The food-energy nexus

What this episode covers

Dr. Michael Webber, a professor at UT Austin and CTO of Energy Impact Partners, explains the food-energy nexus, noting that while photosynthesis is inefficient (0.3%), it provides robust energy storage. He breaks down the U.S. food system's 10% national energy consumption into categories like fertilizers, transportation, and the cold chain, highlighting that 30-50% of edible food is wasted. Webber argues against using edible crops for fuel, advocating instead for waste streams like manure, and discusses how climate change impacts productivity while indoor agriculture shifts energy use from diesel to electricity.