A new study reveals that animal-based food production accounts for nearly 60% of agriculture’s energy footprint, predominantly fueled by fossil energy. The findings underscore the inefficiencies of current agricultural practices and their potential impact on food and energy security.
Global food production is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, causing significant environmental concerns, according to a new study published in PNAS Nexus by researchers from Norway, Austria and Switzerland. This vital research delves into the energy dynamics of agriculture and highlights the inefficiencies in our current food systems.
The study, led by Kajwan Rasul, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology’s (NTNU) Industrial Ecology Programme, reveals that the production of animal-based foods is particularly energy-intensive, accounting for almost 60% of agriculture’s global energy footprint from 2015 to 2019. Astonishingly, these products only contributed 18% of the caloric intake worldwide during that period.
Senior author Edgar Hertwich, a professor at NTNU’s Industrial Ecology Programme, emphasized the inefficiency inherent in animal husbandry.
“We first produce edible products and then we feed these edible products to animals to get a much smaller fraction of the calories back,” Hertwich said in a news release.
To quantify the efficiency of the global food system, the researchers used models EXIOBASE and FABIO. They analyzed the energy return on energy investment (EROI) for food production, comparing the energy used to produce food to the caloric energy that food provides.
The results showed a global improvement in food system efficiency, with EROI increasing from 0.68 in 1995 to 0.91 in 2019. Despite this progress, the researchers noted that producing food still required 10% more energy than the calories provided in 2019.
Interestingly, regions with less industrialized food systems, such as East and West Africa and parts of Asia, exhibited higher EROI values, often greater than one.
Top-performing West Africa had an EROI of 2.70.
The findings imply that while developed regions have made strides in improving food system efficiencies, the reasons behind these improvements could be multifaceted.
“That the energy efficiency of the food systems that high-income regions rely on has increased in the last couple of decades was a positive surprise,” Rasul said in the news release. “However, that could be due to a shift to a more calorie-intense diet or an increased reliance on imports from regions that have better conditions to produce food in a more energy-efficient way.”
The reliance on fossil fuels in agriculture also raises significant concerns about food security, especially during energy crises. Historical events, such as the 1970s Arab oil embargo and the recent war in Ukraine, have shown how energy shortages can lead to skyrocketing food prices and scarcity.
The study underscores the pressing need to transition food production systems towards more sustainable and resilient models. As societies move towards renewable energy solutions, agriculture must innovate to reduce its fossil fuel dependency.
The researchers advocate for continued exploration into how diet changes, agricultural practices and renewable energy can collectively address the challenges of feeding a growing global population sustainably.