This is the first in a series about the different letters of the word Organic and what they represent.  Words are very important and I think that the word Organic in Organic Farming reveals a lot more than other words that refer to Organic Farming, such as Biological Farming commonly used in Europe, or agroecology increasing used as a synonym for Organic Farming.

The letter O represents the important idea of the Organism which holds important meanings for Organic Farming.

The first is the link to Organic Chemistry.  Before the 19th century, the theory of vitalism prevailed which held that there was a fundamental difference between inorganic and organic chemicals: the origin of organic chemicals in the organs of living organisms which imbued organic chemicals with a divine quality.  It was believed to be impossible for mere humans to synthesize organic chemicals.  There is some dispute about the turning point that shattered this belief, but most Organic Chemistry textbooks, including my much-studied copy of Morrison and Boyd, teach that it was Woehler's synthesis of urea in 1828.  So the word Organic in Organic Farming still recalls, somehow, the idea of vitalism in that it relies on chemicals produced by living organisms to grow plants.  Nitrogen is made available by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, phosphorus is mobilised by fungi, potash and phosphorus are both mobilised and recycled by plants and animals and other soil organisms and lime comes from crustacean deposits.  Organic chemicals required for the protection of plants, such as secondary metabolites, are produced by the plants themselves or their companions.  While the spiritual idea of vitalism is not directly addressed by Organic Farmers, it is addressed by Biodynamic Farmers who believe that natural organisms are imbued with vital forces of a metaphysical nature that stream from the cosmos.  The roots of Organic Farming in the UK are to be found in Biodynamic Farming.  The term Organic Farming was first used by Lord Northbourne, a disciple of Pfeiffer who worked with Rudolf Steiner to establish the basic principles of Biodynamic Farming.  Northbourne organised the first Biodynamic Conference in the UK with Pfeiffer.  Pfeiffer was also involved with helping Rodale set of the organic movement in the US.  The idea of vitalism, therefore, penetrates the history of Organic Farming, and is retains the hue of life as the source of nutrition.

The second is the idea of the Farm as an Organism, an idea that also sprang from Biodynamic Farming.  This idea is that the farm should really be able to produce food without inputs.  It is a remarkably ambitious idea today, but it was an unremarkably obvious idea before industrialised agriculture.  If a farm couldn't produce food without inputs people starved.  Rudolf Steiner taught in his lectures on Agriculture in the early 20th century that a farm that imported nutrients or feed for animals was in fact "sick".  This has an existential ring of truth about it.  For secure agriculture, the challenge is to balance a farm so that it has the right constellation of plants and animals to suit its landscape and community. 

See this National Geographic post which was the source of the picture I have used.  It is a display of works of art made by students using bacteria on agar plates. https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/science-and-technology/2019/11/gorgeous-art-was-made-surprising-substance-live-bacteria

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