Quick Reality Check Articles

QRC – Breakfast Cereal – 2 pounds of food made with the energy from 4 pounds of gasoline

October 16, 2009 on 12:46 am | In Energy, Food, Quick Reality Check | No Comments

* Breakfast cereals are made of grains and are recommended by he Canada food guide and the USDA as part of a balanced diet.

* The problem for society is that the grinding, milling, wetting, drying, and baking of a breakfast cereal requires about four calories of energy for every calorie of food energy it produces.

* The manufacture of a two-pound bag of breakfast cereal requires the energy equivalent of a half-gallon of gasoline.

* In general, processed food in North America and Europe uses about ten calories of fossil-fuel energy for every calorie of food energy it produces.

* In addition to the energy to make the processed foods, fuel is also used in transporting the food from the factory to a store near you, and more fuel is used by millions of people driving to thousands of super discount stores on the edge of town, where the land is cheap.

* It is obvious that this model for feeding society is not sustainable. We must develop alternatives.