Early organic influencers

Sir albert Howard

British botanist Sir Albert Howard worked in India as a pathologist in the early 1900s. While living there, he familiarised himself with the indian composting system known as ‘indore’, and soon understood the value of the end product in helping to create healthy land, crops, animals and, consequently, people. He described the health of soil, plant, animal and man as “one and indivisible”. Sir Albert soon came to value the Indian system over western agricultural practices, and although he had gone to the continent to help the people there, he in fact felt that they were his teachers. Sir Albert Howard has been described as the father of modern composting.

lady evelyn (‘eve’) barbara balfour

Born in Britain in 1898, Lady Eve knew she wanted to be a farmer from the age of 12. In 1939, she used inherited money to buy a farm, and shortly afterwards launched a long-term experiment that compared organic with chemical-based farming. In 1943, Lady Eve published her results in The Living Soil. The publication became significant to those who were embarking on the developing organic and farming movement. Lady Eve went on to co-found the international Soil Association. a life-long farmer, writer and educator, lady eve toured new Zealand and Australia to disseminate her beliefs.

dr guy Chapman

in new Zealand, dentist dr Guy chapman founded the new Zealand Humic Compost Club in 1941. Its aim was to improve the heath of the soil, and therefore the health of the population, by replacing artificial fertilisers with compost made from animal and plant waste. Among several experiments that he conducted was one carried out at Mount Albert Grammar School. Boys were fed on naturally grown fruit and vegetables with the addition of vitamins to counteract the effects of inorganically produced meat and bread. The general health of the boys was said to have improved.

in 1942, while Guy was president of the Humic compost

Club, the organisation published its first club magazine. The publication was seen as a way to educate club members and disseminate ideas to the wider public.

dr chapman was viewed by those who knew him and his work as a learned figurehead of the organic movement in

New Zealand.

From top school and community gardens have sprung up in response to the organic gardening movement; chemical fertilisers paved the way for largescale cropping and chemical, rather than organic, control of pests and weeds.