Energy Inefficiency in Industrial Agriculture: You Are What You Eat: Working Paper Series--09-09

Acker, Thomas L. and Atwater, Chelsea and Smith, Dean Howard (2009) Energy Inefficiency in Industrial Agriculture: You Are What You Eat: Working Paper Series--09-09. Working Paper. NAU W.A. Franke College of Business.

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Abstract

Modern industrial farming technologies for growing fruits, vegetables and grains have changed substantially in recent decades. In many locations such as Arizona, these industries are highly energy and water-intensive operations. As such, the sustainability of these operations is called into question. The economic, social and climate implications of energy use in agriculture are worth further discussion. Based on the idea of a sustainable energy budget, the production processes of various foods are analyzed which prove to be very energy inefficient. Various primary and secondary sources are used to evaluate a series of industrial production methods to produce food. The conclusions are presented in a series of calculations based on the direct fossil fuel inputs used in production. Fossil fuel based industrial agriculture raises numerous issues requiring more advanced analysis. The environmental, ecological and social justice issues of modern industrial agriculture require a reassessment form myriad perspectives: farm subsidies, consumer demand and preferences, engineering technologies and water policy.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Publisher’s Statement:	Copyright, where appropriate, is held by the author.
ID number or DOI:	09-09
Keywords:	Working paper, food and energy, food and water, agricultural inputs, food production
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Faculty/Staff
Department/Unit:	The W.A. Franke College of Business
Date Deposited:	17 Oct 2015 21:41
URI:	http://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/1510

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