Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes

Bartłomiej Bajan,Walenty Poczta,Joanna Łukasiewicz,Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda

doi:10.3390/en14041011

Abstract

The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.

Highlights

Since the end of World War II, the world’s population has been growing steadily and the projections, by 2100, indicate that it will continue to grow [1]
The lowest energy return on investment (EROI) values could be observed in highly developed regions of the world, namely North America, Europe and Oceania, which is similar to the results of the previously discussed studies on the energy efficiency of crop production [43,44]
One must subtract the production of fodder from the value of agricultural production, as it constitutes a part of crop production but at the same time is an input in animal production

Summary

Introduction

Since the end of World War II, the world’s population has been growing steadily and the projections, by 2100, indicate that it will continue to grow [1]. In this context, the main function of agriculture is to feed the growing world population. Access to relatively cheap transport after World War II has contributed to the acceleration of the globalization process [6]. Both the intensification and globalization of production have contributed to the increased consumption of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, with regard to agriculture. This proved to be a factor that negatively influenced the average energy efficiency of agricultural production [7]

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Conclusion