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Agricultural Labour: From Energy Source to Sink

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Energy and Agriculture

Part of the book series: Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences ((AGRICULTURAL,volume 14))

Abstract

Today, as throughout recorded history, the majority of mankind devotes the greater part of its energy, time, and information to securing its food supply. Food not only provides the only power supply that man can operate on but its ingestion - the refueling process - is one of the most popular of human activities. Agriculture has provided most of mankind with its food and fuel supply throughout history and in turn this process has been, and to a large extent still is, powered by human muscles. However, the expenditure of energy in labour conflicts with another very basic although perhaps insufficiently recognized human drive - the desire to avoid work. This principle - that of least effort - has even been elevated to the status of the basic law of human behaviour [1].

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Notes and References

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Authors
  1. G. Stanhill
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Soils and Water Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50-250, Israel

    Gerald Stanhill

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© 1984 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stanhill, G. (1984). Agricultural Labour: From Energy Source to Sink. In: Stanhill, G. (eds) Energy and Agriculture. Advanced Series in Agricultural Sciences, vol 14. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69784-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69784-5_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-69786-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-69784-5

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