Wasted Food, Wasted Energy

Published: 3/2/2018

The recent increase in food shortages (due to the growth of the biofuel industry) has created a new awareness of the relationship between food and energy. Food is not only a form of energy but also a consumer of fossil energy. It is estimated that 15.7% of energy consumption in 2007 was used to produce food in the United States. The authors of the subject paper set out to estimate the energy embedded in wasted food annually in the United States, as this information is useful in better understanding the complex relationship between food and energy. The study took into account the energy intensity of food production from agriculture, transportation, processing, food sales, storage, and preparation. It was determined that the energy embedded in wasted food represents approximately 2% of annual energy consumption in the United States.

Cuéllar, Amanda D., and Michael E. Webber. "Wasted food, Wasted Energy: the embedded energy in food waste in the United States." Environmental science & technology 44.16 (2010): 6464-6469.