Äpfel aus deutschen Landen - Endenergieumsätze (English shop)

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Since 1997, the Chair of Process Engineering in Food and Service Operations at Justus Liebig University Giessen has been engaged in the empirical collection of energy data in the food sector. These investigations are based on the thesis that specific final energy consumption in the case of food will also decrease with increasing operation size, irrespective of the mere distance between the place of production and the place of sale. This thesis has become known under the term “Ecology of Scale” – in German: Ökologie der Betriebsgröße.

Apples are one example used to examine this thesis. The corresponding case studies are documented here. To explain the methodology and provide scientific context, the case studies are preceded by a contribution on the fundamental problem of final energy consumption in the food sector, which explains the aforementioned thesis and its origins.

The present book documents data from three German growing regions for dessert apples: Bodensee, Rheinland-Pfalz and Niederelbe. For the evaluation of the available data sets, the specific final energy consumption figures are plotted against operation size. It becomes apparent that, with increasing operation size, a decrease in specific final energy consumption does in fact occur. To this extent, the present thesis can be confirmed. At the same time, however, an additional influence of regional aspects becomes evident.

On the basis of the present investigations, it is established that apples from German regions can – in energy terms – be competitive with global offerings, provided that German operations exceed a minimum operation size of approximately 500–600 t of apple harvest per year. In the event that operations fall below this empirically determined minimum operation size, we recommend the formation of cooperations within the region. Particularly at the regional level, efficient logistics in distribution are decisive. The results of scientific investigations published here are intended to support corresponding efforts to improve regional structures in Germany.