Abstract
The current global population growth forecast carries with it a global increase in demand for food. In order to meet this demand, it is necessary to increase production, which requires an increase in energy consumption. However, forecasted energy production growth is insufficient and traditional sources of energy are limited; hence, it is necessary to strive for greater energy efficiency in food production systems. The study aimed to compare the economic energy efficiency of food production systems in selected countries and identify the sources of diversification in this field. As a measure of energy efficiency, the indicators of the energy intensity of food production were used in this study. To calculate these indicators, a method based on input-output life-cycle assessment assumptions was used, which enables researchers to obtain fully comparable results between countries. The study showed that despite an increase in energy consumption in the food production systems of the analyzed countries by an average of 27%, from 19.3 EJ to 24.5 EJ, from 2000 to 2014, their energy intensity decreased, on average, by more than 18%, from 8.5 MJ/USD to 6.9 MJ/USD. This means that energy efficiency improvements are possible even under conditions of increased energy consumption, which in turn, means that food production can increase significantly. In the case of developed countries, the main inefficiencies are found in agricultural production, while in developing countries, they are observed in the food industry. Decision-makers should also pay attention to the high level of energy intensity that results from the supply of inputs to agriculture and the food industry because there is great potential for the improvement of energy efficiency in this field, especially because energy consumption associated with supply constitutes a major part of total consumption in the food production systems of developed countries.
Highlights
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that by 2050, food production must increase by 70% to sustain the predicted population
We developed a method of calculating food production energy use from input-output tables using the cross-national World Input-Output Database (WIOD) as a data source, which guarantees the comparability of results between countries
The analysis of the selected countries showed that despite an increase in energy consumption in food production systems, by an average of 27% between 2000 and 2014, their energy intensity decreased by an average of 18.5%
Summary
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that by 2050, food production must increase by 70% to sustain the predicted population. The FAO forecasts a 30% energy production increase [1]. The expected increase in food demand is disproportionate to the forecasted increase in energy capacity [2]. It is essential to progress in energy efficiency in food production systems. The goal is to produce more or the same amount of food using less energy [3]. Energy efficiency can be defined as the ratio between the production process and the energy input into that process [4]
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