,800 million in 2001

Food manufacturing is the single-largest manufacturing industry in the UK

Food supply chain employs 12.5% of the entire workforce in the UK

Food supply chain contributes 8% to the UK economy

Food and drink accounts for 21% of weekly household expenditure

Food supply chain and unsustainability

Food supply chain is the largest energy user in the UK

Food production and distribution contributes up to 22% of the UKs total
greenhouse emissions

Food travels further than any other product - 129 km compared to the
average product travel of 94 km

Wages in the food industry are notoriously low compared to other sectors

Nearly 30% of household waste is food waste



CONCLUSIONS

Proximity and localisation of food system would be beneficial.

The contemporary food system is inherently unsustainable.

Indicators of social, environmental and economic performance, such as food
security, greenhouse gas emissions, food miles, farm income and
biodiversity highlight this fact. This process could be reversed by
re-establishing local and regional food supply systems and substituting
near for farin production and distribution systems. This would reduce both
the demand for, and the environmental burdens associated with,
transportation.

The proximity principle is a straightforward concept in Eating Oil, where
production processes are located as near to the consumer as possible. When
applied to food supply, local food systems in the form of home-delivery box

schemes, farmersmarkets and shops selling local produce would replace
imported and centrally distributed foodstuffs.

Taking UK food supply and trade at present, there is great potential to
apply the proximity principle, in the form of import substitution. Apart
from products such as bananas, coffee and tea, many of the foodstuffs that
are imported at present could be produced in Britain. Many meat products,
cereals, dairy products and cooking oils are - or could be - available here

throughout the year. So could fruit and vegetables, perhaps the most
seasonal of food groups, through a combination of cultivating different
varieties and traditional and modern storage and preservation techniques.

The land currently used to produce food that is exported could be used to
increase our self-sufficiency.

There is growing evidence of environmental benefits of local sourcing of
food in terms of reduced transport-related environmental impact. In the
case of organic produce, a survey of retailers compared local and global
sourcing of produce marketed in different outlets between June and August
2001. Products were chosen that were available in the UK during these
months but are at present imported by the multiple retailers. These
included spring onions imported by plane from Mexico, potatoes imported by
road from Sicily, onions imported by ship from New Zealand. It was found
that local sourcing through a farmers market, for example, would therefore
reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with distribution by a
factor of 650 in the case of a farmersmarket and more for box schemes and
farm shop sales (16).

The value of UK food, feed and drink imports in 1999 was over £17
billion.
It is clear that a reduction in food imports through import substitution
would not only be of benefit to the UK economy as a whole but could also be

a major driver in rural regeneration as farm incomes would increase
substantially. Local food systems also have great potential to reduce the
damaging environmental effects of the current food supply system.

A sustainable food system cannot rely, almost completely, on one finite
energy source; an energy source which causes enormous levels of pollution
during its production, distribution and use. Although food supplies in
wealthy countries such as the UK appear to be secure and choice, in terms
of thousands of food products being available at supermarkets, seems
limitless, this is an illusion.

The vulnerability of our food system to sudden changes was demonstrated
during the fuel crisis in 2001. A sharp increase in the price of oil or a
reduction in oil supplies could present a far more serious threat to food
security and is likely to as oil enters its depletion phase. Food
production and distribution, as they are organised today, would not be able

to function. Moreover, the alternatives, in the form of sustainable
agriculture and local food supplies, which minimise the use of crude oil,
are currently unable to respond to increased demand due to low investment
and capacity.

The food system is now a significant contributor to climate change.
Reducing the carbon dioxide emissions from food production, processing and
distribution by minimising the distance between producer and consumer
should be a critical part of any strategy to mitigate global warming.

There are many benefits to organic farming, including reduced fossil fuel
energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. However, these are often
overshadowed by the environmental damage of long distance transport.
Organic products that are transported long distances, particularly when
distribution is by plane, are almost as damaging as their conventional air
freighted counterparts. Highly processed and packaged organic foodstuffs
have an added adverse environmental impact.

The priority must be the development of local and regional food systems,
preferably organically based, in which a large percentage of demand is met
within the locality or region. This approach, combined with fair trade,
will ensure secure food supplies, minimise fossil fuel consumption and
reduce the vulnerability associated with a dependency on food exports (as
well as imports). Localising the food system will require significant
diversification, research, investment and support that have, so far, not
been forthcoming. But it is achievable and we have little choice.

REFERENCES

1 Green, B. M., 1978. Eating Oil - Energy Use in Food Production. Westview
Press, Boulder, CO. 1978.

2 Andersson, K. Ohlsson, P and Olsson, P. 1996, Life Cycle Assessment of
Tomato Ketchup. The Swedish Institute for Food and Biotechnology,
Gothenburg.

3 Cowell, S., and R. Clift., 1996. Farming for the future: an environmental

perspective. Paper presented at the Royal Agricultural Society of the
Commonwealth, July 1996,CES, University of Surrey.

4. Data for shipping and airfreight from Guidelines for company reporting
on greenhouse gas emissions. Department of the Environment, Transport and
the Regions: London, March 2001. Data for trucks is based on Whitelegg, J.,

1993. Transport for a sustainable future: the case for Europe. Belhaven
Press, London; and Gover, M. P., 1994. UK petrol and diesel demand: energy
and emission effects of a switch to diesel. Report for the Department of
Trade and Industry, HMSO, London.

5. BRE, 1998. Building a sustainable future. General information report 53,

energy efficiency best practice programme, Building Research Establishment,

Garston, UK.

6. Caroline Lucas, 2001. Stopping the Great Food Swap - Relocalising
Europes food supply. Green Party, 2001.

7. 21 Lobstein, T, and Hoskins, R, The Perfect Pinta. Food Facts No. 2. The

SAFE Alliance, 1998.

8. FAO, 2001. Food Balance Database. 2001. Food and Agriculture
Organisation, Rome at www.fao.org

9 Colin J. Campbell, 1997. The Coming Oil Crisis. Multi- Science Publishing

Co. Ltd

10 Green Party USA, 2001. World crude oil reserves Statistical information.

Based on data from the Oil and Gas Journal and the Energy Information
Agency. At
<http://environment.about.com/library/weekly/aa092700.htm>environment.about.
com/lib...092700.htm

11 Medea: European Agency for International Information, 2001. Oil
Reserves. at - <http://www.medea.be/en/>www.medea.be/en/ 11 David Fleming,
2001. The Great Oil Denial. Submission to the UK Energy Review. At

<http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/innovation/2001/energy/submissions/Fleming>
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/...ns/Fleming

12 EIA, 2001. World Oil Market and Oil Price Chronologies: 1970 2000.
Department of Energys Office of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Analysis
Division, Energy Information Administration, Department of the Environment,

USA, at www.eia.doe.gov

13 Energy use in organic farming systems ADAS Consulting for MAFF, Project
OF0182, DEFRA, London, 2001.

14 Natasha Walter, 2001. When will we get the revolution. The Independent
19th July 2001.

15 Based on data on sourcing from UKROFS and a survey of supermarket stores

during June August 2001; distance tables for air miles at
www.indo.com/cgi-bin/dist and the environmental impact of airfreight in
Guidelines for company reporting on greenhouse gas emissions. Department of

the Environment, Transport and the Regions, London, March 2001.

16 Data for shipping and airfreight from Guidelines for company reporting
on greenhouse gas emissions. Department of the Environment, Transport and
the Regions: London, March 2001. Data for trucks is based on Whitelegg, J.,

1993. Transport for a sustainable future: the case for Europe. Belhaven
Press, London; and Gover, M. P., 1994. UK petrol and diesel demand: energy
and emission effects of a switch to diesel. Report for the Department of
Trade and Industry, HMSO, London. Data for cars from the Vehicle
Certification Agency at www.vca.gov.uk; Whitelegg, J., 1993. Transport for
a sustainable future: the case for Europe. Belhaven Press, London; and
Gover, M. P., 1994. UK petrol and diesel demand: energy and emission
effects of a switch to diesel. Report for the Department of Trade and
Industry, HMSO, London.

17 RCEP, 2000. Energy The Changing Climate. The Royal Commission on
Environmental Pollution, Twenty-second Report, June 2000, HMSO, London.

18 DETR, 2001. The draft UK climate change programme. DETR, 2001. HMSO,
London.

19 USDOE, 2001.World Carbon Dioxide Emissions from the Consumption and
Flaring of Fossil Fuels, 1980-1999. US Department of the Environment at
<http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1.xls>www.eia.doe.gov/
pub/inter...ableh1.xls


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  • [Livingontheland] Why Our Food is So Dependent on Oil, Tradingpost, 04/02/2005

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