The Scottish Parliament recently passed a landmark motion on food security which includes for the first time a call to take account of peak oil when planning our future food economy.

Some of the interesting facts that were pointed out were these:

• North Sea oil output peaked at 2.8m barrels a day in 1999, and last year this output was down by almost 60% on that peak.
• Estimates vary as to when global oil production will peak, with the French Government taking a conservative view that the decline will begin in 2013.
• What is not in doubt is that demand for oil continues to outstrip global supply, meaning that local disputes like that at Grangemouth have a disproportionate effect on international oil prices, whilst pressure for biofuels is undermining efforts to tackle climate change.
• As oil supplies dwindle globally, food supplies in Scotland and around the world are likely to be seriously affected, given the extent to which modern agriculture is dependent on oil.

More information can be found here: Scottish Greens [1]
Scottish Parliament meeting proceedings [2]