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Growing food with the help of synthetic fertilizers and then shipping it from far-flung corners of the world to your plate is how our food system looks today. The problem is, it uses a lot of energy (it takes an average of seven to ten calories of input energy, i.e. fossil fuel, to produce one calorie of food). How do we transition from a fossil-fuel soaked diet to 'eating sunlight' as Michael Pollan writes in Botany of Desire?

Background reading

Bittman, Mark, "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler," New York Times, January 27, 2008. 

Raloff, Janet, "AAAS: Climate Friendly Dining...Meats: The carbon footprints of raising livestock for food," ScienceNews, February 15, 2009.

Thill, Scott, "California's Water Woes Threaten the Entire Country's Food Supply," AlterNet, June 6, 2009.

Weise, Elizabeth, "Eating can be energy-efficient, too," USA Today, April 21, 2009.

Chart of CO2 emissions by food type, University of Chicago.

Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2006.