From the Agriculture Course to Sustainable Farming: 100 Years of the Biodynamic Movement
by Floris Books • 23 January 2025 • Biodynamics, Extract • 0 Comments
Today, biodynamic agriculture is practised in more than 50 countries worldwide and offers a way of growing high-quality produce through the sustainable cultivation of soil, plants and animals.
In From the Agriculture Course to Sustainable Farming: 100 Years of the Biodynamic Movement Ueli Hurter and Rudi Bind trace the history and development of the biodynamic movement over a century. They go on to describe initiatives that have arisen from biodynamics, such as community-supported agriculture and the creation of seed banks, as well as the influence it has had on the wider organic movement, regenerative farming and the campaign against chemical pesticides and fertilisers.
In this extract the authors explore the importance of biodynamic agriculture for creating a sustainable future for the world. We also visit a biodynamic vineyard in Spain, home to some of the best wines in the world.
Biodynamic agriculture amidst world challenges
Biodynamics has an important contribution to make to the many challenges facing agriculture and food production today. Apart from a necessary focus on agriculture and food production at the regional level, a wider ecological consciousness is also needed. Climate change, soil erosion and the loss of biodiversity are already the cause of starvation, and this will only get worse in the future. The strength of biodynamic and organic agriculture lies in the fact that, although yields are 20% lower than those of conventional
methods, they nevertheless have a positive impact on the climate and ecology. Biodynamic and organic systems can feed the world, but this alone is not enough. It will be necessary to moderate meat consumption and reduce food waste. For instance, it is estimated that nearly half the global wheat crop is used for fattening animals, and then there is ‘wheat for heat’ used in the many bio-gas units.
In 2008, the World Development Report formulated a key strategy for creating a sustainable agricultural system of the future, one that was regional, ecological, multi-functional and experience-based.
Chemical agriculture, however, also lays claim to the future. The CEO of the multinational pharmaceutical and chemical company Bayer, which has incorporated Monsanto as the producer of the systemic pesticide Roundup, has proposed using advanced technology to solve the current grain shortage caused by the war in Ukraine and the threat of starvation facing millions of people. This would involve using genetically modified wheat to fix nitrogen in the soil and the development of smart farming or digital agriculture, which among other things means introducing artificial intelligence into agriculture.
A training programme for a hundred million small farmers has also been suggested. This prospect of a so-called regenerative agriculture sounds like a rehashed version of the ‘green revolution’ of the1960s whose promised benefits have never yet been realised. In 2022, the CEO of Syngenta blamed organic agriculture for starvation in Africa because it only produces half the yield per hectare compared with chemical agriculture. But as the long-term DOK trials of FiBL have shown, yields are 80% of conventional yields, not 50%, with far lower inputs required in terms of energy and a far better ecological balance sheet.
An end to chemical fertiliser use
Biodynamic agriculture has been practised for 100 years without artificial nitrogen fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, and without GM technology. It has also been shown that along with other organic and ecological systems, it is possible to grow high-quality produce using a sustainable approach to the cultivation of soil, plants and animals. The idea that in order to feed ourselves we must pump nature full of poisons has long been transcended. The grave harm done to the soils, waters and atmosphere of the earth makes it clear that we need to rethink and change course. The biodynamic approach to agriculture and nutrition has shown it can be done.
Alliance for the Earth, Spain
The vineyard of Gramona in Penedès, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Barcelona, has been biodynamic since 2016. It is a model farm of 100 hectares (250 acres) that integrates sheep and horses alongside the vines. Its sparkling wines regularly meet and exceed the 90-point level in the 100-point system, making them among the best wines in the world for connoisseurs. Together with twelve other neighbouring farms, Gramona founded the Alliance for the Earth (Alianzas por la Tierra), which has transformed over 300 hectares (750 acres) of a wine-growing monoculture into a diverse biodynamic landscape. It is a good example of how cooperation rather than competition opens the way to the future.
The Gramona Vineyard
About the authors
Rudi Bind studied Goethean phenomenology and existential philosophy. He has worked as a journalist and primary teacher, and is co-founder of the Heinrich Barth Society. He lives in Arlesheim, Switzerland.
Ueli Hurter is the joint-Head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, and sits on the executive board of the International Biodynamic Association.
Find out more about From the Agriculture Course to Sustainable Farming here.
If you’re wondering how to start your own biodynamic journey check out our Biodynamic Gardening for Beginners blog post. Get a free book with every order, keep up to date with our new releases in biodynamics and receive exclusive discounts when you join our mailing list.
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