IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - 37

overvieW

the energy
to create
your food
Protein Fruit/Veg Dairy

Shelled shrimp, wild

The apple might be an emblem of simplicity, but accounting for all the energy needed to produce one is another matter. You
have to factor in pesticide production, fertilizer manufacturing, irrigation, harvesting, sorting, and transportation. Electricity and
diesel fuel are needed to drive all these steps, and coal mining and oil extraction come with their own energy costs. And that's just
the apple. These numbers, compiled by a team at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm, show that energy inputs
can vary wildly from one foodstuff to another. As they were gathered in Sweden, the numbers don't necessarily apply to the
food in your local supermarket. But they do help illuminate how much energy consumption is dependent on diet. "Food choices
matter," says Gidon Eshel, an environmental scientist at Bard College, in New York state. In the United States, for example, food
accounts for between one-fifth and one-quarter of a person's energy footprint, Eshel says. He's calculated that, for the average
American, simply replacing meat-based calories with eggs and dairy products would result in an energy savings akin to switching from a Camry to a Prius. -Brandon Keim

*

Megajoules per kilogram

Kilograms per portion

Megajoules per portion

220

0.2

27

sheLLeD shRiMP
This dramatically high
number is almost entirely
a consequence of the fuelintensive nature of running
a shrimp boat.

Tropical fruit, imported
Salmon, farmed

tROPiCaL FRUit
Easily perishable tropical
fruits, such as mangoes,
are often shipped by fuelguzzling planes, adding
enormously to their energy
footprint.

Beef, frozen
Tomatoes, greenhouse

BeeF
It can take several years before
cattle are ready for slaughter,
so they are a highly inefficient
food source. Less than
2 percent of the energy in their
feed ultimately winds up as
cooked, edible meat.

Pork, frozen
Chicken, frozen
Herring, wild

ChiCkeN
A century of breeding has
turned broiler hens into
machines for converting grain
into lean meat, but they still
require far more food than
they ultimately provide.

Clams
Eggs
Apples, imported

MiLk
Dairy cows are fed far
less than cattle raised for
meat, making milk one of
the most energy-efficient
animal products.

Soybeans
Honey, imported
Tomatoes, fresh

aPPLes, iMPORteD
Fuel used in delivery adds
to the energy costs of
imported apples, but their
low perishability means they
can be sent by ship, a fairly
efficient mode of transport.

Milk
Apples, local

Assessment

3.5

0.0035

0.02

One megajoule is one million joules, or the amount of energy in about 30 milliliters of gasoline.

iNFOGRaPhiC By

carl detorres

SPectrum.ieee.orG

|

north american

|

jun 2013

|

37


http://SPectrum.ieee.orG

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum June, 2013

IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - Cover1
IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - Cover2
IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - 1
IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - 2
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IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - 88
IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - Cover3
IEEE Spectrum June, 2013 - Cover4
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