LAPSE:2023.29685
Published Article
LAPSE:2023.29685
Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes
Bartłomiej Bajan, Joanna Łukasiewicz, Agnieszka Poczta-Wajda, Walenty Poczta
April 13, 2023
The projected increase in the world’s population requires an increase in the production of edible energy that would meet the associated increased demand for food. However, food production is strongly dependent on the use of energy, mainly from fossil fuels, the extraction of which requires increasing input due to the depletion of the most easily accessible deposits. According to numerous estimations, the world’s energy production will be dependent on fossil fuels at least to 2050. Therefore, it is vital to increase the energy efficiency of production, including food production. One method to measure energy efficiency is the energy return on investment (EROI), which is the ratio of the amount of energy produced to the amount of energy consumed in the production process. The literature lacks comparable EROI calculations concerning global food production and the existing studies only include crop production. The aim of this study was to calculate the EROI of edible crop and animal production in the long term worldwide and to indicate the relationships resulting from its changes. The research takes into account edible crop and animal production in agriculture and the direct consumption of fossil fuels and electricity. The analysis showed that although the most underdeveloped regions have the highest EROI, the production of edible energy there is usually insufficient to meet the food needs of the population. On the other hand, the lowest EROI was observed in highly developed regions, where production ensures food self-sufficiency. However, the changes that have taken place in Europe since the 1990s indicate an opportunity to simultaneously reduce the direct use of energy in agriculture and increase the production of edible energy, thus improving the EROI.
Keywords
direct energy use, edible energy, Energy Efficiency, EROI, food production
Suggested Citation
Bajan B, Łukasiewicz J, Poczta-Wajda A, Poczta W. Edible Energy Production and Energy Return on Investment—Long-Term Analysis of Global Changes. (2023). LAPSE:2023.29685
Author Affiliations
Bajan B: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland [ORCID]
Łukasiewicz J: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland
Poczta-Wajda A: Department of Macroeconomics and Agricultural Economics, Institute of Economics, Poznan University of Economics and Business, 61-875 Poznan, Poland
Poczta W: Department of Economics and Economic Policy in Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, 60-637 Poznan, Poland
Journal Name
Energies
Volume
14
Issue
4
First Page
1011
Year
2021
Publication Date
2021-02-15
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en14041011, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2023.29685
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doi:10.3390/en14041011
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Apr 13, 2023
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