The Certification of BD produce includes explicit social criteria as well as the ecological ethics implicit in organic husbandry. The “Social Responsibility Standard” (2024) shows that these aspects remain fundamental to biodynamic agriculture.
Whilst the practice of biodynamics (BD) requires neither respect for its founder Dr Rudolf Steiner nor interest in his work beyond agriculture, in practice there remain positive and negative associations both from his work and the hundred-plus years of biodynamic history.
BD originated in central Europe just as National Socialists took power . Whilst the Nazis soon proscribed all things to do with Dr Steiner, in the turmoil there were some individuals who respected Dr Steiner’s work and worked with the regime. This is further complicated by some of Dr Steiner’s work which is frank about discussing race.
A few of those who have focused on this have compounded the history and these lectures, and have concluded that Dr Steiner and all things associated with him are racist. Others note that Steiner’s approach to races is that these may be realities of humanity’s past, but that it is an ongoing and central task of our times to transcend family and tribe to treat each individual as we find them. The opposite of racism is the same as the opposite of sexism, agism and so forth – to relate to and care for each other independent of all such externalities.
For those interested to pursue these issues we point you to various pertinent works which can be found here and specifically in the Statement of the Biodynamic Movement against extremism and anti-human aspirations.