--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The point is that the overwhelming energy…" description: "\"“The point is that the overwhelming energy cost associated with food is not in the food itself (the 2,000 food calories a day per person) but in its pr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/geoffrey-west-7474_food_the-point-is-that-the-overwhelming-energ_1436906.jpg" --- # The point is that the overwhelming energy cost associated… ![“The point is that the overwhelming energy cost associated with food is not in the food itself (the 2,000 food calories a day per person) but in its production, transportation, distribution, and marketing through the supply chain from farms to stores to your house and ultimately to your mouth.” quote by Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/geoffrey-west-7474_food_the-point-is-that-the-overwhelming-energ_1436906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/geoffrey-west-7474_food_the-point-is-that-the-overwhelming-energ_1436906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c48/geoffrey-west-7474_food_the-point-is-that-the-overwhelming-energ_1436906.jpg) > ““The point is that the overwhelming energy cost associated with food is not in the food itself (the 2,000 food calories a day per person) but in its production, transportation, distribution, and marketing through the supply chain from farms to stores to your house and ultimately to your mouth.”” [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Most of the energy we use for food comes from the processes that get it to us, not the food itself. **In simple terms:** Food’s energy cost is mainly from its supply chain. Key Takeaway Focus on making supply chains more efficient. Themes energy sustainability food systems Mood concerned analytical Type informative analytical When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - business strategy - consumer choices Key Concepts systems thinking urban scaling environmental impact Questions to Reflect On - How can we reduce energy use in food logistics? - What policies could incentivize greener supply chains? A Different Perspective Improving efficiency may require costly infrastructure changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Supply chain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supply-chain/) ## Related quotes > [Once you got a solar panel on a roof, energy is free. 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Everybody wants cheap power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goodell/when-it-comes-to-energy-cost-isn-t-everything-but-it-s-a-lot/) [Jeff Goodell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goodell/) > [Its 2013 why does food still have calories...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-2013-why-does-food-still-have-calories/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you actually have a little bit of food and some calories behind you, it just feels better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benson-henderson/when-you-actually-have-a-little-bit-of-food-and-some-calories-behind/) [Benson Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benson-henderson/) > [Junk food, empty calories and carbs are the Big Data of the masses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/junk-food-empty-calories-and-carbs-are-the-big-data-of-the-masses/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [books are like confort food without the calories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/books-are-like-confort-food-without-the-calories/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [In my opinion, it has never been proven that food even has calories. When I bite into a hamburger, I see pickle and ketchup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/in-my-opinion-it-has-never-been-proven-that-food-even-has-calories/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) > [After every fight, I've just ballooned up and started eating 8,000 calories a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-pimblett/after-every-fight-i-ve-just-ballooned-up-and-started-eating-8-000/) [Paddy Pimblett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-pimblett/) > [Every pound of muscle burns approximately 50 calories every day, just doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-cruise/every-pound-of-muscle-burns-approximately-50-calories-every-day-just/) [Jorge Cruise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-cruise/) > [“And here is the shocking plot twist: as farmers produced those extra calories, the food industry figured out how to get them into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/and-here-is-the-shocking-plot-twist-as-farmers-produced-those-extra/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I would eat 300 calories a day - a lot of Jell-O and no-sugar everything, of course. I was doing Pilates, weight-training, circuit training;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-de-rossi/i-would-eat-300-calories-a-day-a-lot-of-jell-o-and-no-sugar/) [Portia de Rossi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-de-rossi/) > [I usually eat whatever I want... about 5,000 to 7,000 calories a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-henry/i-usually-eat-whatever-i-want-about-5-000-to-7-000-calories-a-day/) [Mark Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-henry/) > [“For chess grand masters, the process of thinking during a match can "cost" up to 7000 calories a day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-lotto/for-chess-grand-masters-the-process-of-thinking-during-a-match-can/) [Beau Lotto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-lotto/) > [I am constantly working out-circuit training, jumping rope, and stair-stepping, and sticking to 1200 calories a day. It can't be something that you're doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leann-rimes/i-am-constantly-working-out-circuit-training-jumping-rope-and-stair/) [LeAnn Rimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leann-rimes/) > [No one asks the cow or the chicken where it gets its protein. I eat about 4,000 or 5,000 calories a day, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-salley/no-one-asks-the-cow-or-the-chicken-where-it-gets-its-protein-i-eat/) [John Salley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-salley/) ## More by Geoffrey West > [I spent most of my career doing high-energy physics, quarks, dark matter, string theory and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/i-spent-most-of-my-career-doing-high-energy-physics-quarks-dark/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [Your cells are not working as hard as your dog's but harder than your horse's. The bigger the animal, the less energy needed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/your-cells-are-not-working-as-hard-as-your-dog-s-but-harder-than-your/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“While exponential growth is a remarkable manifestation of our extraordinary accomplishments as a species, built into it are the potential seeds of our demise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/while-exponential-growth-is-a-remarkable-manifestation-of-our/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [One of the remarkable things about slums is that they do develop their own social organization and economy and even culture that is, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/one-of-the-remarkable-things-about-slums-is-that-they-do-develop/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The system we have evolved critically relies on people continually wanting new cars and new cell phones, new widgets and gadgets, new clothes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-system-we-have-evolved-critically-relies-on-people-continually/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Cities are sustained by similar network systems such as roads, railways, and electrical lines that transport people, energy, and resources and whose flow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/cities-are-sustained-by-similar-network-systems-such-as-roads/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [When you look at a city, you know, it looks so unique. 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On”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/it-s-extremely-difficult-to-kill-a-city-on/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Perhaps, then, the most surprising consequence of a visionary Theory of Everything is that it implies that on the grand scale the universe, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/perhaps-then-the-most-surprising-consequence-of-a-visionary-theory-of/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“It is all too often forgotten that the whole point of a city is to bring people together, to facilitate interaction, and thereby to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/it-is-all-too-often-forgotten-that-the-whole-point-of-a-city-is-to/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The integration of these two kinds of networks, namely, the requirement that socioeconomic interaction represented by space-filling fractal-like social networks must be anchored to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-integration-of-these-two-kinds-of-networks-namely-the-requirement/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“So why do almost all cities remain viable, whereas the vast majority of companies and organisms die?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/so-why-do-almost-all-cities-remain-viable-whereas-the-vast-majority/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“The existence of these remarkable regularities strongly suggests that there is a common conceptual framework underlying all of these very different highly complex phenomena…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/the-existence-of-these-remarkable-regularities-strongly-suggests-that/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [“Unfortunately, however, there is another serious catch. Theory dictates that such discoveries must occur at an increasingly accelerating pace; the time between successive innovations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/unfortunately-however-there-is-another-serious-catch-theory-dictates/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) > [Exciting cities stay exciting, and boring cities stay boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-west/exciting-cities-stay-exciting-and-boring-cities-stay-boring/) [Geoffrey West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) [Explore all 91 Geoffrey West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-west/) ## More Food quotes > [On Sundays, that's my pig out day and I do the pizza and the beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-silvstedt/on-sundays-that-s-my-pig-out-day-and-i-do-the-pizza-and-the-beer/) [Victoria Silvstedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-silvstedt/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You do know that right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ashworth/my-god-joseph-your-toasted-sandwiches-are-the-fucking-shit-you-do/) [Beth Ashworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ashworth/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [To me, Caribbean food is about fresh, seasonal produce - using what's in season to create vibrant and great tasting food. The spicing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/to-me-caribbean-food-is-about-fresh-seasonal-produce-using-what-s-in/) [Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [“Hungarian Proverb: A dish of cabbages can be heated when it grows cold, but it will never taste the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/hungarian-proverb-a-dish-of-cabbages-can-be-heated-when-it-grows-cold/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“The phrase “low and slow” was coined to describe the relatively low temperatures used for smoking and the lengthy amount of time it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-reader/the-phrase-low-and-slow-was-coined-to-describe-the-relatively-low/) Ted Reader > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. 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