10
management; and utilize a wide range of farming and fishing equipment. In
many countries, agriculture is one of the largest users of water. In the USA and
the nations of the European Union, agricultural production is guided through
governmental policy infrastructure that influences what food, fiber, and fuel will
be produced in what ways. These influences include when crops are planted, how
much water is used, how much fuel is produced, how global food markets function, and more.
• Food processing transforms raw products into edible products using technology that ranges from handheld tools to large factories. Which edible products
are produced is influenced by the social infrastructure of government dietary
guidelines and the communication infrastructure of commercials and
advertisements?
• Food distribution ranges from local transportation to international trade routes
that utilize stationary and mobile storage equipment as well as roads, railways,
ships, and aircraft. A myriad of distribution nodes connects farms and processing facilities to restaurants, markets, and shops that make the food available to
the plates of end consumers. Thus, food distribution relies on social infrastructure ranging from commodity exchanges to marketing contracts to food assistance programs.
• Electrically-intensive refrigeration in residences, food services, retail, and
wholesale, is one of the largest users of anthropogenic energy in the food
system.
For Energy
• Energy production comes from a global network of oil and gas wells, coal mines,
hydropower dams, nuclear power plants, wind turbines, solar cells, and fields of
sugar and corn and soybeans. For many individuals and communities, energy
comes from the gathering of wood, peat, and animal waste. Each energy source
requires particular equipment. Even locations with onsite energy sources generally need regular supplies of fuel from offsite or to be connected to an electrical
grid to balance supply and demand.
• Energy processing includes refineries and electric power plants of many kinds, as
well as charcoal kilns and inverters on rooftop solar panels. Refineries and power
plants rely on marketing infrastructure to arrive at the necessary contractual
arrangements and on government policy infrastructure to regulate air and water
and soil pollution.
• Energy distribution includes oil and gas pipelines, barges and oil tankers, road
and rail, terminals, and the most complicated machine in the world, the modern electric grid. These pipelines and tankers and grids are guided and regulated by governmental and other social infrastructure to ensure their security
and equity.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell
management; and utilize a wide range of farming and fishing equipment. In
many countries, agriculture is one of the largest users of water. In the USA and
the nations of the European Union, agricultural production is guided through
governmental policy infrastructure that influences what food, fiber, and fuel will
be produced in what ways. These influences include when crops are planted, how
much water is used, how much fuel is produced, how global food markets function, and more.
• Food processing transforms raw products into edible products using technology that ranges from handheld tools to large factories. Which edible products
are produced is influenced by the social infrastructure of government dietary
guidelines and the communication infrastructure of commercials and
advertisements?
• Food distribution ranges from local transportation to international trade routes
that utilize stationary and mobile storage equipment as well as roads, railways,
ships, and aircraft. A myriad of distribution nodes connects farms and processing facilities to restaurants, markets, and shops that make the food available to
the plates of end consumers. Thus, food distribution relies on social infrastructure ranging from commodity exchanges to marketing contracts to food assistance programs.
• Electrically-intensive refrigeration in residences, food services, retail, and
wholesale, is one of the largest users of anthropogenic energy in the food
system.
For Energy
• Energy production comes from a global network of oil and gas wells, coal mines,
hydropower dams, nuclear power plants, wind turbines, solar cells, and fields of
sugar and corn and soybeans. For many individuals and communities, energy
comes from the gathering of wood, peat, and animal waste. Each energy source
requires particular equipment. Even locations with onsite energy sources generally need regular supplies of fuel from offsite or to be connected to an electrical
grid to balance supply and demand.
• Energy processing includes refineries and electric power plants of many kinds, as
well as charcoal kilns and inverters on rooftop solar panels. Refineries and power
plants rely on marketing infrastructure to arrive at the necessary contractual
arrangements and on government policy infrastructure to regulate air and water
and soil pollution.
• Energy distribution includes oil and gas pipelines, barges and oil tankers, road
and rail, terminals, and the most complicated machine in the world, the modern electric grid. These pipelines and tankers and grids are guided and regulated by governmental and other social infrastructure to ensure their security
and equity.
P. Saundry and B. L. Ruddell