ABSTRACT
The public needs to know which areas of the food system are most inefficient in use of fossil fuel energy and most wasteful of energy-containing materials. Since world resources of fossil fuels are limited, it is pertinent to consider what economies might be made in the massive amounts of these fuels which are currently used in the food systems of developed countries. Reduction of fossil fuel energy use must not be regarded as an end in itself without consideration of how that energy is used and the effects reduction in its use would have on the well-being of the nation or of any section of its population. The effects of any proposed scheme for saving energy must be assessed on the energy usage and the financial economy of the nation as a whole since a gain at one point can so easily be offset by a loss at another.
