B io ph ile Issu e 18 - Biophile Magazine

"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