a) The human species consumes 40% of all primary producers. This includes what is lost from activities such as deforestation.
– This is astounding considering that there are about 8.7 million species on the planet and at the bottom of each food chain are primary producers. Clearly we are using up more than our share. (1)

b) Human’s use two thirds of this primary productivity to fuel agriculture.

b) Two thirds of the plants used in agriculture are:
– Wheat
– Rice
– Corn

c) Agriculture is not natural. Plants are meant to be grown in fresh soil with other plants surrounding them.

d) The land food is grown on is oil because we have destroyed the natural habitat in which they would grow on. It takes oil to create and run the machinery that works the land.

e) This is also why our agricultural practices are reliant on nitrogen based fertilizers.

f) Food = oil
– 2 pounds of breakfast cereal = half a gallon of gasoline
– 1 calorie of beef = 35 calories of fossil fuel
– 1 calorie of pork = 68 calories of fossil fuel

g) Why?
– grinding
– milling
– wetting
– drying
– baking
– feeding
– etc.

Source for the points:
Richard Manning, “The Oil We Eat: Following the Food Chain Back to Iraq,” Harper’s Magazine, February 2004, 37-45.

(1) Census of Marine Life. “How many species on Earth? About 8.7 million, new estimate says.”ScienceDaily, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 11 Jul. 2013.