Industrial agriculture relies on fossil fuels from "summary" of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Industrial agriculture relies on fossil fuels. Everything about the way we eat today - the food we eat and how it is produced - is entangled in a web of fossil fuel dependence. From the fertilizers sprayed on the fields to the irrigation systems that water the crops, from the trucks that transport the food to the packaging that contains it, fossil fuels are everywhere in the process. The use of fossil fuels in industrial agriculture is so pervasive that it is hard to imagine how the system could function without them. Every step of the way, from planting to harvesting to distribution, relies on the energy derived from fossil fuels. The tractors that plow the fields and the combines that harvest the crops run on gasoline. The synthetic fertilizers made from natural gas provide the nutrients that the soil lacks. Even the plastic packaging and processing of the food are products of fossil fuels. The industrial agriculture system is highly efficient at producing vast quantities of food, but this efficiency comes at a cost - a heavy reliance ...
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