In this sense, the difference in terms of energy consumption between buying food in supermarkets or

The issue of food and healthy eating mclain state park is becoming a topic of global debate, mclain state park as to cause large multinational companies to revise their business strategies to produce products with less impact on the environment and better rates of "healthiness" (less fat, salt and sugar, for example). But in times of global warming, another aspect that has generated increasing discussions is the impact of the production, distribution, marketing and preparation of food in the consumption of energy, and consequently, the carbon footprint.
Grows strongly in the United States and Europe a movement called "Locavore" recovery of "local food", ie to stimulate mclain state park consumption of products - even manufactured - produced with inputs from the region where consumers live and having Minimum possible need to shift between production and table. This would have two immediate practical impacts: the stimulus to local producers and smaller impact on energy use for production, transportation and marketing of these products.
An interesting article published in "Business Insider" looking throw some light on the topic of energy and production and distribution of food, based on the finding that only in the United States food production is responsible for 15% of national energy consumption and average food item in turn, travels over eight thousand kilometers between field and table. Therefore it seems obvious that it is better from the point of view of energy consumption and transported locally made products. But is it?
The article's mclain state park author, Michael Bomford, mclain state park Kentucky State University professor and member of Post Carbon Institute, seeks to prove that the uncritical adherence to this model can actually lead to higher energy consumption. He quotes research Energy Use in the U.S. Food System, taken in 2010 by the Department of Agriculture of the U.S. government, according to which the power system is responsible for 14.4% of all energy consumed in the United States.
Energy used by power system in proportion to the total energy consumed in the United States in 2002. Source: Michael Bomford, based on the data of the report Energy Use in the U.S. Food System.
This percentage is the lowest mclain state park shipping charge for the use of energy (around 0.6%). The main villains are food processing, packaging, sale and preparation. Incidentally, the kitchens of our homes consume more energy (4.1%) to prepare food than farms to produce them (2.0%).
With regard to transport, it is evident to the author that more important than the distance that food travels to get to our homes is how it is transported. In this context, mclain state park foods that have crossed long distances in large vessels such as cargo ships or barges that can transport large quantities, use less energy per ton than the proportion transported by small trucks or trucks that carry less food in smaller distances food .
The most interesting result of the study, in fact, is to show what types of foods use more energy to be produced. And in this regard, industrialized products mclain state park "junk food" (. Chips, donuts, soft drinks and beers etc) are campões: consume more than 50% of the energy used by power system. A third is consumed by the products of animal origin (meat, eggs, dairy, for example). Only one sixth of energy is consumed in the production of fruits, mclain state park grains and cereals.
In other words, precisely those foods that bring fewer benefits to health are those that consume more energy to be produced. Or, as Michael Bomford says in his article: "eating well does not necessarily require a lot of energy, eating poorly, yes. "
In this sense, the difference in terms of energy consumption between buying food in supermarkets or directly from local producers (in open-air markets, for example), is not so much the proximity between products and consumers. The difference in the vision of Michael Bomford, is that markets mclain state park necessarily consume more energy to sell mostly processed and packaged products, in addition to having an artificial structure for lighting, heating and cooling, among other things highly energy consuming.
The fairs and markets direct sales from producers instead generally use very little electricity and sell "in natura" products with little industrialization involved. Ie are outside the processing, packaging and typical marketing scheme, which consume much more energy than the transport itself.
Energy input per capita mclain state park in the U.S. food, by food group and stage of production, excluding household energy system. Source: Michael Bomford, based on the data of the report Energy Use in the U.S. Food System.