Supporting self-sufficiency and independence >>> Biodynamic agriculture supports the cause of World Food Day 2024

Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland, 26 September 2024

Biodynamic projects give small farmers and their families access to food through self-sufficiency, promoting self-reliance and sustainable food systems along the way.

Not everyone has access to food. Currently up to 783 million people don‘t have enough to eat due to prolonged conflicts, recurring extreme weather conditions or economic difficulties. “Poor and vulnerable people are particularly affected. More than 2.8 billion people cannot afford a varied diet,” says Jasmin Peschke, head of nutrition in the Section for Agriculture at the Goetheanum.

Around the world biodynamic projects offer ways out of this situation by promoting self-sufficiency and self-reliance, for instance in biodynamic school gardens such as the one in Mbagathi, Kenya, where students learn how to grow fruit and vegetables. The biodynamic urban gardens in Rosario, Argentina, also serve to support small farms and provide access to healthy food.

The effect these projects have goes beyond self-sufficiency. In South Africa, Feya Marince from the Indigenous Biodynamic Association of Africa has observed that farming together strengthens families and keeps young people from moving away. In rural areas of Peru, biodynamic farming has increased the diversity of women‘s diet by 30 per cent and consequently improved their health. Biodynamic farming also results in healthier food because it improves soil fertility.

Biodynamic agriculture contributes to a life without hunger and creates a foundation for happier lives and for keeping people and nature healthy. Jasmin Peschke says that “without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the diverse cultures of biodynamic farming contribute to making the motto of the Food and Agriculture Organisation‘s World Food Day on 16 October a reality: ‘Right to Food for a Better Life and a Better Future.’”

(1829 characters, 275 words/SJ; English by Margot M. Saar)

Contact person Jasmin Peschke