Energy Use in Food: Overview & Tips

Jan 12, 2012 | Diet

Food shopping is a daily decision - perhaps there are ways to save energy.  Read on for more information.

THE BIG PICTURE

Food production comprises 8 to 14% of our nation's energy use. (The exact amount depends on how the "food industry" is defined; the 14% figure includes restaurants and home cooking, not just food production.)

Food choices are complicated, and minimizing personal energy use from food production may be in conflict with other goals. For example, a large industrial farm may actually use less energy to produce corn than the local organic farmer.

However, some consumers may prioritize "local" and "organic" as well as "low energy".  So take the food-energy recommendations with a pinch of salt (pun intended!), and recognize that energy is only one aspect involved in food choices.

SURPRISING FACTS

1. Carbon savings are not the same as energy savings.  Animals - particularly cows - emit greenhouse gases as they digest food. Reducing beef consumption reduces the number of livestock needed to serve the market, saving biological emissions and the energy used in processing.  Non-animal foods have emissions from only one source, the energy used in processing. This creates a clear direction for carbon savings: eat less beef.

For energy savings, however, no single food type stands out as an obvious target for reductions. Buying less food is probably the best approach: buy less and waste less.

2. Fresh vegetables are relatively energy intense. Looking across the US food industry, fresh vegetables have unexpectedly high energy use. They are fragile and perishable, and require special handling in the field and in the grocery store. 

Switching to buying from local farmers markets doesn't effectively reduce energy use. Although produce sold at these markets may require a smaller amount of energy for transportation, it often has a larger energy use in production (large industrial farms are more efficient).

We're not recommending that you cut out vegetables, just pointing out a surprising fact.

3. "Food miles" are not important. It seems logical that food that travels further has used more energy, but this is often not the case. Less than 15% of total energy use in food goes to transportation. Most energy is used in growing the produce, in production and in the retail store.

ENERGY SAVINGS TIPS

Waste less. The USDA estimates that 25% of the food purchased at the store is wasted in our homes. That's a lot of energy! Reduce waste, save money and save energy.

Consolidate trips to the store. More energy is used by consumers driving to the store to buy produce and groceries than is used by the food industry to deliver to the store. The industry has an advantage with large truckloads and an efficient delivery system.  So do the same!  To save energy, consolidate trips to make your food pick-up more efficient.

Consider eating less beef. While eating less beef is not the stand-out in terms of energy use that it is for carbon emissions, saving energy may not be the only goal. Eating less beef still might fit into a broader set of objectives for a healthy lifestyle.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

See our white paper for details on calculations and issues in estimating the energy used to grow, deliver and prepare the food we eat.

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