4138: Eating Oil
(2002) Eating Oil. EFRC Pamphlet Series, Policy Research Department, Elm Farm Research Centre.
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Summary
The food system is now even more based on cheap crude oil. Every time we eat, we are all essentially ‘eating 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 should be leading the development of a sustainable food system. Direct environmental and ecological impacts of agriculture ‘on the farm’ are 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. A different approach - focussed on localization not globalisation - needs to be developed in order to ensure “food supply in a changing climate”.
| Document Language: | English |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Energy crisis; finite resource use; oil; energy; sustainable food systems; climate change; local food systems; globalisation; food miles; organic food systems; organic food and farming; global warming |
| Subject Areas: | Food systems > Policy environments and social economy Food systems > Processing, packaging and transportation Food systems > Recycling, balancing and resource management |
| Research affiliation: | UK > Elm Farm Research Centre EFRC |
| Orgprints ID Number: | 4138 |
| Contact: | Woodward, Lawrence |
| Deposited On: | 03 January 2005 |
| EPrint Type: | Report |
| Published?: | Published |
| Peer Review Status: | Not peer-reviewed |
| Additional Publishing Information: | This paper, edited by Lawrence Woodward, is a summary version of the report “Eating Oil: Food Supply in a Changing Climate” produced by Sustain and Elm Farm Research Centre. The original report was written by Dr Andy Jones. |
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