In 2010, Dr. E. Ann Clark, a retired Associate Professor from the University of Guelph‘s Plant Agriculture Department in Ontario, Canada, wrote the following paper demonstrating the logic behind organic agriculture as the best choice in a post-oil future.

Think about it: the current agri-food system was designed around the use of fossil fuels—to bring seeds and fertilizers to the farm, to prepare the soil, to seed, fertilize, harvest and deliver the raw crop to central distribution points, to transport the crop to processors / manufacturers, and then to transport the processed food or grain back to grocery stores and end users.

Can this reliance on oil at every step of the agricultural process remain sustainable long-term?

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