Organic Pioneer
Lady Eve Balfour (1898-1990), niece to the Prime Minister, Sir Arthur Balfour, came from aristocratic stock. From a very young age she exhibited a deep-rooted passion for farming. In 1915, at the age of 17, she became one of the first female agricultural students at the University of Reading. She was driven by a vision to co-run a farm alongside her sister, a plan which was to come to fruition a few short years after her studies were complete. At the age of 20, Lady Eve started her life’s work running a small farm in Monmouthshire for the War Agricultural Committee. Within a year she and her sister Mary had bought New Bells Farm in Suffolk which was to become the birthplace of the Soil Association.
Despite the work involved in running a farm, Lady Eve still found time to write a series of detective novels and to develop her talents as a musician. With her sister and friends, she formed a jazz band. They would play at a nearby hotel on Saturday evenings. Originally intended as a pastime, this regular slot became a useful source of extra income in subsidising the farm. Able to turn her hand to many skills, she took up flying lessons obtaining her pilot’s licence during the 1930s. Lady Eve was also a gifted horsewoman. She possessed a skill for ploughing the land and hers was a hands-on approach to farming which she continued to practice into old age.
It was not until 1938 that Lady Eve was introduced to the relationship between different agricultural practices. At the age of 40 she read Viscount Lymington’s book Famine in England. Further research introduced her to the agricultural ideas of Sir Robert McCarrison and Sir Albert Howard. Both men were involved in the relationship between health, nutrition and the quality of the soil. Their work sparked her interests in the effects of agricultural practice on human health. Based on her literary discoveries she decided to explore both organic and inorganic methods of farming and in 1939 she initiated The Haughley Experiment at New Bells Farm. Her research involved the use of humus versus artificial fertilizers.
Humus (hew-mus) n. a rich dark organic material, formed by the decay of dead leaves and plants etc. and essential to the fertility of the soil.
At this time, farming practice was undergoing some radical changes and Lady Eve’s approach was considered unfashionable. Scientific developments meant that artificial fertilizers and soil additives were being introduced on a wide scale. These changes were intended to increase the yield and size of crops. They were also aimed at reducing overall spoilage. Thorough her experiments, Lady Eve observed the difference between crops grown using artificial intervention as opposed to crops grown using the natural humus of the soil. Her discoveries were in line with the work of McCarrison and Howard. The quality of the artificially produced crops was vastly inferior to that of the produce which had been grown naturally. One of Lady Eve’s most memorable comments was that the use of such fertilisers “merely amounts to the art of making water stand upright.” In effect, forced growth does nothing for the quality of the produce. It simply creates larger, fluid-filled crops which were virtually devoid of the nutrients found in naturally grown produce.
In 1943 Lady Eve published her acclaimed title, The Living Soil. The book is a socio-political assessment of agriculture and its impact on life in the 1930s. In it Lady Eve comments on the general health of a post-war generation. She focuses on the need for an organic approach in farming as a means of improving the population’s poor physical condition. She argues that the consumption of artificially grown produce would have a detrimental impact on health, a concept which was aggressively dismissed by proponents of the new farming methods. The fact that such artificial additives may prove harmful was not a consideration for those involved. Farming was now no longer considered solely as a means of fulfilling human nutrient requirements. The new agricultural methods were proving most lucrative as the capacity for extra yield and therefore extra turnover, began to flourish.
Lady Eve’s determination to impose the importance of the organic way prompted the founding of the Soil Association in 1946. Her passion for organic living led her to travel the world where she lectured on her findings. During her travels she was able to promote the newly established Association. Her travels proved to be a success and by the winter of 1948 the Association had gathered over 2000 members and had established organisations in America, France, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The Soil Association brought together a group of like-minded individuals including farmers, scientists and nutritionists. All were united in the belief that plant, animal, human and environmental health are inextricably linked with farming practice.
From humble beginnings the Soil Association has blossomed into the influential organisation that it is today. In a world where capitalist ideals reign supreme, it is refreshing to note that the Association continues to operate on its original ethos. Its instantly recognisable symbol carries the guarantee that foods bearing it are untainted, having passed the rigorous tests necessary to attain organic status. Once considered by the establishment as a somewhat cranky organisation, the Soil Association is now heavily involved in helping formulate Government policies. It is considered the flagship of the organic movement in Britain. The success of the Association is a testament to increasing awareness from the consumer. Despite the very real threats posed by unscrupulous multinational organisations, public demand for quality produce continues to grow. Sadly, never before has the need for such strict regulation been required.
Lady Eve continued to carry out The Haughley Experiment up until 1970. Her research was later published in 1975 in a revised edition of The Living Soil, a classic work that remains the literary bedrock of organic farming. The revised edition documents the effects of modern and organic agricultural practice on botany, human nutrition, preventive medicine and human health. Its concluding chapter draws a correlation between a nation’s attitude to its soil and its social philosophy. Lady Eve suggests that adherence to a natural ecology encourages a rejection of damaging capitalistic ideals.
Shortly before her death in 1990, Lady Eve Balfour she was awarded the OBE. Such recognition acquires greater significance, given the circumstances in which they evolved. Passionate about farming, Lady Eve was successfully involved in a field pretty much dominated by men. Perhaps more controversially, her agricultural practices were considered highly radical at the time and she underwent a great degree of criticism from the establishment. However such criticism did not prevent her from steadfastly pursuing her idealistic vision. It is by way of her experimentation and dogged determination that the world of organic farming owes a huge debt to this unique individual.
Bibliography
The Living Soil – Lady Eve Balfour – Soil Association Ltd – ISBN: 190466508X
Foodwise – Wendy E. Cook – Clairview Books – ISBN: 1902636392
Published in the May 2005 edition of Coffee’N’Carrots