Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Country
MJ/capita/year
Bangladesh
8,583
Eritrea
5,443
Source:
World Bank website (
www.worldbank.org
).
Agriculture and Food Production
Energy expenditure in food production has increased exponentially over the last 200 years.
This process began with large machines that could harness the combined pulling power of
several horses, was followed by the invention of motorized machines and the discovery
of the oil to drive them, and finally by the development of oil-derived fertilisers and
pesticides. These three factors caused an explosion in agricultural productivity after the
Second World War, with global production increasing by 250 per cent between 1950 and
1984 (Smil
2008
).
While agriculture accounts for just 2 per cent of global energy consumption (IEA
website), the share invested in food production is far higher, as energy is also required
to process, package, store, transport and cook food. In wealthier countries the largest
expenditure of energy is in processing and transport, while in poorer countries cooking
accounts for the highest share of energy expenditure on food. Overall, the global food
sector currently consumes 95 exajoules of energy per year, a quarter of the world's total
Figure 3.4.
Total energy consumption in different areas of the world.
Source:
IEA
website.
