Energy accounting and well-being -- examining UK organic and conventional farming systems through a human energy perspective

Abstract This paper quantifies and compares the energy efficiencies of conventional and organic farming systems in the UK from a human energy perspective. To date, studies comparing these two systems have neglected rudimentary questions regarding the effort and energy expenditure of farmers, instead devoting attention to consumer health and selected environmental issues such as global warming and recent energy crises. The need to focus on the human energy problem is seen as fundamental in this paper as it concerns not just the balance of calorific expenditure and consumption but also the possible negative health affects associated with high levels of energy and effort expenditure. Assessment of human energy expenditures and effort, and their health effects is relatively under-developed; consequently this paper uses a pilot study to explore methodology on which future study and theory could be based. The method developed draws on three plausible models for assessing human energy and effort expenditure: the nutritional, physiological and ergonomic. The case study builds annual and daily profiles of energy and effort expenditure of two farmers using annual labour profiles and task specific energy expenditure and intensity derived from physical measurements. Although the scope of the experiment is limited, making inferences about each system is difficult, the results reveal clear differences in the annual energy and effort expenditures of the two farmers. Over a typical year the organic farmer experiences far more physical stress. Despite being more efficient in terms of overall energy, the organic farm is less efficient in terms of human energy, and the net energetic returns combined with effort intensity bring into question the health implications of organic livelihoods both in the short and long term.