ENERGY

REQUIREMENT IN
FOOD PRODUCTION
C O N T E M P O R A R Y I S S U E S A N D E T H I C S I N F O O D
E N G I N E E R I N G
INTRODUCTION
Energy and other resources
are used at every step to
grow, transport, prepare,
package, & cook our food.

The food supply chain is

mostly driven by non-
renewable energy sources.
 ENERGY CONSUMPTION
OF THE FOOD
PRODUCTION INDUSTRY

30%
of the world's available
energy (200 EJ) is
consumed by the food
production systems.

70%
of the total energy
consumption is used for
food processing and
transportation.
Source: energypedia (n.d.)
 BY PRODUCT
Food products such as powders,
fried goods, and bread are the
Energy Usage most energy intensive.

within the Food BY PROCESSING

Industry TECHNIQUES
Significant findings from a study by Ladha-Sabur
et al. (2019).
Meat & Dairy industry uses
significant amounts of water and
energy.
SUSTAINABILITY
Using natural gas and petroleum is
unsustainable in the long run.
This calls for improving energy
efficiency and producing sustainable
energy within agriculture.

In order to feed the world

population, food production systems
need to consume energy.
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
Heavy dependence on fossil fuels for
manufacturing processes emits
significant amount of greenhouse
gases.
Farm animals are also a source of
greenhouse gases as they produce
methane.

20% of the world's 9.7 billion tons of

GHG emissions GHG emissions
SOCIAL JUSTICE
40% of energy is lost due to food losses
and waste.
Factors like rising energy prices prevent
agri-food industry in developing countries
from increasing productivity.

Source: FAO (2011)

 THE CHALLENGE

THE YEAR 2050 DEVELOPMENT OF

Global population of FOOD SYSTEMS:
9.7 billion
emit fewer GHG emissions
60% increase in food
have a secured energy supply
production
respond to fluctuating energy
prices
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Energy-smart Food Production
Model:
Increasing the efficiency of energy
use in agri-food systems without
lowering productivity.
Using more renewable energy in
the agri-food chain
Improving access to energy
services to poor households to
promote economic development.
REFERENCES
Climate Policy Watcher. (2023, January 16). Introduction energy use in food processing. https://www.climate-policy-
watcher.org/food-processing/introduction-energy-use-in-food-processing.html

Energy within Food and Agricultural Value Chains - energypedia. (n.d.).

https://energypedia.info/wiki/Energy_within_Food_and_Agricultural_Value_Chains

FAO. (2011). “Energy-smart” food for people and climate – Issue Paper: http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2454e/i2454e00.pdf

Ladha-Sabur, A., Bakalis, S., Fryer, P. J., & Lopez-Quiroga, E. (2019). Mapping energy consumption in food manufacturing. Trends
in Food Science and Technology, 86, 270–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2019.02.034

Marketing The Conscious Club. (2019). Food & Energy — The Conscious Challenge. The Conscious Challenge.
https://www.theconsciouschallenge.org/ecologicalfootprintbibleoverview/food-and-energy

FAO. (2011). Road to Rio: Improving energy use key challenge for world’s food systems. (n.d.).
https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/146971/icode/

SaveOnEnergy. (2022, June 16). American food production energy requirement.

https://www.saveonenergy.com/resources/food-production-requires-energy/