This paper on food energy production and consumption illustrates to what extent agriculture in the Netherlands is dependent on fossil fuel. It can be seen from tabulated data on energy balance in agricultural systems that energy input for secondary production (e.g. meat, milk and eggs) exceeds energy output by approx. 60 X 1012 kcal/yr (70.1 vs. 10.2 X 1012 kcal/yr); this large difference, however, is mainly due to use of fodder (43 X 1012 kcal/yr) rather than use of fossil fuel. Possible ways to diminish the fossil energy input of the modern farm are discussed. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)