The essence of biodynamics is to re-connect the soil and the plants with the cosmic forces. This is what many humans try to achieve through their re-ligion: to re-connect with the divine world. And many cultures are still connected. I had the chance to meet the Arhuacos in the North of Colombia, and one of our banana farmers learned a lot from them. On the other side of the world, you do not need to explain to any Indian farmer the importance of the cow. This spiritual reality is still present there. However, many of us live in so called civilized societies where this connection was not wanted anymore. But in all cultures there are rituals to get into contact with the divine world. Many religions know the practice of prayers.
In our last Members Assembly, we had as a daily inspiration an extract of a lecture of Rudolf Steiner: "The essence of the prayer" (click here to access the extract). If we look back on our lives, we can experience that we have not yet realized all our potential. This potential is related to our higher self that is our share of the divine world, this flame within us. We can develop a deep gratitude at having this possibility to connect with that warming power. On the other side, we can develop trust in the future, knowing that the spiritual world will help us to grow into this potential by the light coming to us from the future. This can be true for our individual paths. But it is also true for all farm development. The source of trust is when you can perceive that the responsible people on a farm work out of a perception of the difference between how the farm reality is and what the potential is. "The essence of the prayer" can be used as an inspiration in working with the farm talk concept, and the PGS approach. I wish you an inspiring reading.
Christoph Simpfendörfer, General Secretary of the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International
Editorial translation to Spanish
La esencia de la Biodinámica es reconectar la tierra y las plantas con las fuerzas cósmicas. Gesto que que muchas sociedades buscan a través de su re-ligión: re-conectar con el mundo divino. Muchas culturas siguen conectadas hoy en dia. Tuve la oportunidad por ejemplo de conocer a los Arhuacos en el Norte de Colombia y ver como como uno de nuestros productores de banana ha aprendido mucho de ellos. Otro ejemplo tangible son los campesinos en India, a quienes no hace falta explicar a la importancia de la vaca. La conexion con esta realidad espiritual sigue presente allí. Pero muchos de nosotros vivimos en sociedades llamadas civilizadas donde se ha perdido o ya no se quiere esta conexión. En muchas culturas aun existen rituales para entrar en contacto con el mundo divino. Como la práctica de la oracion, presente en tantas religiones.
En nuestra última Asamblea en Chile, leimos como inspiración diaria el extracto de la conferencia de Rudolf Steiner: "La Esencia de la Oración" (pulse aquí para acceder al extracto). Este texto, nos invita a mirar hacia atrás en nuestras vidas, y a experimentar que aún no nos hemos realizado en todo nuestro potencial. Potencial que esta intimamente ligado con nuestra divinidad, con nuestro yo superior, con esa llama dentro de nosotros. Al tener la posibilidad de conectarnos con esa fuerza interior que nos calienta, podemos desarrollar una profunda gratitud. Por otro lado, esta conferencia nos invita a desarrollar una confianza en el futuro, al entender que el mundo espiritual, a través de su luz que nos llega del futuro, nos ayudará a desarrollar todo nuestro potencial. Esto puede ser cierto para nuestros caminos individuales. Pero también es cierto para el desarrollo de toda granja. En donde la fuente de esa confianza emerge cuando percibimos que los responsables de una granja trabajan guiados por su percepción del potencial de desarrollo que tiene su granja en el tiempo.
Este texto podria ser de gran inspiración para continuar desarrollando nuevos caminos en la agricultura biodinámica como el concepto de "farm talk" y el del SPG. Le deseo una lectura inspiradora.
Editorial translation to German
Die Essenz der Biodynamik ist es, den Boden und die Pflanzen wieder mit den kosmischen Kräften zu verbinden. Das ist es, was viele Menschen durch ihre Re-ligion versuchen: sich wieder mit der göttlichen Welt zu verbinden. Viele Kulturen sind noch immer damit verbunden. Ich hatte die Gelegenheit, die Arhuacos im Norden Kolumbiens zu treffen, und einer unserer Bananenbauern konnte viel von ihnen lernen. Einem indianischen Bauern muss man nicht erklären, wie wichtig die Kuh ist. Diese spirituelle Realität ist dort immer noch präsent. Aber viele von uns leben in so genannten zivilisierten Gesellschaften, in denen diese Verbindung nicht mehr gewollt ist. In allen Kulturen gibt es Rituale, um mit der göttlichen Welt in Kontakt zu kommen. Viele Religionen kennen die Praxis der Gebete.
In unserer letzten Mitgliederversammlung hatten wir als tägliche Inspiration einen Auszug aus einem Vortrag von Rudolf Steiner: "Das Wesen des Gebetes" (klicken Sie hier, um den Auszug aufzurufen). Wenn wir auf unser Leben zurückblicken, können wir erfahren, dass wir unser ganzes Potential noch nicht verwirklicht haben. Dieses Potential hat mit unserem höheren Selbst zu tun, das unser Anteil an der göttlichen Welt ist, diese Flamme in uns. Wir können eine tiefe Dankbarkeit dafür entwickeln, dass wir die Möglichkeit haben, uns mit dieser wärmenden Kraft zu verbinden. Auf der anderen Seite können wir Vertrauen in die Zukunft entwickeln, weil wir wissen, dass die geistige Welt uns durch das Licht, das aus der Zukunft zu uns kommt, helfen wird, in dieses Potenzial hineinzuwachsen. Das kann für unsere individuellen Wege gelten. Aber es gilt auch für die Entwicklung jeden Hofes. Die Quelle des Vertrauens liegt in der Wahrnehmung, dass die verantwortlichen Menschen auf einem Hof aus dem Bewusstsein des Spannungsfeldes zwischen der Realität des Hofes und seinem Potenzial herausarbeiten. Deshalb könnte dieser Text das Hofgesprächskonzept, den PGS-Ansatz, inspirieren. Ich wünsche Ihnen eine anregende Lektüre.
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Biodynamic Preparations across the World Online colloquiums to understand and learn from our different realities
100 years on from the initial impulse given by Rudolf Steiner, the biodynamic movement has expanded across the world. With a growing number of impulses developing in very different contexts and emerging regions across the world, biodynamic practitioners are facing different socio-cultural and climatic challenges in further developing work with the biodynamic preparations. Yet we know little about these very different realities and how the work with preparations has been carried forward and locally adapted to new and changing conditions.
With the aim to fill in these gaps of knowledge and to develop an informed overview of the reality of the movement across the world, the Federation is conducting a global study on Biodynamic Preparations during 2022 - 2023. As part of this study, the experiences and visions of more than 110 biodynamic practitioners from all over the world have been collected so far. A global picture of the main challenges and needs, as well as local adaptations to the work with the preparations in very different socio-cultural and climatic contexts, is under construction.
The results of this study will be presented during the online BFDI Members' Assembly in June. Preliminary results show, among others, the great need of biodynamic practitioners across the world to connect and exchange with the broader community on mutual experiences, learnings, and challenges. The call to become part of a global network of preparation makers was present in many of the farmers we interviewed. In response to this call, and as part of this ongoing study, we would like to invite the global biodynamic community to participate in the three online colloquiums on biodynamic preparations during 2023.
The main goals of these online sessions will be to exchange on the foundations of the biodynamic preparations, to strengthen the networks among biodynamic practitioners around the world, to raise awareness of our diversity and to reflect on future paths for the growing eco social and climatic challenges, but also the potential for resilience, faced by preparation makers worldwide.
The dates, topics and links to register for the colloquiums are:
June 1st at 3 pm CEST on the topic: “The Essence of Biodynamic Preparations”. In this session biodynamic practitioners from across the world will exchange on their understanding of the meaning of quality on the preparations, on how they preserve it and how to assess their effects.
August 31st at 3 pm CEST on the topic: “The Animal Being & The Preparations”. In this session biodynamic practitioners will exchange on their understanding of the essence of using animal organs in the preparations. Growing socio-cultural challenges with the work with animal organs in some regions of the world, as well as the use of alternative animal organs will also be shared in this session.
November 23rd at 2 pm CEST on the topic: “Local Adaptations in the work with the Preparations”. In this session we will exchange on the challenges and local adaptations to the work with the preparations in different climatic zones like the tropics and dry regions. Experiences with the use of potentized preparations, the cultivation of the preparation plants in challenging environments, and experimentation with locally adapted varieties of plants will be shared.
Link to register: here.
Further information on each of the colloquiums will be published in the coming newsletters. In the meantime, we invite you to register in advance for this online session. If you would like to collaborate and share your experiences in any of these topics, please contact Maria Paz Bernaschina at: paz.bernaschina@demeter.netor Andrea D´Angelo at: titadangelo@hotmail.com.
Principles of Biodynamic Spray and Compost Preparations
Chinese translation
In January 2023 the new Traditional Chinese version of ‘Principles of Biodynamic Spray and Compost Preparations’ by Manfred Klett was launched. This book provides a fascinating overview of the history of agriculture, the underlying principles of the preparations and a comprehensive discussion on the the practicalities of the spray and compost preparations.
The book was translated by Gloria Sun and published by the Threefold Living Studio in Taiwan. For more information on this book and other publications on biodynamic agriculture or anthroposophical publications please get in contact with Gloria Sun (gloria@hotmail.com.tw) or review the following website.
Train the trainers for the future Join the sessions!
The Latin American 'Train the Trainers' impulse is offering the third-year training opportunities for the further development of biodynamic training across the region. Inspired by the desire to continue expanding the Biodynamic movement throughout the region, and after two years of successful training initiatives, experienced biodynamic trainers from the region have supported the development of BD training in countries such as Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela, Ecuador and Mexico. After two years of laying the foundations for a holistic training in Biodynamic agriculture, in this third year of activities the Train the Trainer group are inviting you to a series of online sessions to continue deepening the foundations of biodynamics agriculture and Anthroposophy.
An overview of the topics, dates and trainers participating from each of the online sessions are as follows:
Session 1: Antroposofía. May 27 and 28 (14 – 17 hrs. Arg). By Mariano Kasanetz y Sebastian Iriberri.
Session 2: Training Methodologies. June 24 and 25 (15 – 17 hrs. Arg). By Jorge Fuentes, Juan Benetti y Juan Arce Puican.
Session 3: Astronomy and the Biodynamic Calendar. July 22 and 23 (15 – 17 hrs. Arg). By Pedro Jovchelivich y Simon Blaser.
Session 4: The Biodynamic Preparations. August 26 and 27 (15- 17 hrs. Arg) By Andrea D’Angelo y Vincent Geerts.
Closure session. September 15 and 16 (15 – 16:30 hrs. Arg).
This training session will be conducted in Spanish, and they are open to anyone interested in participating, not only for Latin American trainers. To participate in all five online sessions an economic contribution of US $115 or $125 (depending on your previous participation on the train the trainer’s program) is required. For more information, please contact the coordinators of the program to: formadores.biodin@gmail.com. If you would like to register in the program, please do so in following link: https://forms.gle/vJY3vucPNUYjHwHq6.
Communication
International Mother Earth Day 2023 Investing in our planet
April 22 was the 53rd International Mother Earth Day. On this occasion, we invited everyone to step back from our everyday lives and consider the bigger picture. What appears in this wider view is the current climate crisis and the necessity to make a radical shift towards more sustainability in all areas.
The theme for 2023 invites us to Invest in our Planet. The agricultural sector, responsible for 25% of global GHG emissions according to the last IPCC synthesis report, has an essential responsibility to implement much-needed change. The experts consider that emissions of the food sector could be reduced by 44% by 2050. To implement such change, they promote real solutions: improved cropland management, biodiversity and ecosystem connectivity, agroforestry, community-based adaptation, farm and landscape diversification, and urban agriculture.
For us, investing in our planet goes with investing in soil fertility, restoring soil health and giving back more to soil than we take from it. It also means investing in diversity, which is key to ensure the resilience of our farming systems and to safeguard our ecosystems. Investing in our planet means stopping the current biodiversity collapse which is closely linked to the climate emergency.
Finally, investing in our planet means investing in the future. To protect our earth, we believe in fighting dependence on fertilisers and chemicals responsible for the degradation of our planet, we believe in regenerating our soil's vitality to address climate change, we believe in encouraging plant and livestock diversity to avoid further damage to our ecosystems, and we believe in transforming our food systems towards for a fairer, resilient, and sustainable future.
Click here to read the full article published on our website.
New Candidate Members Presentation at the Members' Assembly
After the approval of the new 'candidate' status as a stage before full membership early this year, the Membership Committee could advise positively on three associations wishing to become members of the Febderation. During April an onboarding conversation took place with each of these associations, and during the Members Assembly they will each present themselves to all existing members in one of the online sessions.
The three new candidate members are: - The IBAA, the Indigenous Biodynamic Association of Africa, based in South Africa, but with a radius towards neighbouring countries too. - The Biodynamic Association of Dominican Republic, based in the Dominican Republic. - The SURYA association, a biodynamic producers' association in Spain with the following website: .www.surya.bio
We welcome these candidate members and look forward to meeting them online during the Members Assembly in June this year.
KVP Project in Columbia Second phase of the project
After the successful evaluation in October last year, a second phase was approved for the KVP project in Colombia, funded by the Ministry of BMZ in Germany through Sequa GmbH. For the second phase the external evaluator worked out new objectives and indicators in a Logical Framework based on all the interviews and workshops with members last year. In the week of March 13-19, Petra Derkzen, Christoph Simpfendörfer of BFDI and Christine Wolf of Sequa were in the Columbian city of Armenia. Christoph and executive director Ingo Mordhorst signed the contract between BFDI and ABD Colombia as partners in the second phase.
The second phase had to start with fine-tuning these objectives and indicators; are they understood by all parties? Are they clear and reachable? We had the full log frame in written form on the wall and in an information package for the members. Together we proposed three improvements to the indicators.
And secondly, what type of activities do we plan to meet the objectives? During March 17-19, 40 members of ABD Colombia were participating in the annual Assembly as well as in the fine tuning workshop. Here you can see the newly chosen board of ABD Colombia.
Criteria were worked out with the participants to specify the circumstances under which an initiative of an ABD Colombia member can become a project of the association. With this list of criteria, small groups looked at each of the initiatives the members brought with them. If the initiative fulfilled the criteria, it was presented to the plenum and clustered with ideas that belonged in a similar theme.
From these ideas, seven were worked out in groups towards a project proposal. On Sunday morning at the end of the workshop, the seven projects were presented with the responsible person, the team and the beneficiaries, the main objectives and the activities. Currently these projects are worked out to full proposals and can be co-financed by the KVP project. In the coming month a year plan will be made, covering all projects, and all other activities undertaken by the Director Ingo Mordhorst and his team.
Webinar for Civil Society Organisations An Overview on New Genomic Techniques from the Consumer Perspective
On March 30, an online workshop was jointly conducted by Slow Food, Foodwatch, and theAustrian Chamber of Labour to address the issue of new GMOs (also called new genomic techniques).
New GMOs are often put forward by political actors as THE solution to a variety of problems including reducing pesticide use, mitigating climate change and ensuring food security. The biotech industry has been pushing for years to get new GMOs deregulated. This means that products from genetic modification techniques like CRISPR-Cas would no longer get any prior risk assessment, nor traceability or labelling.
During the webinar, Clara Behr, Head of Policy and Public Relations at the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International, presented the current state of play and political context regarding the upcoming proposal of the European Commission on new genomic techniques (NGTs).
The effects a deregulation of NGTs would cause for consumers’ freedom of choice, for ensuring GMO-free traceability and for organic food and farming in Europe were also discussed.
The webinar was very well attended, with almost 50 participants from all parts of the world. Participants were able to ask questions, and engaged in lively discussions and debates on matters of traceability, transparency, and the question of liability in case of GM contamination of crops or public spaces.
We thank those of you who were able to attend, and we will keep you updated on future projects and webinars on this crucial matter.
Overview of the Federation's latest policy activities on GMOs and seeds BFDI advocates against the deregulation of NGTs and monitors the seed marketing reform
After the launch of our joint petition:#IChooseGMOFree and the hand-out eventheld in front of the European Parliament with representatives of the European Commission, the Federation is continuing our policy work in Brussels and elsewhere to raise awareness on the current legislative proposal regarding new genomic techniques (NGTs), which should be published by the European Commission in June this year.
We addressed our concerns to both the European Institutions and civil society regarding the damage that deregulation of those techniques would cause for farmers and consumers. This is an issue of food safety, traceability, and freedom of choice for consumers. Organic and biodynamic farmers in particular would be exposed to additional costs and contamination issues if gene editing techniques were to be authorised in our fields without proper risk assessment and traceability.
We are also looking into the refom of the seed marketing legislation, also expected in June, which could have an extensive impact on farmers' ability to save and exchange seeds, or register new locally adapted varieties.
To that end, the Federation engaged in several projects and policy events to coordinate our work with other farmer and consumer associations invested in this subject.
The Federation’s policy team attended the event “New Genetic Engineering in Agriculture: between High Flying Expectations and Complex Risks”hosted on March 22 at the European Parliament. With around 200 participants online and on-site, the event was a great success, underlining the broad interest in genetic engineering in agriculture and the need to continue the dialogue on this issue.
Our policy intern joined Seeding Europe’s Seed Policy Workshop on March 26 & 27in Brussels to get a clearer perspective on what is at stake regarding the upcoming seed marketing reform. The workshop was hosted by Arche Noah, with whom Demeter International now shares its Brussels office, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! and Kybele. It was a great opportunity to share our thoughts on the upcoming reform proposal of the European Commission, and coordinate our demands to policymakers.
On March 28, the policy team attended a conference led by the European Coordination Via Campesinaon the two upcoming reforms and the threat it poses to peasants' rights. This event was an opportunity to engage in a dialogue between European peasants’ organisations, the different Commission services concerned by these initiatives, and members of the European Parliament.
Arche Noah held a follow-up exchange meeting on March 29 focusing on the synergies between the seed marketing reform and the upcoming proposal on new genomic techniques in the Demeter office, inviting all NGOs working on both subjects to discuss common approaches and strategies.
Clara Behr, Head of Policy at the Federation, spoke about the threat of NGTs Deregulation from the consumers' perspective during a webinar hosted by Slow Food, Foodwatch and theAustrian Chambour of Labouron March 30 (see article above).
A very busy schedule to address those central issues! Awaiting the publication of both proposals, we will keep you updated on all future developments and continue our advocay activities.
European Elections 2024 Election Manifesto - EU Food Policy Coalition
At the end of March, the Biodynamic Federation Demeter International co-signed along with 25 other organisations a manifesto outlining some key priorities for the 2024 European Parliament elections.
The actors of the EU Food Policy Coalition, which the Federation is a member of, demand a common food policy which enables a truly sustainable transition of food systems: the next EU elections, held in May/June 2024, must be a turning point for better food production systems.
The new elected representatives will shape the agenda for the next five years.Therefore, a political impulse for a strong, fair and sustainable European food policy is highly necessary.
To address these challenges, the coalition puts forward the following key points:
Make sustainable food a top-ranking political priority
Adopt a strong sustainable food system law for the EU
Reinforce the EU's common food policy
Use EU budget fairly to support more resilient food production
Engage all governance levels in food system transformation
News Standards Commitee (SC), Social Responsibility Commitee (SRC)
The Executive Board of the Federation presented during the Extraordinary Members’ Assembly in June 2022 its vision concerning a more holistic approach for the International Biodynamic Demeter Standard. The Standards Committee took up the suggestion and initiated a Standard review project with the aim to have a revised Standard document on the occasion of the 100-years celebrations in the next year.
Since several ideas around the Standard or about a general strategy for the cooperation between national Standards and international umbrella version had no clear majority in the previous years, one of the major working assumptions for the SC was to initiate a broad and participative opinion forming process. After expressing and discussing a few ideas with the participants of the Members´ Assembly in Chile the SC wanted to widen the feedback to all relevant stakeholders. Therefore, a broad survey was initiated in the beginning of the year.
The feedback was much more numerous than expected; almost 400 participants with different views on the Standard, and from 50 organisations / countries participated within three weeks. With this high level of participation, and a balanced representation of licensees, delegates, certifiers, and elected officials, the survey can certainly be considered a success.
The survey brought both expected and unexpected results. In case you are interested in the main results and a short analysis from the perspective of the SC, please go tohttps://demeter.net/bfdi-standard-survey/for the details.
It can be stated, in any case, that changes are wanted. Maybe even too many changes are wanted, since some of them contradict each other or at least contradict an aim frequently called for in the past - to reduce the overall scope of the Standard. Consequently, one of the major challenges for the discussion of the upcoming months is to find a way to implement the desired changes without overburdening certain stakeholders.
One of the main questions will be whether the MA and the delegates can agree on a pure electronic format, since a Standard app would enable several options which hardly can be realized with a classic document format.
The results of the survey will now inform further discussion within the Standards Committee and also the Supervisory Board. The next steps will be to boil down some of the concepts to a concrete pilot model, which can be discussed and decided by the Members´Assembly 2024.
This discussion will take place parallel to the general consultation process for motions to amend the Demeter Standard. Concerning the general Standard changes, the SC tried to respect the request from the MA in Chile to restrict the number of motions to the absolute necessary this year. On the one side to enable some breathing space for certifiers to catch up with the changes of the last years. On the other side to free capacities for the Standard review in times of limited resources. The SC tried its best and scaled down the number from an average of 45 motions in previous years to less than 15 this year. Some nevertheless slipped through the filter, partly to make sure that the 100-year celebrations are not overshadowed by a backlog of motions.
The Members’ Assembly can expect to discuss, for example, a new product section on coffee and tea, as well as a product section on chocolate and cocoa, including a minimum price for cocoa beans. In addition we primarily have motions that do not require much discussion but are somewhat pressing, such as some adjustments to animal husbandry based on changes to the organic regulation, and a few details which already spent a few years on the to-do list.
One of the major changes in the last years, demanding now a fair amount of attention from certifiers and licensees worldwide, is the new 18-chapter Standard on social responsibility, and its gradual implementation. This issue is considered from several sides as both necessary to take the next steps forward, and relatively complex to implement.
The decision about the Social Responsibility Standard also installed a new committee as a sub-group of the Standards Committee. Like the extended SC, representing the non-certifying members in Standard related decisions, the SRC operates in cooperation with the Standing SC to decide about the details of the new Standard section. It is, for example, responsible for second level complaints against the requirements, deciding on minimal wages in regions where a sufficient legal basis is missing, and for assessing national implementation plans. The Committee had its first regular meeting in the beginning of the year and is now meeting monthly to escort the implementation over the next two years. In cooperation with the Accreditation Council the SRC already held two training sessions for certifiers and has created several templates to assist the national implementation plans.
Due to the fact that a vote for SRC candidates was not possible last year in November, the SRC operates at the moment based on a mixture of elected and nominated SC members (Lucy Yuriko Pelliser / Brasil, Anne Flohr / Germany, René Heusschen / Netherlands) and co-opted nominees (Eva Ramírez / Spain). This situation surely is not ideal with regard to the official status, but was considered as the necessary compromise to avoid a significant delay in the implementation phase. It is planned, with the result of the general elections of this years´ MA, to have a fully operational and legitimated committee by the middle of the year.
In case you have any comments, requests, or feedback for the SC and the SRC, please contactat:sebastian.fuchs@demeter.net.
News from the Section
Activity Report 2022 An eventful year!
The new activity report is here! Look back with us on an eventful year 2022 - with the training conferences on four continents, the presentation of the new book "Breathing with the Climate Crisis" at the UN Climate Conference COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, the founding of the Biodynamic Research Platform and other projects.
If you want to know more: here is thelinkto the Activity Report 2022.
Nutrition department
Microbiota Does our gut microbiota impact our thinking?
What does food really mean for human beings? Does it simply provide the body with the “fuel” needed for life, like petrol in a car? We don't need to be researchers to recognize that this statement is somehow incomplete. We only need to be curious enough to observe that what we require for thinking, creating, feeling, or doing is not proportional to the amount of food we eat – a full belly is more often accompanied by feeling fatigued than by thinking innovative thoughts!
Feeling healthy is not just a matter of your physical state but also your mental well-being and spiritual activity. But as no one could claim to be completely free of adverse effects, according to this definition everyone could be viewed as being ill. What is more, it takes no account of human resilience, and the strength and ability to overcome illness or to deal with adversity. The focus should therefore be moved from pathogenesis, in other words the question of what makes us ill, to salutogenesis, with the question of what makes us healthy. In the following article, Lea Sprügel and Dr Jasmin Peschke show what role nutrition plays in this.
Healthy Nutrition and Community - more than just a common meal
Community in the food system, with oneself and with the microbiome Online course with Dr. Jasmin Peschke and Lea Sprügel,Course starts 8 May - register now!
Would you like to learn more about the connections between community building and our eating and living habits? Dr. Jasmin Peschke and Lea Sprügel are taking a close look at this question in their project "Lehenhof - a future-oriented food system" and present their findings in the online course Healthy nutrition and community - more than just a common meal. The topic of "food and community" is defined very broadly. One aspect of community is even the microbiome, which needs to be nurtured. The online course will consist of contributions, talks and practical exercises.
To register and for more information, please follow this link.
Where biodynamics divides Study summary by Lukas Maschek
How do consumers perceive biodynamics? Sara R. Jaeger and her colleagues are investigating this question in an as yet unpublished study. The researchers created an online survey in which 1,237 participants from Great Britain, Australia, Singapore and Germany took part. They analysed the data, and an accompanying video article is already available in advance of the paper’s publication.
Most participants in the survey (71%) had a generally positive attitude towards biodynamics, and a smaller proportion had a neutral (20%) or negative (9%) basic attitude. The preliminary results indicate that, concerning biodynamics, ecological sustainability is more important to the participants than social sustainability. Spiritual aspects are perceived as least important.
Next Generation in Biodynamics Zoom Meeting April 22 at 11 am CEST
In the Open Space "Next Generation in Biodynamics", which took place during the last Agricultural Conference in February, an inspiring space with many open questions emerged, which we would like to discuss further together. Therefore, we invite all those who are on their way to take responsibility in agriculture or plan to do so in the future to an open discussion via Zoom: on April 22 at 11 am CEST.
Goetheanum World Conference - Reshaping a World Movement September 27 – October 1, 2023
"On Earth we want to live! What are our contributions for the future of the Earth?" is the theme forum of the Section for Agriculture and the Natural Science Section at the upcoming Goetheanum World Conference. Together the future steps of the anthroposophical movement will be worked out, among other things in view of the impending climate catastrophe. With which approaches of the Goethean sciences, as well as the agriculture and food economy, do we want to meet this challenge? We cordially invite you to join us in thinking about this question and to register for the Goetheanum World Conference.
Demeter China Association (DCA) Activities in the First Season of 2023
Online World Biodynamic Tours with Sundeep Kamath
Last September, DCA started a cooperation with Mr. Sundeep Kamath on certification issues. Because of his broad experience in the biodynamic circle, we also invited him to make a general introduction on the biodynamic development in other countries. This series of free online sharing sessions is themed as “World Biodynamic Tour with Sundeep Kamath”.
So far, 5 talks have been held with 3 countries introduced, that is India, Peru and Chile. For all these talks, Sundeep also invited guests to join with him, so we had the opportunity to exchange with Mr Juan Arce, former President of Peru Biodynamic Association, Mr. Eduardo Rincon, President of Mexican Biodynamic Association, and Mr Bablu Ganguly, co-founder of Timbaku, a famous eco community in India.
Therefore, despite the travel restrictions in China and thanks to Sundeep, we still can update our members, and all people interested, with the biodynamic development around the world. We will continue to run the series from time to time. It is bilingual, with both English and Chinese translation, and anyone interested is welcomed to join us. Registration information is at the end of the article.
Online Broadcasting of the Agricultural Conference
After three years' experience of online broadcasting of this big annual event, DCA has been improving step by step our promotion and broadcasting techniques to serve a wider Chinese-speaking community worldwide. This year, we were successful in having over 100 participants, by cooperating with Malaysia Demeter Association and Taiwan Threefold Living Studio, as well as many other anthroposophical communities in Asia.
This year, before the Agricultural Conference, we held five free talks for five consecutive days to promote this event. The five renowned speakers are all from biodynamic or organic circles, they are biodynamic gardeners, young biodynamic farmers, organic lifestyle promoters or related.
Sundeep also had one session, sharing his experiences of attending this event in the past few years, and Kalle Huebner introduced the main contents of this year’s conference on site.
Besides this, since last October, DCA had a new member, Mr Fang Yunan who joined us to take care of the online programs and technical issues. His strong support ensured the smooth implementation of all our online activities.
Through such events, with joint efforts from biodynamic and anthroposophical communities in Asia, we are looking forward to building a strong connection with them, and carrying out more cooperative activities together to further the biodynamic impulse in the future.
Interpretation of Agriculture Course in Both Chinese and Western Contexts
From February 14, our long-awaited courses on interpreting the Agriculture Course in both Chinese and Western contexts was finally online. The western interpretation is given by Thomas Lüthi, Honorary President of former Demeter International. The Chinese interpretation is given by Dr Shen Li, General Secretary of Demeter China Association. There are altogether 24 lectures, 12 by each teacher on every Monday and Tuesday till 8th May.
With over 5000 years of cultural heritage, there is a lot of wisdom in our tradition, similar to what is recorded in the Agricultural Course. Therefore, it is quite necessary for us to do such comparison reading and help Chinese-speaking BD farmers to understand it better. We are also very happy to see that nearly 150 people subscribed to this course. This course is still in progress, and we welcome all people interested.
Now, DCA is also planning activities around bees, including a reading club, physical workshop in April, and also online interpretation of Bee lectures by foreign BD bee experts.
For all the lectures or talks mentioned above, recordings are available for review. If you are interested, please contact Hermin Tang. Email: herminsforest@163.com, or using WeChat to scan the QR code in the poster.
France
The French Biodynamic Movement (MABD) presents the latest special issue of the french journal Biodynamis (only in French) Climate chaos in the eyes of biodynamics (Le chaos climatique au regard de la biodynamie)
The theme of this special issue could not be more pressing. After the extreme temperatures that were reached last year, it is becoming increasingly clear that agriculture must make a rapid transition. It is not only a question of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also of adapting to the climate chaos we are experiencing today.
Faced with this double challenge, biodynamic agriculture offers solutions that have been practiced for almost a century. It offers concrete and accessible tools, but also a world view, a way of organising the farm that promotes autonomy, biodiversity and the health of plants and animals.
A convergence of views: scientists, activists, farmers
Accessible to all, this special issue approaches the subject from three angles. Firstly, by understanding the phenomena globally, with articles by agronomists and researchers (Jacques Caplat, Ernst Zürcher, Anet Spengler Neff, IPCC report). It then explores the more personal aspect of our link to the earth and the atmosphere (Vandana Shiva, Jean-Michel Florin). Finally, it invites us to practice and experiment, with the support of numerous testimonies from farmers, seed producers and biodynamic agricultural advisors.
Language : French / Number of pages : 68 / Price : 10 € Publisher : Mouvement de l'Agriculture Bio-Dynamique (MABD), France Contact : Maëva Bourgeois, coordinator,m.bourgeois@bio-dynamie.org
Biodynamic viticulture and collegial exchange Field course for biodynamic vineyard management
For the third time, the French Biodynamic Movement (MABD) and Adama Haya will conduct a field course and collegial exchange on best practices of biodynamic viticulture across the Mediterranean. From June 4 to 10, we will visit 10 excellent wine growers in Southern France and deepen in questions of vineyards in dry conditions and fertility development with the best biodynamic advisors.
We warmly invite colleagues from across the Mediterranean to join this program for an enriching and professional exchange.
Biodynamics: new perspectives for agriculture and a better world 37th International Biodynamic Conference
The 37th International Biodynamic Conference, Peasant Strategies for Bio-agriculture, was held in Rome, 26-27 January 2023, at the Roma Tre University; 360 persons attended, and as many more participants followed online.
Institutional contributions were made by FAO, Agroecology Europe, FAI, WWF-Italy, Cambiamo Agricoltura, Legambiente, and Federbio. 13 biodynamic entrepreneurs were heard as they described their multi-varied business cases, challenges and opportunities.
Working sessions on each day started with a lectio magistralis, followed by authoritative speakers introducing the main discussion topics, which were subsequently deepened through 7 parallel discussion groups. The first day was dedicated to socio-economic challenges facing producers, with the opening by Jean-Michel Florin, Goetheanum. The second day was dedicated to ecological challenges, with the opening by Alessandro Piccolo, Naples University, followed by presentations from researchers from 6 Italian universities, all involved in research funded by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Among the distinguished speakers, Barbara Nappini, President of Slow Food, spoke about food sovereignty, stressing that we do not necessarily have to produce more but better, and this can be done by building a fair system of production and distribution. Lucio Cavazzoni of Good Land recalled the importance of safeguarding the dignity of farm workers and the need to apply fair remuneration, as almost one third of agricultural workers do not possess a contract. Maurizio Agostino of Humus presented "participatory agroecologies", a project becoming a major laboratory of concrete stakeholders’ experiences in agroecology.
Manlio Masucci of Navdanya International highlighted the role of biodistricts in short food supply chains and participatory territorial development. Giannozzo Pucci, founder of the first farmers’ market in Italy, La Fierucola, dwelled on the need for a "new peasant agriculture" that does not pollute and is independent from market forces and the agroindustry. Luigi Montano, Local Health Authority of Salerno and President of the Italian Society for Human Reproduction, presented the findings of a study on the benefits of an organic/biodynamic Mediterranean diet on all male fertility indices, and on detoxification. Enrico Zagnoli, farmer and National Advisor of the Biodynamic Association, spoke about food democracy, stressing that biodynamic agriculture sheds light on the miracle of the seed and pays tribute to the planets’ photosynthesis capacity.
Concluding, President Carlo Triarico recalled that the moderation of the Conference had been entrusted to a group of 13 young people, because it is important that challenges addressed by experts be assimilated and relaunched by those who represent our future. He summarized the priorities and proposals put forward by participants through a draft Plan of Action which will guide the work of the Biodynamic Association in the years to come.
New Zealand Biodynamics Conference Biodynamic and You, May 19-21
We’re so excited to announce this year’s New Zealand Biodynamics Conference: Biodynamics and You.
It’s been a few years since we have been able to do an in-person conference and we can’t wait to gather together, and inspire each other to bring more biodynamic philosophy into our life and gardens.
We’ve brought in speakers from around New Zealand and a very special guest, Charlie Arnott, coming all the way from Australia.
Our other speakers include Gary Williams, Kaitlyn Lamb, Monique Macfarlane, Cathy Tait-Jamieson, Peter Bacchus and Andrew Criglington.
The essence behind this year’s confernece, Biodynamics and You, is about collaboration.
How does biodynamics interact with permaculture, regenerative farming, organics, homeopathy?
The purpose of exploring this theme is to strengthen and develop the natural relationships that Biodynamics New Zealand can have with all these other philosophies and their corresponding communities.
IPCC 6th Synthesis report Experts give final warning to act on Climate
At the end of March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released the final part of its 6th assessment report (AR6) on climate change. The synthesis consists of a non-technical summary for policymakers, and a more detailed report integrating materials from the three Working Groups’ assessment reports, addressing a broad range of policy-neutral questions approved by the panel.
The last synthesis report was published in 2014. This time, the report reviewed targets upward and delivers a final warning to take action against climate change: “There is a rapidly narrowing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all”.
In his speech during the opening ceremony of the IPCC session presenting the report, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said that “our world needs climate action on all fronts -- everything, everywhere, all at once”.
The experts are clear: human action has already caused 1.1°C of global warming to the Earth’s climate, which it described as “unprecedented in recent human history”. It explains with a high degree of confidence that “Climate change has reduced food security and affected water security, hindering efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goals. If fossil fuels were identified as the main cause of the climate crisis, the report also points out other interesting solutions to mitigate climate change.
The key point of reducing GHG emissions is no longer in question, but the reports underline that to achieve the objectives, three to six times the current levels of climate investment are required. The world has the technology, finance, tools and solutions available to act now and reduce GHG emissions. They should peak by 2025 and must be cut half by 2030 to limit global warming to 1.5°C. What is lacking, is a strong will and accountability from policymakers and businesses.
Regarding the food and agriculture sector, currently responsible for 25% of global GHG emissions, the IPCC considers that total emissions of the food sector could be reduced by 44% by 2050. To implement such change, they promote real solutions: improved cropland management, biodiversity and ecosystem connectivity, agroforestry, community-based adaptation, farm and landscape diversification, and urban agriculture. Carbon storage and removal is also mentioned. In this last synthesis report, they also highlight the necessity to implement more plant-based diets, and to reduce food loss and food waste throughout our food systems. This is the first time an IPCC report mentioned the notion of sobriety.
Please find the policymaker brief, the figures and the full report here. For further information, please contact Clara Behr at: clara.behr@demeter.net.
Apply to be the next winner of an EU Organic Award! Applications are open until May 14th
The EU Organic Awards recognise different excellent actors along the organic value chain that have developed an innovative, sustainable and inspiring project resulting in real added-value for organic food production and consumption.
Following the success of the first edition of the EU Organic Awards, applications for the 2nd edition opened at the end of March and are closing on May 14 2023. The awards ceremony will take place in Brussels on September 25 2023.
Any EU actor or institution along the organic value chain falling in the above categories with a noteworthy project contributing to the greater affordability and/or accessibility of organic products in the EU can apply. Applications in all EU official languages are welcome. They will be reviewed against the criteria of excellence, innovation, sustainability and possibility to replicate the project elsewhere in the EU. The winners will contribute to the greater public awareness of organic production in the EU.
According to the latest Eurobarometer, the public recognition of the EU organic farming logo is increasing with 61% of Europeans now indicating that they are aware of it. The share of EU agricultural land under organic farming has also increased by more than 50% over the period 2012-2020, with an annual increase of 5.7%, according to the latest market brief published by the European Commission.
You can access here the practical guide on the 2023 Edition of the EU Organic Awards. Learn all there is to know and apply here to contribute to raise public awareness on organic production in the EU!
More news from the Federation on our websiteand social media:
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Thanks to all our readers and authors for their interest. The next newsletter will be published in May 2023. If you would like to submit any articles or comments, please send your contributions to: newsletter@demeter.net.
