Recently I published a blog post about the risks of turning food into fuel. In a nutshell, the booming biodiesel and ethanol industry is creating a scenario where the price of food crops, or animal products dependent upon grain feed, are increasing as more of the grain harvest is being diverted for the purpose of making fuel.

On the flip side; there's also the current issue of how much fossil fuel currently goes into making food at every stage of its production - field preparation, planting, fertilizing, cultivation, harvesting, processing, transportation and storage. We're painting ourselves into quite a corner here.

Have you ever stopped to think how far the out of season fruit and vegetables you're eating have had to be shipped? For example, grapes purchased in Chicago have arrived there after a 2,000 mile journey - courtesy of fossil fuel.

Prior to transport, there's also the role of fossil fuel in the tilling of soil, planting and harvesting, then there's the energy expended in packing and cold storage.

Even more insiduous is the issue of fertilizer. There's not just the shipping of fertilizer to farms to consider, but the actual production of it. Much of the fertilizer used in the world today is a product of fossil fuel.

One of the most important advancements in 20th century agriculture was the introduction of the Haber-Bosch process for the synthesis of nitrogen fertilizer.

In the 1950's, the total amount of nitrogen based fertilizers produced was around 4 million tons. The Haber-Bosch process now generates over a hundred million tons of nitrogen based fertilizer annually and in the process consumes a full 1% of the world's annual energy supply in the form of natural gas; an essential component of the process. The frightening aspect of this is that the Haber-Bosch process is now directly responsible for sustaining 40% of the Earth's population.

In a world that's running out of fossil fuels, you can see where all this is heading. Added to that, the indiscriminate use of nitrogen based fertilizers over the decades has also accelerated topsoil degradation. For decades, we have been pushing the soil to the limit. If nitrogen fertilizers were to become scarce; crop yields would suffer greatly.

In a time in the not too distant future, I see big problems facing city dwellers in particular in relation to sourcing fresh fruit and vegetables. As fossil fuels become scarcer, prices for fertilizer, farm machinery running costs and transportation will rise dramatically and that will be reflected in the end product.

The optimists would point to alternative fuels such as ethanol picking up from where fossil fuels left off. Even if ethanol and biodiesel could totally replace fossil fuels, which they cannot with the current technology available, the amount of land and crops needed to ensure that people in Chicago could get those grapes mentioned earlier will see that only the very wealthy can afford them. And as for the production of nitrogen fertilizers, once natural gas runs out, the Haber-Bosch process will become history as will many current agricultural practices. If the stats are correct; this means that 40% of the world's population will face a food crisis during this century.

For those of us in the suburbs or in rural areas, we really need to be looking more towards self sufficiency in food production; and starting very soon. It's time for us all to be thinking about establishing a vegetable garden and keeping chickens - mainly as a protein source from eggs. It was good enough for our forefathers and I think it is good enough for us too.

What really needs to happen in society in my opinion is a return to the village scenario; with small populations scattered throughout the countryside surrounded by green belts and farms. As for the city dwellers, community gardens need to be started en masse. Community gardens became popular in the UK many years ago; first established after The Blitz in World War II. Basically, a vacant lot is set aside where local people can rent out a small section to grow fruit and vegetables. The plots can be tiny - anywhere from 5 feet square to 25 feet square, but it's quite amazing how much food can be produced from such a small area.

The other great thing about community garden plots or your own vegetable patch is it's something the whole family can get involved in. It's a fantastic way to instil in children respect and awe of nature and it's a very satisfying feeling sitting down to a meal repared from food you have grown yourself.

Like anything, growing fruit and vegetables is a skill, so don't leave establishing a food garden for too long. We're headed for a crunch; best to prepare for it as soon as you can.