B io ph ile Issu e 18 - Biophile Magazine
B io ph ile Issu e 18 - Biophile Magazine B io ph ile Issu e 18 - Biophile Magazine
Roll on, our own "special period"!WHY YOU SHOULDGROW YOUR OWN FOODLESSONS FROM THE CUBAN EXPERIENCEver the next several years foodprices will increase sharply.These coming price increases areas unavoidable and inevitable as anincrease in the price of oil. In fact the pricewe pay for food is interestingly andinextricably linked to the oil price, and thisarticle will not only show how the twohave become inseparably intertwined buthow they cannot do anything other thanescalate.The really, truly inconvenient truth weface as a species is not only Global Warming,it is PeakOil as well.PeakOil is the point in time when thetotal quantity of oil annually extractedfrom the Earth reaches its maximum. Itmarks the moment in time at which thefirst half of the Earth's crude oil reserveswill have been used up. By implication, itmarks the moment in time from when thetotal quantity of oil annually extractedfrom the Earth begins to decline.The oil remaining in the Earth will bemore difficult and thus more expensive toextract, coincidentally occurring at a timewhen annual Global demand for crude oilis expected to increase by up to 9%, as thetwin bursts of industrial growth shownby both China and India proportionallyincrease the demand for energy. Theinevitable result of irrevocably decliningproduction and ever-increasing demandwill be inevitably higher oil prices.Most indications are that PeakOil willoccur sometime in the next three to fiveyears, other indications are that it mighthave already occurred. The exact timingof PeakOil is not vitally important hereFarms in Cuba's Vinales Valley24 Biophile Issue 18
"The really, truly inconvenient truth we face as a speciesis not only Global Warming,it is PeakOil as well."by Geoff Lotzbecause only history will really show usexactly when PeakOil happened. Whatmatters is understanding the implicationsof PeakOil, one of which is that everythingwill change, including the price of food.PeakOil is not about running out of oil, it isabout running out of cheap oil.Oil and the food we eatTransportOver 90% of the developed world'stransport energy is oil sourced. Theaverage item of food in the United Statestravels over 2200 kilometres from the soilto the plate, powered mostly by diesel. InSouth Africa we transport almost all ourfood by truck, from growing, preparationand packaging centres to distributioncentres and outlying retail outlets andeventually to our homes.The diesel price extends further itsinfluence to the costs of operating thetractors and agricultural machinery thatassist us to extract from our environmentmore food than it could otherwise produce.Additionally, the diversion of food cropssuch as maize, sugar, wheat and even vegetableoils into the production of alternativefuels such as ethanol and biodiesel hasalready had an inflationary effect on theglobal market prices of some of these commodities.Without doubt the cost of fuel isalready an increasingly significant factorin the final price we pay for food.ElectricityUnfortunately, the price of oil does notonly affect the price of transportation. Theoverall price of all forms of energy will in-Farmers in Cuba's Vinales ValleyBiophile Issue 1825
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Roll on, our own "special per<strong>io</strong>d"!WHY YOU SHOULDGROW YOUR OWN FOODLESSONS FROM THE CUBAN EXPERIENCEver the next several years foodprices will increase sharply.These coming price increases areas unavoidable and inevitable as anincrease in the price of oil. In fact the pricewe pay for food is interestingly andinextricably linked to the oil price, and thisarticle will not only show how the twohave become inseparably intertwined buthow they cannot do anything other thanescalate.The really, truly inconvenient truth weface as a species is not only Global Warming,it is PeakOil as well.PeakOil is the point in time when thetotal quantity of oil annually extractedfrom the Earth reaches its maximum. Itmarks the moment in time at which thefirst half of the Earth's crude oil reserveswill have been used up. By implicat<strong>io</strong>n, itmarks the moment in time from when thetotal quantity of oil annually extractedfrom the Earth begins to decline.The oil remaining in the Earth will bemore difficult and thus more expensive toextract, coincidentally occurring at a timewhen annual Global demand for crude oilis expected to increase by up to 9%, as thetwin bursts of industrial growth shownby both China and India proport<strong>io</strong>nallyincrease the demand for energy. Theinevitable result of irrevocably decliningproduct<strong>io</strong>n and ever-increasing demandwill be inevitably higher oil prices.Most indicat<strong>io</strong>ns are that PeakOil willoccur sometime in the next three to fiveyears, other indicat<strong>io</strong>ns are that it mighthave already occurred. The exact timingof PeakOil is not vitally important hereFarms in Cuba's Vinales Valley24 B<strong>io</strong><strong>ph</strong><strong>ile</strong> <strong>Issu</strong>e <strong>18</strong>
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