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Fuel to Fork Podcast: Exposing the role of fossil fuels in food systems

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Our food system has a hidden ingredient: fossil fuels

Did you know that food accounts for an estimated 15% of global fossil fuel use? Fuel to Fork, a new seven-episode podcast, uncovers how deeply fossil fuels are embedded in our food systems—from production and transportation to packaging and beyond. Understanding this connection is critical to building resilient, sustainable food systems as we face a global climate crisis.

Bringing together insights from leading voices across food and climate research, Fuel to Fork explores essential questions about how fossil fuels shape every part of our food supply. Through thought-provoking expert discussions, Fuel to Fork reveals why transforming food systems must be a core element in tackling the climate crisis. If we want meaningful climate action, we can’t afford to leave food off the plate.

New episodes every Thursday. Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favourite platform.

Fuel to Fork is a collaboration between the Global Alliance, IPES-Food, and TABLE.

LISTEN TO THE SERIES:

Episode 1: There’s fossil fuels in our food?!

“For many of us, how fossil fuels are integrated across the food chain is highly invisible.”

When we bite into a juicy apple, barrels of crude oil and natural gas cylinders might not spring to mind. But fossil fuels are the hidden ingredient behind all of our food. From the diesel powering the tractors to the fertilizer in the field and plastic packaging, fossil fuels are the lifeblood of the food industry.

Episode 2: The rise of fossil fuels in our food

“We have gone so far in terms of the nitrogen fertilizer addiction.”

How did fossil fuels become so embedded in our food systems? We trace this journey from the industrial extraction of guano, through the game-changing Haber-Bosch process, to today’s globalized food system. Along the way, we uncover the hidden impacts on biodiversity and human health—revealing the true cost of this reliance.

Episode 3: Do we need fossil agrochemicals to feed the world?

“The production and use of nitrogen fertilizers alone contributes more to the greenhouse gas effect than commercial aviation.”

Since 2020, over 120 million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizer have been produced annually—a number set to rise by 50% by 2050. It’s easy to assume this is non-negotiable, that without it, we’d face a food crisis. But do we really need all this fossil-based input? As it turns out, there are many ways we can reverse this trend – from curbing overuse and adopting alternative technologies to rethinking our diets and transforming farming practices. We explore a range of options to ease our dependency on fossil-fueled agrochemicals.

Episode 4: Farm machinery, precision agriculture, big data

“In order to stay in farming, there’s a tremendous spur to produce a little more every year than the year before.”

Fossil fuels are woven into nearly every aspect of modern agriculture – from powering farm machinery to creating plastics and supporting data-driven tech like precision agriculture. But what would it take to reduce or even eliminate their use on farms? We dive into both replacement technologies and transformative food production methods like agroecology, exploring the obstacles and limitations of scaling different solutions.