Ethics in the Organic Movement - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 25

In the 1950s, the British agriculturalist working in India, Sir Albert Howard
(1873-1947), and the British farmer and educator Lady Eve Balfour (1898-1990),
engaged into organic farming with contributions that are relevant until today.
Both pioneers underlined the significance of the soil. To them, the increase and
maintenance of humus, or organic matter, was essential for assuring overall soil
health and soil fertility. Howard focused on a more scientific argument and the
composition of composting: cow dung (known as Indore compost); urban waste;
the addition of micro-organisms to the soils and compost; and, the integration of
leguminous fodder crops and green manure (Howard 1946 ). Balfour concentrated
on the close relation between soil, animal and human health and the organic
cycle (Balfour 1948 , pp. 16, 23). Following Steiner, both understood the necessary
contribution of animals to the farming system (Howard 1946 ). It should be noted
that both Howard and Balfour were familiar with, and were seeking to adapt long-
standing agricultural practices from China, East Asia and India, as documented by
King ( 1911 ), to the definition of organic farming in Europe.
Balfour and Howard shared an ecocentric ethic that was sensitive to living and
non-living organisms. In addition, Howard is recognized for bringing ecological and
health related values into the organic movement, while Balfour valued Christian
social ethics as a foundation for agriculture (Balfour 1948 , pp. 184-190). She
focused on the social fairness and care, and she was highly critical of capitalist
economic relations and materialism that she saw as responsible for the economic
exploitation of nature. Balfour specifically underlined Christian values and social
justice in agriculture and food systems that reflected combined ecocentric -
theocentric ethics. She argued that, “we cannot escape from the ethical and spiritual
values of life for they are part of wholeness” (Patzel 2010 , p. 271). Overall, she
demanded the holistic necessity of “service to God, service to our soil, service to
each other, and, through each other, to the community and the world” (Balfour 1948 ,
p. 188; Patzel 2010 ). Clearly, her holistic environmental and social philosophy is at
the core of the IFOAM Principles.
In 1949, the Swiss couple Hans (1891-1988) and Maria Müller (1894-1969)
established an approach called organic-biologic agriculture (Moser 1994 cited in
Patzel and Lindenthal 2009 , p. 6). During the 1930s, Hans Müller was engaged
in public policy concerning soil and economy. He argued that since the soil was
essential for farmers, it should not be considered as a commodity. Based on
extensive scientific reading and their own experiences, the Müllers created the
'organic-biologic agriculture and gardening method.' This method drew upon Sir
Albert Howard's ideas as well as those from Rudolf Steiner and his biodynamic
attention to humus, soil organisms, composting and the cycling of systems. The
Müller's approach to compost, in contrast to Howard's use of the Indore method,
focused on promoting a system of surface composting and mulching.
The Müllers also sought to secure independence for farmers from trade and
agricultural inputs. They were committed to the economic survival of small family
farms, respecting tradition, assuring fair prices, producing high quality healthy
food, knowledgeable consumers and close relationships between farmers and
consumers through regional and cooperative markets (Vogt 2001 ). Hans Müller's