ABSTRACT
Very few crops nowadays are taken from the farm and sold directly to the consumer without cleaning, packaging, or other preparation. In developed countries where millions of people live together in large cities, it is obvious that there must be an effective system of food distribution if all these people are to be fed. One aspect of energy use in food processing and distribution that should not be overlooked—because it adds up to a significant amount—is the use of private cars on business related to the food system. There have been considerable social changes in the past thirty years in the United States and other developed countries that have altered the patterns of demand for food, the methods of processing and distributing food, and consumer shopping habits. Food is prepared in homes, in industrial cafeterias, in restaurants, and in public institutions such as hospitals and schools. In all of these, substantial quantities of fossil fuel energy are used.
