July 6, 2006
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Eating Oil
The problem with trying to be mindful is you realize things you maybe
didn’t want to know. The other day, I was wondering what the energy
cost of me eating an orange in February might be. I didn’t find the
answer to that question, but what I did find was so much more
significant.The following article is of tremendous importance. Read it and think about what it means:
Eating Fossil FuelsThis
isn’t a meat versus veg thing. The only clean hands are on those who
eat only organically produced locally grown produce using natural
irrigation, traditional processing, and brought to market in something
other than a petro-fueled vehicle.I always admit that my
motorcycle is a hypocrisy given my beliefs. The thing is, in the first
three years of ownership, I used 293.25 gallons of gas, plus probably
several gallons of oil and other fluids – lets just say roughly 300
gallons of gas in three years. (I’m not sure what that actually is in
oil equivalents)The average American diet uses 400 gallons of
oil a YEAR – not including cooking, packaging, refrigeration, or
shopping. Ok, maybe I’m a bit better than that, but even if I am
consuming food that takes a quarter of average, I burn as much oil in
my diet as I do in my motorcycle. To tell the truth, I’d bet I consume
over a quarter of average. I do like those grapefruits.I’m not
sure which is harder to justify morally. An off-season orange that’s
been shipped cross country or a short ride on my motorcycle. They both
make me happy to consume, I don’t truly need either, and the overall
footprint of both might be comparable. I’m starting to realize that
there is relatively little blood on my hand from the venison I eat even
though I had to drive to St. Cloud twice, share a ride to northern
Minnesota twice, and kill a deer in order to get it.Some snips from the article:
In
the United States, 400 gallons of oil equivalents are expended annually
to feed each American (as of data provided in 1994). Agricultural
energy consumption is broken down as follows:- 31% for the manufacture of inorganic fertilizer
- 19% for the operation of field machinery
- 16% for transportation
- 13% for irrigation
- 08% for raising livestock (not including livestock feed)
- 05% for crop drying
- 05% for pesticide production
- 08% miscellaneous
Energy
costs for packaging, refrigeration, transportation to retail outlets,
and household cooking are not considered in these figures.The article defines the following two types of energy:
Endosomatic energy : Produced within the body (food->body->motion)
Exosomatic energy : Produced outside the body (gas->engine->motion)
Prior
to the industrial revolution, virtually 100% of both endosomatic and
exosomatic energy was solar driven. Fossil fuels now represent 90% of
the exosomatic energy used in the United States and other developed
countries. The typical exo/endo ratio of pre-industrial, solar powered
societies is about 4 to 1. The ratio has changed tenfold in developed
countries, climbing to 40 to 1. And in the United States it is more
than 90 to 1.18 The nature of the way we use endosomatic energy has
changed as well.(I’m actually curious how we managed 4:1.
Is animal power being considered exo, or are we literally talking
wind-mills, water-mills, etc.)Unfortunately, if you remove
fossil fuels from the equation, the daily diet will require 111 hours
of endosomatic labor per capita; that is, the current U.S. daily diet
would require nearly three weeks of labor per capita to produce.Consider the ramifications if we have
gotten anywhere near peak oil. How are you going to feed yourselves and
your loved ones? How are your choices today going to impact your
children’s and grandchildren’s ability to even eat?Read the article. You’ll be “thrilled” to learn that it isn’t just oil, either. Its also water, land, and more.
