Abstract
Arguably one of Western esotericism’s most ambitious and widely influential thinkers, Rudolf Steiner (1861– 1925) has left an astonishing legacy of cultural products that continue to have influence beyond the institutional reach of Anthroposophy, the new religious movement he founded. One such legacy is his system of agriculture, known today as Biodynamic Agriculture, or Biodynamics. This method, combining a distrust of modern agro-chemical applications and a desire to spiritually as well as physically nourish the individual, is now disseminated in a range of industries, and is often applied in ways that have little to do with Anthroposophy or Steiner. The current fascination in the viticulture industry for Biodynamic methods serves as a useful example for exploring what Steiner believed and set out for farmers, as well as for highlighting how these techniques are used today. Lorand’s (1996) paradigm for understanding Biodynamic Agriculture is here used to frame a discussion utilising a production of culture perspective that looks at elements of culture as shaped by the system within which they created, promoted, taught, and appraised (Peterson 1976). In order to understand how and why an esoteric agricultural method is flourishing in the twenty-first century, its origins must first be examined.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Handbook of New Religions and Cultural Production |
| Editors | Carole M. Cusack, Alex Norman |
| Place of Publication | Netherlands |
| Publisher | Brill |
| Pages | 213-234 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789004226487 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789004221871 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |