In the next chapter, when I detail the massive energy subsidies going into modern food production, we will encounter the truly existential reality of different energy qualities. Producing chicken requires energies whose total is several times higher than the energy content of the edible meat. Although we can calculate the subsidy ratio in terms of energy quantities (joules in/joules out)—there is, obviously, a fundamental difference between inputs and outputs: we cannot digest diesel oil or electricity, while lean chicken meat is an almost perfectly digestible foodstuff containing high-quality
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