Volatile Oil Prices Expose Food System’s Dangerous Fossil Fuel Dependence – Experts

Top lines:

• New IPES-Food report published today reveals food systems consume 40% of all petrochemicals and 15% of fossil fuels – yet remain absent from climate negotiations.
• As other sectors decarbonize, food systems are Big Oil’s next frontier – with fertilizers and plastics driving fossil fuel expansion.
• Volatile oil prices amid Iran-Israel tensions threaten to drive up food prices – highlighting the urgent need to delink food from fossil fuels.
• Experts urge a pivot to agroecology, local food systems, and healthy diets – warning that techno-fixes deepen fossil dependence and delay transformation.

New report: Fuel To fork

A major new report from international experts at IPES-Food reveals the alarming extent to which fossil fuels are flooding into food systems – turning food into the new growth frontier for Big Oil. Yet food remains sidelined from national climate pledges and international negotiations, say the authors.

The report, ‘Fuel To Fork: What will it take to get fossil fuels out of our food systems?’ finds that 40% of all global petrochemicals are now consumed by food systems – mainly through synthetic fertilizers and plastic packaging. With petrochemicals the single largest driver of oil demand growth, food systems are now fuelling fossil fuel expansion, even as other sectors begin to decarbonize.

Oil and food price volatility

The findings come amid intense geopolitical instability in the Middle East and volatile oil prices. The experts warn that – with food and energy prices deeply intertwined – food and fertilizer prices could soon be affected, putting millions at risk of hunger. Fossil fuel dependence is driving food insecurity, the authors say, making the need to delink food from fossil fuels ever more urgent.

The report details how fossil fuels are embedded across every stage of the food chain – from fertilizers, pesticides, and plastics to ultra processed foods, plastic packaging, and cold storage – supported by generous subsidies for fossil fuels and chemical-intensive agriculture.

Key findings:

• 99% of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers and pesticides are derived from fossil fuels.
• One-third of petrochemicals go toward producing synthetic fertilizers – the biggest fossil fuel consumer in agriculture.
• Food and drink packaging accounts for at least 10% of global plastic use – with a further 3.5% used in agriculture.
• Industry-led ‘solutions’ like ‘blue’ ammonia fertilizers and digital agriculture are costly, energy-intensive, and environmentally risky – while entrenching fossil fuel dependence and corporate control. 

The authors warn that tackling climate change is impossible without cutting fossil fuels out of food systems – and that real solutions already exist. They urge governments to seize the opportunity at COP30 in Brazil to phase out fossil fuel and agrochemical subsidies, and shift food and farming toward agroecology, shorter supply chains, and resilient local food systems. 

Errol Schweizer, IPES-Food panel expert

Fossil fuels are, disturbingly, the lifeblood of the food industry. From chemical fertilizers, to ultra-processed junk food, to plastic packaging, every step is fossil fuel-based. The industrial food system consumes 40% of petrochemicals – it is now Big Oil’s key growth frontier. Yet somehow it stays off the climate radar.

Errol Schweizer, IPES-Food panel expert

Raj Patel, IPES-Food panel expert

Tethering food to fossil fuels means tying dinner plates to oil rigs and conflict zones. When oil prices rise, so does hunger – that’s the peril of a food system addicted to fossil fuels. Delinking food from fossil fuels has never been more critical to stabilize food prices and ensure people can access food.

Raj Patel, IPES-Food panel expert

Molly Anderson, IPES-Food panel expert

From farm to fork, we need bold action to redesign food and farming, and sever the ties to oil, gas, and coal. As COP30 approaches, the world must finally face up to this fossil fuel blind spot. Food systems are the major driver of oil expansion – but also a major opportunity for climate action. That starts by phasing out harmful chemicals in agriculture and investing in agroecological farming and local food supply chains – not doubling down on corporate-led tech fixes that delay real change.

Molly Anderson, IPES-Food panel expert

Georgina Catacora-Vargas, IPES-Food panel expert

Fossil fuel-free food systems are not only possible, they already exist, as the world’s Indigenous people teach us. By shifting from ultra-processed diets to locally sourced, diverse foods; by helping farmers step off the chemical treadmill and rebuild biological relationships; by redignifying peasant farming and care work – we can feed the world without fossil fuels.

Georgina Catacora-Vargas, IPES-Food panel expert

Listen to the Fuel To Fork podcast

Delve in further with our accompanying podcast series exposing the fossil fuels in our food.