Women Pioneers in the Field of Organic Agriculture.
Challenges for History and Science
Heide Inhetveen, Mathilde Schmitt, Ira Spieker
Die Bedeutung von Frauen für die Fortschrittsgeschichte der Agrarwissenschaften ist im
deutschsprachigen Raum bislang kaum erforscht. Das gilt auch für den Ökologischen
Landbau, der sich seit den Zwanziger Jahren in Europa zunächst vor allem in der Schweiz,
Deutschland und England etabliert hat. Dabei zeigt bereits ein erster Überblick über die
Fortschrittsgeschichte des Ökologischen Landbaus die rein quantitativ auffallende Präsenz
von Frauen. Nach einer zunächst intensiven Partizipation an der frühen Agrarforschung sinkt
ihr Anteil allerdings – insbesondere nach der Institutionalisierung des Ökologischen
Landbaus in den 1980er-Jahren. Es stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit veränderte
Rahmenbedingungen, die mit der Professionalisierung und Institutionalisierung einhergingen,
zu einer „Maskulinisierung“ der Forschungstätigkeit führten.
Im folgenden Beitrag wird eine geschlechtsspezifische Analyse von Frauen in der
ökologischen Agrarforschung, in Verbänden, als Autorinnen von Artikeln in Fachzeitschriften
sowie als Referentinnen auf Tagungen durchgeführt. Weiterhin sollen die Beiträge von
Frauen in der frühen Fortschrittsgeschichte des Ökologischen Landbaus sichtbar gemacht
werden, was am Beispiel der Kristallisationsmethode exemplarisch vorgeführt wird.
The significance of women in the history of progress in the agricultural sciences has to date
hardly been the subject of research in the German-speaking countries. This is also true in the
case of organic, or alternative farming that established itself in the 1920s in Europe, first
primarily in Switzerland and later in Germany and England. A first glance at the history of the
progress of organic farming already draws one’s attention to the large amount of women
represented in the field. Following an initial intensive phase of participation in the early
stages of agricultural research, their number began to dwindle, especially during the phase in
which organic farming was institutionalized in the 1980s. The question arises as to how the
changes
in
the
frame
conditions
that
accompanied
the
professionalization
and
institutionalization led to a “masculinization” of the research activities.
In the following contribution, a gender-specific analysis will be made of women in organic
agricultural research, in associations, as authors of articles published in agricultural journals
and lecturers at conferences. Furthermore, it will expose and highlight the contributions
made by women in the early phases of the progress in organic farming employing the
example of the crystallization method.
The issue/goals: Whereas female farmers belong to the group of women who have
received the greatest amount of attention by researchers, the significance and role of
women in the history of the advancement of agricultural science has to date been
relatively neglected. This is particularly blatant in the German-speaking world. In the
USA, for example, gender issues have been included in the scientific discussion on
the epistemology of conventional and alternative agriculture for more than ten years
now (Kloppenburg 1991). The impression has been upheld until the present that the
history of the development of agriculture is the success story of “great men.” That is
also true in the case of alternative or organic farming which has grown in recognition
and significance since the 20s of the last century in Europe, above all in Switzerland,
Germany and England during its initial stages. However, even a superficial glance at
the history of the development of organic farming shows us that women have
quantitatively played a very important role in the field (Koepf/Plato 2001; Schaumann
et al. 2002; Vogt 2000).
The key objective of the research project entitled “Passion and Profession. Women
Pioneers in the Field of Organic Agriculture” is to trace down, evaluate and reveal the
achievements of women during the various phases in which organic agriculture
crystallized and chronicle their contributions to the development of the theories and
methods employed. The project was initiated in May, 2002, at the Institute of Rural
Development at the University of Goettingen and is promoted by the Ministry of
Culture and Education in Lower Saxony.
We use the term pioneers to denote those women who have contributed to the
advancement of the various trends and directions in organic agriculture through their
research, writing, experiments or organizational talents (cf. Inhetveen/Schmitt 2000).
Hypotheses: How can we explain the large number of female researchers in the first
generation of organic agriculture? One key hypothesis is based on the correlation
between the presence of women and the development of science. Reasons for the
intensive participation of women in the organic-agriculture research process during
the initial phases lay presumably in the relative simplicity of the basic requirements.
The fact that in the beginning the level of professionalism with respect to teaching,
research and consulting activities in the field was quite low made it possible for
women without formal qualifications to also participate in the various fields. During
that stage it was possible to accomplish developments in the advancement of
knowledge and research in organic agriculture “at home.” It was, therefore, perhaps
also easier to reconcile – in comparison to today – occupational activities with the
tasks demanded by the family and housework.
The frame conditions have changed significantly since the 1980s through the
stressing of scientific procedures and the institutionalization and professionalization
of research in the field of organic agriculture. One of the objectives of our project is to
determine to what extent a “masculinization” process has taken place in the research
as a result of this development. In addition, the project deals with the issue of
whether women develop other concepts than their male colleagues with regard to the
topics and subjects of their research. Our hypothesis is that the social role women
are confronted by is reflected in their scientific concepts.
Methods: A multifaceted mix of methods consisting of quantitative and qualitative
procedures was chosen due to the complexity of the subject of the research. Within
the scope of the project, various empirical social-research methods are combined
with research in historical material and archives. In addition to the collection of
statistical data by the members of the research team as well as secondary analytical
evaluations of existing statistics, the team carries out interviews with selected
authorities in the field. In addition, biographical interviews with pioneers are also
foreseen. These are then evaluated and processed according to defined topics. The
lifework of the “early” women pioneers in organic farming is unfolded and recorded on
the basis of primary and secondary literature as well as what we have been able to
discover of their correspondence with others working in the same field. Within the
scope of a series of lectures we have organized, dialogues between diverse women
researchers belonging to various generations also contribute valuable information
and sources for an inter-generative comparison.
First findings/discussion: It is difficult to quantify the contribution women have
made to organic farming. The census carried out by the Federal Office of Statistics
every four years began to include statistics on the manpower on alternative farms in
1999. Unfortunately, however, the census does not record the data according to
gender. The total number consisting of approximately 36,000 people in 1999 has
presumably increased considerably since then – think of the shifts in the
development of agriculture. Recent statistics calculated by the Stiftung Ökologie und
Landbau (Foundation Ecology and Agriculture), the producers’ organizations and the
Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture are also not
differentiated according to gender. Telephone interviews with biodynamic and
organic-agriculture producers’ organizations asking for information concerning the
percnetage of women among their members revealed the fact that it is not possible to
make any statements about the gender-specificity of agricultural property because
not all of the organizations differentiate the farm owners according to gender.
The institutional presence of women fluctuates considerably among the various
organizations. They were represented at the extension level from only a few percent
up to 40 %, in managing positions between 20 % and 40 %.
What does the situation look like with respect to women in the realm of research
on organic agriculture? Internet investigations showed that the percentage of
female researchers without PhDs who are employed at universities is relatively wellbalanced. In contrast, one finds only few female scientists and scholars with a
doctor’s title. The same is true in the case of professors. On the way to the top, the
percentage of women shrinks quite abruptly as a rule. The same situation is reflected
in the few existing research institutions dealing with biodynamic agriculture in the
German-speaking world. The only possibility to assume a leading position seems to
be to establish one’s own institution. In the remaining research institutions and
departments dealing with alternative farming, the director is invariably a man, but at
the same time, the gender quota of female co-workers (with or without a doctor’s title)
is more balanced.
These findings confirm in the case of organic agriculture as well the phenomenon
often called a “glass ceiling” that is so well-known in the fine arts and natural
sciences: the higher the academic ranking, the smaller the percentage of women
represented (European Commission 2000). This “career slump” is obviously a result
of the fact that it is more difficult in our society for women to reconcile family and
career than for men. In addition, women are confronted by other criteria when
beginning a career.
Another aspect of our study is women scientific authors. In addition to studying
reports from conferences on organic agriculture, entitled the “Wissenschaftstagungen
zum Ökologischen Landbau,” we investigated the bibliography published by Immo
Lünzer and Helga Willer on relevant publications (1995) as well as the two journals
Ökologie und Landbau (Ecology and Agriculture) and Lebendige Erde (Living Earth).
On the basis of the publications we examined, we developed a system of categories
that made it possible to bundle the articles according to topic and ensured the
comparability of the findings. The individual categories were: general articles
(including introductions to organic agriculture, surveys on the subject and “classics”),
agrarian
policies,
cropping/seeding,
animals,
soil/compost,
food,
market,
environment, extension work/education and training, farm management, social,
miscellaneous.
Analysing the Wissenschaftstagungen (scientific conferences) on the basis of the
conference reports that had been published since 1993 proved to be very timeconsuming as only the initials of the author’s first names appeared, with the
exception of the third volume. Thus, it was only possible to establish whether an
article had been written by a man or woman after extensive and time-consuming
investigations. All in all, we discovered that the total number of contributions had
increased as well as the number of contributions made by women, but it fluctuated
considerably. The 1999 conference produced by far the most articles. The subjects
treated by the male readers and speakers remained relatively constant, but the
spectrum dealt with by the female contributors became more multifaceted during the
time covered by the investigation. This led to the question as to what criteria are the
basis for the invitations and which networks are influential when the participants are
invited. Furthermore, trends appear play a large role.
The bibliography published by Lünzer/Willer (1995) provides information on the
authors of the standard publications on organic agriculture. The percentage of male
authors who published alone without any co-authors makes up by far the largest
group (36.4%), followed by male author teams (20.3%), institutions (17.6%), and
groups consisting of both men and women (15.5%). Women who published articles
under their name alone represented only a small percentage (10.2%). We did not
discover any teams consisting of women alone.
The spectrum of authors represented in Ökologie und Landbau demonstrated a
clear predominance of male authors over female authors. The percentage of
contributions handed in by women has indeed risen continually from 1998, but it
reached its (preliminary) climax in 1995. After that, the number of publications by
women decreased slightly and even shows noticeable slumps in 1998 and 2002.
From the first publication in 1989 to and including 2002, 61% of the contributions
were made by one man alone and 8% by several male authors. Articles published by
one woman alone made up 23 %; by several women together, merely 1%; and by
authors belonging to both genders, 7%. In ten-year steps, we investigated each
complete year of the journal Lebendige Erde beginning with 1952. During those
years, 82% of all of the contributions were published by men, 2% by several men
publishing together, 14% by one women and 2% by teams consisting of men and
women. Female author teams were not represented. The information on the five
decades disguises the positive trends that have also taken place: in the last ten
years, the percentage of female authors in Lebendige Erde has increased visibly to
approximately 25%.
Our overall finding is that in the second half of the 20th century in two leading
journals on organic and biodynamic agriculture only every fifth article was written by a
woman. Their participation in the conferences, in contrast, made up between 18%
and
40%.
Although
in
the
beginning
the
main
focus
was
placed
on
“cropping/seeding,” the spectrum of topics dealt with by women scientists and
authors became much broader during the period covered by our study, i.e., the
contributions are spread over all of the fields. The categories “market,” “farm
management,” “food” and “soil” gained most notably in importance.
A further goal of our project is to rediscover and highlight the contributions made by
women during the early history of advancements in organic agriculture. How do
we proceed in order to establish the achievements of these women pioneers? To do
so, in a first step we carefully study the literature on the history of organic agriculture
that has been published in recent years and make considerable efforts to read
between the lines and concentrate on what is often hidden in auxiliary clauses. Thus,
we are frequently able to discover information on the activities or participation of
women in connection with organic agriculture about whom little or nothing is generally
known. We follow such clues very systematically. The development of the
crystallization method can serve as an example here.
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer is as rule mentioned as the founder of this method. When
searching for primary literature on the subject, other names appear such as, for
example, Alla Selawry who had an education in medicine and, above and beyond her
own experiments with the germination of seeds, contributed substantially to the
further development of the method in medicine. In the secondary literature on
Ehrenfried Pfeiffer there are hints that reveal a new variant of the history of the
development of the crystallization method. According to Alla Selawry, Ehrenfried
Pfeiffer was working together with Erica Sabarth in the laboratory when “in answer to
his question which mineral salt would be best suited for a delicate crystallization, she
reached over to the shelf on which there was a whole row of different mineral salts
and intuitively grabbed copper chloride; after that, from 1925 on, they developed the
crystallization method jointly” (Selawry 1987:62). We found this significant information
confirmed by Hans Heinze (1959) in his reminiscences on the initial years in the
research laboratory at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Erica Sabarth
followed Ehrenfried Pfeiffer to the USA, helped to build up the research institute
“Threefold Farm” there in Spring Valley (New York) and upheld the research during
his long periods of absence that were caused by illness. She continued working after
his demise (Selawry 1987; Voitl/Guggenberger 1986). From this, we can conclude
that she continued to contribute considerably to the development and testing of the
crystallization method.
Other women pioneers during the initial years of organic agriculture such as Mina
Hofstetter, Gabrielle Louise Howard, Lili Kolisko and Maria Müller will also be the
subject of our research during the course of the project. Moreover, we are also
investigating representatives of the second and third generations.
Conclusions: The first findings derived from our studies show that it is possible to
add new pages to the history and development of organic agriculture on the basis of
gender-specific analyses. By identifying gender relations as part of social history and
including it in our observations and research on the production of knowledge in the
field of agricultural science, it is possible to make advancements in the
de/reconstruction of agricultural science that has been increasingly called for in
recent years. At the same time, new impulses arise for the process of “gender
mainstreaming” in the organic-agriculture institutions. This has been demanded with
respect to all of the social sectors during recent years. This would not only broaden
the discussion on rural women and gender research, but also contribute to a concept
of a sociology of organic agriculture that has still to be developed.
Literature:
European Commission (ed) (2000) Science Policies in the European Union.
Promoting Excellence through Mainstreaming Gender Equality. Brussels
Heinze, Hans (1959) Aus den Anfangsjahren des Forschungslaboratoriums am
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Lebendige Erde, Darmstadt
Inhetveen, Heide/Schmitt, Mathilde (Hg.) (2000) Pionierinnen des Landbaus.
Uetersen: Heydorn
Koepf, Herbert H./Plato, Bodo von (2001) Die biologisch-dynamische
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Kloppenburg, Jack, Jr. (1991) Social Theory and the De/Reconstruction of
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und Landbau
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