The Greenhouse

It's not just the construction industry and the various product manufacturers that get their knickers in a twist about embedded energy (see the various arguments put forward by the timber, concrete, masonry and steel lobies). Do you remember reading or hearing recently about a council that has decided to serve only vegetarian food in the name of sustainability? I forget the details, but the decision was based around the fact that it took less energy to grow fruit and veg than meat. In a generalised sort of way it's true, of course. But, as with weighing the various merits of concrete, timber and steel, the devil is in the detail. We're very trendy here in Sussex and have a box of organic vegetables delivered every week from Abel & Cole. Last week's information sheet attempted to demystify the notion of embedded energy in food. Organic was best, it said (nor surprises there), even if produced quite some distance away, rather than locally produced inorganic food; eating in season was crucial. It provided some facts from DEFRA and the Soil Association to support its claims, most startling of which was the following: in the UK it takes nearly eight times as much energy to produce a tonne of out of season, inorganic tomatoes as it did to produce one tonne of organic beef. Food for thought.