A World Map of Biodynamic Agriculture

Summary

A world map of biodynamic agriculture is presented. The map accounts for 55 countries and a world total of 251,842 certified biodynamic hectares. Biodynamic farming is the progenitor of organic agriculture. Ground-zero for biodynamics and organics is the Agriculture Course presented in the summer of 1924 by Dr Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) to a group of 111 farmers and others at Koberwitz, Germany (now Kobierzyce, Poland). Rudolf Steiner called for a natural agriculture rejecting the prevailing thrust for the chemicalization of agriculture, evidenced, at the time, particularly by the uptake of synthetic fertilisers. Steiner’s “hints” have evolved into a suite of farming practices now called ‘biodynamic’ (BD) agriculture. One BD practitioner, Lord Northbourne, coined the term ‘organic farming’ (in 1940) and presented his manifesto of organic agriculture, Look to the Land, which has spawned the international alternative agriculture movement of organic farming. Germany leads the world with 84,426 BD hectares, followed by Australia with 49,797 BD ha, and France with 14,629 BD ha. Steiner’s particularised form of organic agriculture, viz. biodynamic farming, is a subset (of 30.0% and 0.35% respectively) of the 186 countries which account for a global total of 71,514,583 certified organic hectares. A table of countries and associated BD hectares is included. All hectare data reported in the present paper are for certified operations. The map presented is an area cartogram. The size and scope of the uncertified biodynamics and organics sectors remain undetermined.