Feed: a food systems podcast From horses to AI: how fossil fuels shaped agriculture (with Jennifer Clapp)
Feb 13, 2025
Join Jennifer Clapp, a renowned food systems expert and author, as she delves into the surprising connections between fossil fuels and modern agriculture. She discusses how nitrogen fertilizers, pesticides, and mechanization—stemming from fossil fuel reliance—have transformed farming practices. Clapp highlights the significant social and ecological consequences, including labor displacement and industry consolidation. She also explores how the digital agriculture era is driven by data control, raising questions about farmer autonomy and the future of sustainable farming.
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Fertilizers Are Deeply Fossil-Fuel Dependent
- Nitrogen fertilizer production relies on high-temperature chemical synthesis that uses large amounts of natural gas.
- Phosphate and potash fertilizers also depend on fossil-fueled heavy mining equipment and energy-intensive processing.
Pesticides Born From Fossil-Fuel Chemistry
- Modern pesticides originated from organic chemistry using fossil-fuel byproducts like coal tar.
- Pesticide manufacture also consumes large amounts of energy, embedding fossil fuels across their lifecycle.
Mechanization Drove Input-Heavy Farming
- Mechanization starting in the 1830s enabled farming of much larger tracts and promoted monocultures.
- Larger fields increased pest pressure and soil depletion, which raised demand for pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.
