For breakfast I consumed a few slices of toast with soft boiled eggs on top.

The method used to separate crude oil into its various components

The eggs are packaged in your typical white polystyrene cartoon, which is a polymer that uses hydrocarbons as precursor in its manufacture. Benzene and ethylene are the main reactants to produce the polymer, both of which are separated from crude oil using fractional distillation.

Chicken farms are obviously needed for egg production, and chickens require grain diets for optimal egg production. These grains are produced in large plots of land using large combines for harvesting. Most of our grains come from within Canada as it is such a large producer, which is harvested by large combines.This machinery relies on fossil fuels for operation as they are powered by large gasoline and diesel engines.

3 Combines efficiently harvesting a crop.

The bread I used is made from a combination of 9 whole grains, once again requiring farm land to produce. Pesticides are used to combat possible pest infestations as to avoid entire crop decimation. Pesticides are complex chemicals which are synthesized in laboratories using many hydrocarbons extracted from petroleum. Many liquid pesticides even use kerosene as a “carrier” for the pesticide chemicals

Crops being sprayed with pesticides.

For lunch I prepared a tuna melt sandwich with a 2 scoop protein shake to wash it down.

Tuna is extensively fished throughout the world’s oceans, with some species such as the bluefin potentially facing extinction due to over fishing. Large fishing trawlers are used catch the tuna, which are powered by diesel engines and require large amounts of fuel to operate. These boats are also made from steel hulls, which ultimately require iron ore to produce the steel. Iron ore is also mined and processed using large excavation equipment which also require refined fossil fuels to operate.

A trawler style boat fishing for tuna. Many fish are now grown on fish farms; however, this is not yet viable for tuna. Japan is the largest tuna consumer and is also the leader in tuna farm research.

Whey protein is synthesized from cow’s milk, the protein is extracted from the milk in a separation and purification process resulting in a dehydrated powder. Dairy cows need large pastures to freely graze and hay during the winter months. Hay usually contains a mixture of oat, barley, and wheat all which require farm land to grow. These crops require fertilizers for high yields and worthy profits for the farmer. One of the main components of fertilizer is nitrogen, which is produced using the Haber process. In this process natural gas is the main reactant in combination with nitrogen gas and a catalyst. Natural gas is a popular and versatile fossil fuel as it has a wide range of applications including personal cooking, hydrogen production, and of course fertilizer production.

A photo of a natural gas plant.

For dinner I prepared myself a chicken burger with rice.

My chicken burgers came in cardboard packaging which requires pulp to produce. Pulp is made from wood fibres and is processed with chemicals and heavy machinery. Sodium sulphide is one of the main chemicals used to create pulp using the Kraft process invented by Carl F. Dahl in 1879. Sodium sulphide is produced in the process by using coal (as its primary element is carbon) and sodium sulphate as the reactants. The resultant product is a pulp that has superior strength in comparison to other methods and is thus used for cardboard. Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel; however, its extraction can be harmful to the environment by contaminating ground water and polluting the air. In 2008 the World Health Organization determined that coal pollution causes approximately one million deaths around the world per year.

The Braunkohlebagger Nr. 288 is a 13 000 tonne bucket coal excavator. It is 96m high, 115m long, and 45m wide. This is a photo of it making a 22km journey from Hambach to Garzweiler.

A photo of 3 coal power plants in Germany. Known as Frimmersdorf, Neurath and Niederaußem. Niederaußem has the worlds highest cooling tower at 200m tall. The excavator above services these mining pits.

Rice is harvested in various parts of the world with the highest output in the Asian countries such as China and Indonesia; however, some of these high producing countries import rice as well to satisfy the demand. Most harvesting is done by hand as labour is cheaper than capital. However, harvesters are used in appropriate areas which require fossil fuels to operate.  Developing countries tend to use more labour intensive methods and in result are less dependent on fossil fuels to complete their harvest. The vast majority of rice is grown in oversea countries which requires its transportation via plane, rail, cargo ship, and truck over long distances. The transportation industry is entirely dependent on fossil fuels and is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Rice paddy being harvested by a Bangladesh family, all of the work is done by hand.

The Triple E cargo ship is capable of transporting 18 000 20ft containers at a time. Some cargo ships burn over 10 000 litres of fuel per hour! The Triple E is more fuel efficient and burns about 1/3 the fuel per container compared to the average cargo ship.

I found myself considerably hungry before I went to bed, and had a bowl of pistachios before I retired. This particular bag of pistachios came from an orchard in California. The packing is the typical plastic (polymer) bag, which I have already explained in detail. Pistachio nuts are grown from trees which take 7-10 years to reach substantial production. They are collected using harvesting equipment that shake the trees so that the nut falls into a collecting bin. The nuts are then shipped to a roasting facility where they are placed in industrial ovens most often powered by natural gas. This process from tree to consumer is quite energy intensive which is a contributing factor to their high price along with low yield per land unit.

A scenic view of a pistachio orchard in California.

It has become evident that everything I eat on a daily basis is dependent on fossil fuels; whether it be the packaging of the food(a large percentage of my food comes packaged in plastic), its production, or its transportation to my plate. All the intermediate steps require fossil fuels in one form or another. My refrigerator where much of my food is kept is built out of polymers, and requires a liquid refrigerant for heat exchange. Virtually all refrigerants are hydrocarbon derivatives such as CFC’s and HCFC’s with some being hydrocarbons such as propane.  In Manning’s article he mentions that processed food requires on average ten calories of oil energy for every calorie of food energy produced. Considering most of the food I eat is processed, this is quite the alarming fact. I did not previously realize the extent to which my diet relies on fossil fuels. Any large variation (such as its eventual depletion) in its supply would have disastrous consequences on our food supply and subsequently our society.