Americans spend an average of 35 minutes a day preparing meals and cleaning up after them, according to the Labor Department. “That’s compared to about 50 minutes just a few decades ago,” says Harvest Public Media in the fifth segment of its “Feasting on Fuel” series. “To save time, we’re buying things like frozen pie crusts and other pre-made foods that are processed by machines and then brought home from the store,” says reporter Leigh Paterson. “We are essentially substituting fossil fuels for human labor.” A USDA report says half the growth in food-related energy use between 1997 and 2002 can be attributed to the popularity of prepared foods.
“Our modern food system gobbles up around 10-15 percent of our total energy pie. Much of it goes to the approximate 30,000 food processing plants in the U.S. which are bringing more and more pre-chopped garlic, shredded cheese, and bagged kale right to your table,” says Harvest Public Media.