Fossil Energy and Food Security

Günther, Folke

doi:10.1260/0958305011500779

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Failure in the supply of inputs for food production, processing, and distribution A breakdown in energy supply could have far-reaching effects (Gunther 2001). The fossil fuel energy now employed for fertilizer production, farm machinery, food-processing factories, refrigeration, and transport far exceeds the energy content of the food.…”

Section: Sources Of Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Symposium on American Food Resilience

Marten¹,

Atalan-Helicke

2015

J Environ Stud Sci

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The resilience of the American food supply-the ability of the food system to withstand shocks or stresses that could lead to disruption or collapse-is a matter of genuine concern. While all seems well with supermarkets stocked to the brim, changes in the food system and our environment during recent decades have created risks that are no longer hypothetical possibilities. They are with us now. The 27 articles in the Symposium on American Food Resilience explore the vulnerability and resilience of food production and distribution from a diversity of perspectives. Four central questions provide a framework for the exploration:• What are the main lines of vulnerability?• What are leverage points for reducing the risks and improving the capacity to deal with breakdowns if they occur?• What is already being done by government, civil society, and the private sector to reduce the risks?• What can scientists, teachers, and other environmental and food system professionals do through research, education, community action, or other means to make the food system and food supply more resilient? Some of the articles use case studies that highlight various kinds of disturbances: influenza pandemic, war, nuclearreactor catastrophe, natural disasters (e.g., floods and earthquakes), and crop failure due to drought or other climatic perturbations. Lessons for improving resilience are drawn from the experiences. Other articles examine the significance of globalization, food system consolidation, diversity, and food storage; the interplay of efficiency, adaptive capacity, sustainability, and resilience; the potential and limitations of local or regional food systems to compensate for shortcomings in the mainstream food system; organizational learning and networking, integrating local food systems with the mainstream, channeling promising innovations into the mainstream; and success stories and the lessons they offer. The articles afford a wealth of material that can be mined by researchers, teachers, practitioners, and policy makers for application to their own circumstances.

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Section: Sources Of Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction to the Symposium on American Food Resilience

Marten¹,

Atalan-Helicke

2015

J Environ Stud Sci

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“…We depend on fossil fuels for transport, irrigation, planting and harvesting, and for the fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides that allow food production to continue in soils that have been made less fertile by the very agricultural practices that enabled high yields. Without cheap oil, the world's food production capacity is likely to shrink (Gunther 2001), especially if food crops are increasingly displaced by crops for biofuels.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%