Farming nurtures human beings. As the world population is growing, the number of people working in agriculture is going down. Biodynamic farming has been trying for a hundred years to offer meaningful and attractive work contexts and to develop solutions for the challenges of our time.
Many people are familiar with Demeter as a brand name but they don’t necessarily know what it stands for. A new magazine – ‘Living Farms’ – published by the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum illustrates the Demeter principles and how they are applied around the world.
Art opens up new worlds. The Visual Arts Section at the Goetheanum has developed an Art Study Year and an Art Intensive Week to show how this works. The focus is on perception, activity and the sharing of experiences.
Healthy eating is a question of relationship. It starts with the time one takes to attend to the flavours one can distinguish. Shopping is also part of it, because it reveals what foods and consequently what kind of food production consumers support.
Treatments for long-term effects following a Covid-19 infection or Covid vaccinations do not seem to work for all patients. The internist and gastroenterologist Harald Matthes speaks in a podcast about experiences with helpful treatments from Anthroposophic Medicine.
Six sold out performances including a gala event with Klaus Florian Vogt – that is Richard Wagner’s ‘Parsifal’ at the Goetheanum directed by Jasmin Solfaghari. Three more performances will follow in 2025 as a cooperation between Pamy Mediaproductions and the Goetheanum Stage.
All actors are important with their voices, personalities and possibilities; they are all responsible for what happens. The Theatre Festival at the Goetheanum from 10 to 14 July offers practical insights into how Rudolf Steiner’s Speech and Drama Course lives today.
For the centenary of biodynamic farming Elif Oskan and Selassie Atadika offer a culinary evening at the Goetheanum with biodynamic ingredients from its own garden. The organizer, experimental gastronomy initiative ‘Steinbeisser’, likes to combine Haute Cuisine with artistically designed objects such as cutlery.
Agriculture nurtures human beings, fosters the earth and creates culture. Rudi Bind and Ueli Hurter explore this theme in their book ‘Biodynamic!’ on the ‘birth of biodynamic farming at the beginning of the ecological movement.’
Cows emit methane, a gas that affects climate. This effect does not have to be harmful. From the point of view of biodynamic agriculture, what cows eat, how they are kept and the facilitating of natural cycles can make them carers of land and climate.
Biodynamic agriculture was initiated a hundred years ago, in 1924, pioneering the eco-movement. Today, its dedication to healthy soil and food also provides impulses for a healthy social life. The method is implemented by both smallholders and large biodynamic enterprises.
The Goetheanum Garden Park is being continually developed. Most recently, the dye plant and cut flower gardens were relocated and a pond was created. Benches invite visitors to rest and enjoy the views across to Basel and France.