Should You Eat Out Tonight?

Here is a reason to go out for dinner tonight, besides being too tired to shop and cook.

Storing and preparing food at home is the largest use of energy in the U.S. food system. This energy use includes the electricity for refrigerators and freezers, energy for stoves, ranges, and microwave ovens, dishwashers, and heating water for dish washing. Over 40 percent of food-related household energy consumption goes to operating refrigerators. Improvements in appliance efficiencies have decreased refrigerator energy consumption over the past decade, but the number and size of refrigerators in American households continue to grow. Cooking at home accounts for about 20 percent of our household food-related energy use, while hot water heating for dish washing is estimated to be another 20 percent.


I found this is information in a report called: Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for Assessment of the U.S. Food System, Martin C. Heller and Gregory A. Keoleian, Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan, Report No. CSS00-04,December 6, 2000, p. 41.