Energy and the green revolution

Agricultural technology requires vastly more energy compared to traditional farming using only sunlight and muscle power. Energy is required to manufacture and fuel farm machines. Energy is required to produce and apply synthetic fertilizers and herbicides. Energy is required to pump water hundreds of miles for irrigation. Energy is required to move food from distant farms to supermarkets fast enough to avoid spoilage. Increasing consumer demand for out-of-season produce, such as fresh strawberries or tomatoes in wintertime, results even higher transportation costs to move food from one continent to another. Agriculture represents a transformation of energy—from photosynthesis to farming and transportation—to deliver food to your table.
Crowd of people in a city Most experts agree that the human population of Earth will continue to increase, reaching 9.3 billion by 2050 according to a recent study by the United Nations. While the world's population grows, it is also becoming more urbanized. In 1900, 60% of the U.S. population lived in rural areas, but it is now only 16%. Because population growth is concentrated in cities far from the farmland, urbanization leads to increased transportation costs. Increases in population and sprawl decrease the land available for agriculture. Scientific consensus is that food productivity must roughly double to meet future needs.
Many short-sighted and unsustainable practices that arose during the 1950s cannot continue lest they actually cause harm by leading to soil degradation. According to an agricultural scientist, “we have a great challenge to feed the world with less land, less energy, and more attention to sustainable agriculture than ever before.” While physics does not grow plants, every process must obey the laws of physics.
Which of the following occurs due to urbanization?
  1. An increase in energy needed to grow food
  2. An increase in energy needed to ship food
  3. An increase in energy needed to prepare food
  4. None of the above
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