Economy of Love - COP27 Annoucement 
Presentation of the carbon farming prototype
 

 

 

 

In this year's COP27, the Economy of Love initiative and its partners will present the results of phase one and two. Building on this success story it requires active supporters and solid partners from all over the world. As an initiative, we want to use the conference to initiate the next phase and take another major step towards our shared vision of mitigating climate change. At COP27, we will host, and co-host several side events with partners that already support us on our path. Besides many impact organizations, also El-Said Marzouq El-Qosair, the Egyptian Minister for Agriculture as well as Prince Charles, Prince of Wales are invited to support the event and our mission on site.

To find out more about the carbon famring project, have a look at the detailed concept paper and the website. 

Job offer - The Federation is hiring!
Administrative and accounting assistant
 

Working with and for values: to care for the Earth through respectful and living agriculture, regenerate ecosystems, harmonising and humanising our lifestyles. Do all these mean something to you?

By joining the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International you will contribute to the development of biodynamic agriculture throughout the world.

Today, we are an international team of 18 employees spread across the globe and we put forward a vision of management that favours sharing, listening, interest in teamwork and the integration of employees in the decision-making process.

Our Federation is experiencing strong growth and wishes to set up an administrative and accounting centre in Colmar (Alsace-France). There are already other centres in several countries.

If you are looking for a meaningful job, come and join us as an administrative and accounting assistant. With an open and positive personality, you will be an indispensable part of the administrative and accounting department, having regular contact with the rest of the team and with all our members/licensees.

Have a look at the full job description to find out more.

Position expected to be filled in November 2022. Applications must be sent to Jean-Marie Defrance, Head of Adminsitration, to the attention of Human Resources at: jean-marie.defrance@demeter.net.

Asia Pacific Biodynamic Conference 2022
October 21 -23, 2022


 

 
Please keep in mind that the conference will be open to a limited number of participants, so we invite you to register soon by following this link. Since the August 1st, all travelers are allowed to enter Malaysia regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination. We hope this positive notice will facilitate your participation.

For further information on the conference, please contact Paz Bernashina at: paz.bernaschina@demeter.net.

Biodynamic training and teaching conference 2022H
Have you already registered?


 

The section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum, in collaboration with the Biodynamic Federation (BFDI), are inviting you to join the second Biodynamic Training & Teaching Conference in 2022.

The focus of this secondc onference will be on strengthening regional training initiatives and continuing to build stronger networks of collaboration and learning among biodynamic trainers and teachers globally. The Conference will take place this year at four different times in four different regions and contexts: Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. They will be linked through a common vision and four online Train-the-trainers  meetings.

• The African workshop will be at Kufunda Village in Zimbabwe, from the 18 - 23 October​
• The Asia Pacific workshop will be in Raub Pahang, Malaysia from the 20 - 23 October, as part of the “Asia Pacific Biodynamic Conference 2022”
• The European workshop will be in Dornach, Switzerland on the 18 - 19 November
• The Latin-American workshop will be in Cieneguilla, Peru on the 6 - 7 December (Followed by the XXXVI Latin American Biodynamic Conference from the 8 - 11 December).

Honoring a common vision of “Learning Biodynamics as a path of transformation” each workshop will be designed to be a learning process in itself, full of experiential and inspiring activities rooted in local needs and experiences. How can biodynamic trainers encourage meaningful learning processes? How to enable a path of transformation through biodynamics? How do we learn from local knowledge and different adult learning approaches? These will be the guiding questions in all four workshops. 

At the end of each regional workshop there will be an online Train-the-trainers meeting, in which local trainers from each region will share for 2 hours the main insights and learnings to the whole international community of biodynamic trainers.  

More detailed information for each of the four regional workshops, including registration links, organizing groups and workshops fees can be found at:
Would you like to participate in the Biodynamic Trainer & Teacher Conference but are you dependent on financial support? Please contact us, we are happy to check your details and consider your request for funding options.
 

Deepening anthroposophical roots in biodynamic agriculture
 

It is now almost three years since the launch of the quality system for biodynamic and Demeter advisors, the system and the directory now already include 54 engaged biodynamic and Demeter advisors. Now we are close to time that the first recognised advisors need to renew their recognition.

In expectation of these renewals the guidelines and templates for the Peer Reviews (Entry and Renewal of Recognition) have been updated. Visit the website for more information on the quality system and to check out all the changes.

All changes are now available in 4 languages English, German, Spanish and French.
For further information: www.biodynamic-advisors.org.

Biofach 2022 Summer Edition
The Federation present again

 

 
A Summer edition of Biofach took place from July 26 to 29, a first as the Biofach usually takes place in February but was postponed due to the pandemic. The Federation was present as usual, among numerous Demeter producers and associations from Italy, Spain, Austria, Germany, Egypt, Ireland, and France to present their products. With its bright colours and central location, the Demeter stands were quite prominent. The display of the You Will Grow Campaign and the plastic-free banana project with its deckchairs saying ‘Take a seed’ attracted many visitors.
 
Biofach was also a great opportunity for the Federation’s employees to hold meetings, especially with licensees, inspection bodies and advisers, and to respond to enquiries about all the working areas of the Federation such as certification or training. In this regard, the 2022 Summer edition of the Biofach was less attended than in previous years, but several exhibitors stressed that this was also the opportunity to have more in depth exchanges, so we left  Biofach with a good impression and ready to come back next year.
 

 
Congress Session on on-farm slaughter
 
For the first time, the Federation took part in the Biofach Congress on July 28 with a session on on-farm slaughter. This political event entitled ‘Dignified animal husbandry with farm and pasture killing‘ was organised and moderated by Clara Behr, Head of Policy and Public Relations of the Federation, with Dipl. Ing. Lea Trampenau, Managing Director at Innovative Slaughter Systems (ISS) & and Slaughter Specialist, focusing on farm and pasture killing and Demeter im Norden, as a guest speaker.
 
Rolf Holzapfel, representing the German Demeter Heumilchbauern – a milk producer association from the South of Germany -, also shared his experience as a farmer practising on-farm slaughter and took part in the discussions. The session was well attended with around 40 participants  (slightly above the average participation to the congress sessions). The session brought the topic to an interested audience with the long-term aim of making the practice of on-farm slaughter more accessible.
 
Demeter Olive Oil at 5^th place
 
During the Biofach Olive Oil Awards 2022, trade visitors ranked the Demeter olive oil from Epikouros (Kalamata, Greece) among the top ten in blind tasting. Olive oil producers from Italy, Spain and Greece with Crete took part in the competition. The Demeter olive oil was awarded the 5^th place.

In previous years, Epikouros has alrready been among the front runners with its Demeter olive oil. With its organic oil, Epikouros even reached the 2^nd place this year, ranking best amongst all Greek participants.
 
Biofach 2023
 
The next Biofach will take place frrom the 14 to 17 February 2023 as usual in Nürnberg, Germany. The preparations are already ongoing, see here for more information. We look forward to the next Biofach!

For further information, please contact Anette Jorry at: anette.jorry@dmeter.net.

New Communication Trainee
Irene Ramos Aranda joins the Federation


 

My name is Irene Ramos and I am the new Communications intern for the Federation. I will work from our office in Brussels for a period of three months starting at the beginning of September. 

Daughter of two agronomic engineers, I became interested in biodynamics as my father is an advisor and my background is in philosophy. I still haven’t dared to read Steiner directly, but hope I am able to do it in the future, at some point… 

I have been working with organic tropical growers in Spain, helping them to build and engage with their communities on social media. Experienced with social media like Instagram and Facebook, I would like to help the Federation to give a good impression of its mission and to use those channels as a way to create and enhance our community. It’s out there, we just need to reach out to our audience with interesting and understandable content that they would like to share.

I look forward to meeting and working with you and hope we can improve our presence on social media during my time at the Federation!

For further information, please contact Irene at: assistant.eu@demeter.net.

 Members' Assembly in Chile
Registration open!


 

 

 

 

 

For further information, please contact our secretariat at: secretariat@demeter.net.

Livestream Event on Facebook 
Find out about the new generation of GMOs with Claire Robinson from GM Watch

We are very excited to announce our first livestream event on Facebook! On September 16  from 13h to 13h45 pm CEST, the Federation invited Claire Robison, researcher on genetically modified food and crops at GMWatch, to share her knwoledge with us and answer all potential questions.

The aim is to provide general information about the new generation of GMOs, explain the risks and threats they come with and to discuss what is at stakes regarding their regulation. We will also use this opportunity to stress why it is important to sign our petition on new GMOs. 

Here is to the Event on Facebook. The event is open to everyone and we hope to reach a broad audience. Don't hesitate to join this first live session and to spread the word! 

For further information, please contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net. 

 

 

From a 100 000 signatures in June our petition made it to nearly 300 000 signatures over July and August! The petition is gaining momentum and raises more and more interest. We Move Europe, an EU-wide campaigning organisation, joined forces with us and launched our petition on their own platform. The petition will run until November 5 and we are preparing an event in Brussels to hand over the signatures to the relevant European decision makers. In parallel, national organisations are also coordinating  handovers to their relevant national ministries. 

The aim of the petition is to call on EU decision-makers to take a strong stand against any deregulation attempts of new GMOs and to uphold mandatory safety checks, transparency and labelling for all GMOs on the market. This is crucial to know what is in our fields and on our plates.

If you haven't yet signed the petition it's not too late:
https://demeter.net/keep-new-gm-food-strictly-regulated-and-labelled/.

Don't hesitate to spread and share the petition around you - all the signatures count to make our voice heard! The petition is open to everybody; citizens outside the European Union can sign and share the message. 

To know more about new GMOs – what they are and the risks and threats they represent – please have a look at our latest leaflet. For more detailed information, you can read our position paper.

If you are interested to participate and support the petition, please contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net.

Updates on AMR
Briefing paper now available in German


 

Living Farms Podcast

The time has come: our first own podcast is now online!

With "Living Farms – Biodynamic perspectives worldwide!" we as a Section want to invite the worldwide biodynamic movement as dialogue partners. Ideas, strategies, principles and approaches of today's biodynamic practice, research, education and processing will be presented. A special focus will be on how to deal with the current challenges of our time. The podcast is therefore aimed at anyone who is curious to learn more about biodynamic agriculture and its approaches to today's challenges. It is available online in English on our Website, Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Deezer and Google Podcasts.
 
For suggestions on who and which projects could be included in the podcast, please contact Lin Bautze: lin.bautze@goetheanum.ch

Our new online course starts in a few days
Register now!

The farm organism for planetary health: a biodynamic perspective on climate change, ecological balance and the responsibility of farmers for our agricultural future

12 September to 3 October 2022, lead by Lin Bautze and Jean-Michel Florin.
 
Do you want to deepen your knowledge of Rudolf Steiner's concept of the farm organism and find out how it can contribute to solving present-day challenges? This course will give you a more in-depth insight into the climate-related interactions between plants and soil as well as knowledge about biodynamic cultivation methods such as land-based animal husbandry.

You will also acquire the ability for a deepened awareness of the agricultural organism. This will lead to a greater understanding of the nature, qualities and importance of domestic and wild animals on the farm. Last, we will examine the individual (farm) biography and the concept of the farm individuality.
 
The course is part-time, always held on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. More detailed information on the content of the individual course weeks and on registration can be found at: https://www.sektion-landwirtschaft.org/deepen-biodynamics/3-farm-organism

New staff member for conference management
Kalle Hübner

In July I joined the Section for Agriculture to support the implementation of events and conferences, in particular the annual international Agriculture Conference.

Having acquired a background in culture studies and political science, I worked for over ten years in the field of international educational cooperation in Tokyo, Shanghai, and Bangkok. Now I am excited to support the exchange of the worldwide biodynamic movement and work as part of an exceptionally inspiring team at the Section.

I am looking forward to connecting with the Section's extensive network and numerous partner organizations in order to expand our opportunities for exchange. I am glad to serve as the first point of contact regarding all questions that relate to the Agriculture Conference and provide assistance.
 

 Demeter Wine Trade Fair 2023 in Angers
Registration open now!

The International Demeter Wine Trade Fair remains one of the major events for biodynamic certified wine in France, brringing together more than a hundred  Demeter certified wineries. Last year, more than 3000 professionals from the wine industry visited the fair.

The 7^th edition of Demeter Wine Trade Fair will take place on the 6 & 7 of February 2023 at the exhibition centre in Angers.
 

For more information and registration: https://fr.surveymonkey.com/r/F7QY9RV 
Registration deadline: 16/10/2022
Contact person: Hélène Darras – h.darras@demeter.fr (FR, ENG, SPA).

Demeter PGS in South Africa 
Strong support network for BDAASA’s Western Cape farmers
 

South African wine farmers in the Western Cape, who belong to the Biodynamic Agricultural Association of South Africa (BDAASA), have formed a Demeter PGS Wine Group as they work towards Demeter certification.  While certification may be the end goal, belonging to the group is having a positive impact on the members and their farming practices as well as ensuring the authenticity of the certification process.
 

Here are a few comments from members following a recent visit to various farms:

 “The attitude of the group is one of custodianship, care, enthusiasm and genuine desire to help the farm in question from an agriculturally regenerative point of view, a financial point of view, as well as a social point of view - a very human and holistic approach. This is quite different from the approach taken by conventional farmers who often translate success in terms of higher yields and financial sustainability only. Our group sees each other’s farms, we can compare them with what we saw last time and we visit each farm in different seasons.  It would be hard to hide bad practices from this group. Our visits are regular and well attended.” Rozy Gunn, Brocha Farm
 
“The group is helping me to grow as an organic and biodynamic farmer, giving me tips on what and what not to do.  My approach to farming definitely changed from the first day I joined the group. I'm now looking at the farm in another way, seeing where I can make changes to be a better farmer towards the soil and farm life by spraying organic fertilizer and using Preps 501 and 500 and most importantly, learning more about compost and bringing that into the farm.  What I’ve learned from the other farmers is not to give up. Being organic is a challenge, but it is not impossible.” Mynhardt Le Roux, farming on Burgundy Bourgogne - De Healing Farm in Franschhoek
 
“With every visit I learn something new and although we may not implement it farm-wide, we are always keen to experiment. For years I have based my planting, pruning and harvesting of my biodynamic blocks according to the calendar. As we learn new techniques or philosophies, we roll them out to the entire farm. I think the PGS influences your overall approach to farming and life.  It tends to draw attention to aspects usually left by the wayside. There is always something to learn from every visit, maybe not even a farm practice, but the inspiration gained by spending time with other farmers is always helpful. It’s the wisdom in the pool of people, it’s the support group at the end of a WhatsApp”. Craig Harris, Vineyard Manager, Klein Constantia

For more information please contact at Janet Wilson at: janet@logicocreative.co.za.

Stags Bladders - do you need some?  


 

Introduction to Biodynamic Viticultural course
Biodynamic Agricultural College


 

The Biodynamic Agricultural College is offering the online Introduction to Biodynamic Viticultural course again, starting January 2023. The course introduces the main theories and principles of Biodynamic Viticulture and also delves into how they can be applied in practice. It would be well-suited both to train staff who are just learning about biodynamic approaches and also for vineyard managers who have some experience working with biodynamics but want to deepen their understanding and learn new techniques. 
 
Topics covered include:

• the global and cultural context of biodynamic viticulture
• motivations and inspiration for biodynamic winegrowers 
• principles and practice of biodynamic viticulture
• Demeter and the global certification standards.

 
The course is led by Robin Snowdon, co-owner, vineyard manager and winemaker for Limeburn Hill Vineyard in southeast England and former chair of the Demeter UK Certification board. Other contributors include Monty Waldin (biodynamic wine writer, critic & grower), Nick Wenman & Alex Valsecchi (Albury Vineyard, England), Ben Walgate (Gillingham Vineyard, England), Doug Wregg (Director Les Caves de Pyrene), Michael Schmelzer (Monte Bernardi wine estate, Italy), George Meissner (teacher and winemaker Roussillon, France).
 
The course runs from  24 January - 21 March 2023 with zoom webinars every other Tuesday (and recorded for catch up). Spaces are limited and starting to fill up so we encourage you to register early. Learn more and register here. 

What past participants say about the course: 
 
“The teaching quality was outstanding. I have been fortunate to have welcomed so many wine writers and winemakers from all over the world over the years in my various roles…for the past three decades but Robin is one of the best speakers ever, as well as fantastic content so well thought out and delivered.” 
 
“Great content and lots of extra information and resources.”
 
“I loved how intimate the course felt, which is not easy to achieve over zoom!”

Membership applications towards the Federation
Results of the electronic vote

The Biodynamic Federation Demeter International welcomes two new members organisations presented in the last newsletter: 

• Consumer Organisation, Schweizerischer Verband der Konsumentenvereine, Switzerland
• ARGE, Arbeitsgemeinschaft für die biologisch-dynamische Wirtschaftsweise Bozen-Trient Bozen & Trient, Italy

After a positive recommendation from the Membership Coommittee to the Extarordinary Members' Assembly,  the members of the Federation decided in an electronic vote to welcome both organisations as members.

SEKEM Regenerative Leadership Retreat
November 2-4, 2022


 

The Future Economy Forum and Sekem, under the auspices of the of the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, host of COP 27, invite you to a Regenerative Leadership Retreat from November 2 to 4 in Egypt. 

Join them to scale solutions for climate change and a new economic mainstream that integrates business success and economic development with the regeneration of people, societies and nature.
 
The UN’s Paris Climate Treaty became a force in part because policy makers partnered with future-oriented economy leaders. The COP27 taking place this year needs a bold and inspiring economy presence to advance concrete solutions.
 
Therefore, senior leaders from business, agriculture, finance and investment are convened to collaborate with experts and policy makers to meet our urgent challenges and opportunities.

The Regenerative Leadership Retreat will take place at Sekem, one of the world’s most inspiring sustainable development communities that excels in activities ranging from regenerative agriculture and international business to education and human development.

To find out more about the retreat, please have a look at the website. 

EU Oganic Awards
Demeter farm among the finalists

The annual European Organic Awards are dedicated to rewarding European actors who greatly contribute to enhancing, developing, and stimulating the organic value chain. Aimed to reward European organic excellence, 24 finalists are shortlisted for 8 awards in 7 categoriess 7 categories:

• Best organic farmer (female and male)
• Best organic city
• Best organic region
• Best organic bio-district
• Best organic SME
• Best organic food retailer
• Best organic restaurant

The finalists were chosen from a pool ofover 200 submissions from 26 EU Member States. The awards will be awarded for the first time at the EU Organic Day on 23 September 2022. They are jointly organised by the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, IFOAM Organics Europe and COPA-COGECA.

Among the finalists, we find Tom Kass (Rollingen, Luxembourg) in the running for best organic farmer (male). Tom Kaas runs a farm with his partner, Anja Staudenmayer. It is community supported agriculture with mainly livestock (35 cows, 450 chicken, and pigs) selling most of the products directly on the farm. It is also a teaching farm that welcomes classes to the farm on a regular basis enabling children to see farm animals and to engage with the land. To find out more about the farm, see here.

Fingers crossed for the awarrd ceremony on the 23rd September! If you are interested to learn more and would apply for next year, have a look at the Commission's webpage. 

For more information, please contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net. 

Methane Maths over Holistic, Agricultural Transformations
 

Recently, large agribusiness and the (red) meat lobby have been pushing for the adoption of a new metric to calculate the greenhouse gas emission reductions needed in the agricultural sector, especially methane. Should these lobbying efforts succeed, this can lead to the erosion of the environmental ambitions established in the Paris Climate Agreement ambitions and the failure of tackling the imminent threat of global warming.

Notably, not all greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions are equal: for instance, while carbon dioxide is a persisting stock gas, meaning that it stays in the atmosphere for over 100 years, methane is a flow gas that breaks down within 12 years. At the same time, methane is also much more impactful in its global warming potential: 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the Earth, on a 100-year timescale. This makes methane a threat to shorrt-term warming, dangerous feedback mechanisms and tipping points that cause other environmental crises.

In order to compare the different GHGs with their unique differences, a metric called Global Warming Potential100 (GWP100) is used. It looks at the radiative forcing, the predecessor to actual warming, and converts the unit mass of gas relative to that of carbon dioxide over a specific period. Yet, a new metric called GWP* has been proposed by two researchers, Prof. Myles Allen and Dr. Michelle Cain, in 2018. They adjust the GWP100 to evaluate the changing rate of emissions rather than the GHGs actual absolute numbers. In brief, the GWP* advocates a policy that aimed for zero emissions of stock pollutants, like carbon dioxide, and low but stable (or gently declining) emissions of flow pollutants, like methane.

In essence, this would mean a disproportionate leniency for methane emissions. Countries could claim climate neutrality through accounting loopholes with a mere 24% decline in methane, without cutting any other GHGs, as would be the case for the high methane emitting country New Zealand. Evidently, this is not ‘real’ climate neutrality. The new metric might “take our eye off the factory farm system” and allow large-scale, intensive agriculture to continue without significant repercussions. Small-scale farmers, such as organic or biodynamic farmers gear their livestock systems towards methane-sensitive practices, such as no or low pesticide use, and small farm animal numbers would be hit hardest by the adoption of GWP*.

Intensive agriculture needs to be held responsible and real changes must be implemented on these farms rather than using new tools implemented to falsely shift the numbers in their favour. Biodynamic and organic farming show the way towards environmentally-responsible livestock systems that limit the impact of farm animals and agricultural practices on climate change.

For more information, feel free to contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net.

More news from the Federation on our website and social media: