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Energy use and the sustainability of intensifying food production

Nature Sustainability volume 3, pages 257–259 (2020)Cite this article

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Energy fuels, and is central to, all physical and biological systems, including the human population and economy. Yet science has missed the significance of civilization’s growing energy consumption. The energetics of the global food system illustrate the counterintuitive aspects of present energy consumption circumstances.

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Fig. 1: Global primary energy consumption and food production by human society.

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Acknowledgements

We thank C. A. S. Hall for his insightful guidance during the development of this Comment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Engineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    John R. Schramski & C. Brock Woodson

  2. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    James H. Brown

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  1. John R. Schramski
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  2. C. Brock Woodson
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  3. James H. Brown
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Correspondence to John R. Schramski.

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Schramski, J.R., Woodson, C.B. & Brown, J.H. Energy use and the sustainability of intensifying food production. Nat Sustain 3, 257–259 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0503-z

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