Biodynamic agriculture has been around for a long time, since 1924, when it was created by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. He presented a series of lectures in Germany known as the “agricultural course”, effectively a response to farmers’ concerns about chemical use in their fields. To say Steiner was ahead of his time would be an understatement, although many of his theories were considered pseudoscientific, in part because he was convinced there were tangible links between the spiritual world and the realm of science. His hobbies included occultism, social reform, annoying Hitler, and anthroposophical medicine, and he developed a strong distaste for religion and faith. He claimed to be clairvoyant after an encounter with his dead aunt when he was nine, and that’s the sort of thing that sticks with you. In 1907, he began working collaboratively in a variety of artistic media, including drama, dance and architecture, culminating in the building of the Goetheanum, a cultural centre he designed and dedicated to all art forms. He redesigned the building in 1924, where it still stands (in Dornach, Switzerland), primarily as a performance centre. Read More