Join the Demeter team & Board of Directors for the Demeter US Members Assembly. Topics to be covered include:
- Meet the new Director of Certification
- Demeter Board election results
- Info about the Standards Advisory Committee
- Updates from the trade committees
The deadline to submit nominees for the Demeter Board is October 15th
Please submit to info@demeter-usa.org
Over the past year Demeter has been putting focus on refining the certification infrastructure to the highest standards of integrity. To do this we have had to make some difficult decisions in redefining the roles within the organization to achieve this mission. This means that we are taking a step back from the marketing and trade work to focus on certification & increasing the certified acreage within the U.S.
The Demeter Board of Directors decided to eliminate the Director of Business Development position. The Board & Staff would like to extend gratitude to Erin Sojourner for all of her hard work to further the Biodynamic movement and wish her the most luck in her future adventures.
Demeter has identified a pest control product called Grandevo® that is cultured on a GMO substrate that is not allowed per the Demeter Farm Standard
Section 1. H. GMO Avoidance and Protection (page 23).
The applicable Standard reads:
"Demeter will not permit use of transgenic, spliced, or engineered plant or animal products or any derivative in food, feed, or fiber production. It will be necessary to verify that farm inupts, non-certified seed and inoculants used are NON-GMO."
Discontinue use of this product immediately and update
your Crop Material Input Form by removing this product.
A lot has happened in the last two years. We lost a
long-time director and Stellar Certification Services. A new Director of
Certification was appointed but was not able to relocate. There have been administration and Board departures & staff changes. I
think everyone can agree that Demeter has faced many challenges and what has been
the gold standard of certification has suffered as a result. The Demeter Board and Team have made great strides to remedy this and put Demeter on a path of improvement for the future.
Biodynamic farming and Demeter USA have been a large part of
my personal bedrock over the years, and Demeter was struggling before my
eyes and clouded in controversy. Tempted to turn away from the unfolding chaos, I was at a loss on how to proceed, but I realized that it all meant
too much to me to turn away.
Then, my wife, Ruth Chantry, texted me that Demeter was
looking for a new Director and asked, “should you apply?” I was tending to our
farm animals at the time. For the last 23 years, I have worked with my wife for
the common good through our farm with a CSA and a wide range of community involvement.
If I applied, this would be a huge shift in my life path. Twenty-five years
ago, I read a small booklet written by Hartmut von Jeetze about Camphill
Communities where he talked about people needing to jump in order to contribute
to solutions rather than sending in criticism from the periphery. After many
spousal discussions and much introspection, I decided to offer my experience as
a Biodynamic farmer and inspector, and my history with Demeter to help heal the
fractures in our movement and bring integrity to the organization. Apparently,
the Board of Directors thought this was a good idea.
Certification work takes a high level of specialized skills
and attention to detail, and there a lot of challenging situations that come up
when applying the Demeter Biodynamic Standards to real operations. Since I
started in mid-August, I have seen that the staff at Demeter are dedicated to
upholding the integrity of Biodynamic certification and striving to assist
members with the certification process. I saw that the staff had stepped up to
cover tasks outside their job descriptions in the unexpected absence of a
Director of Certification; less than ideal conditions. The staff learned and
gained experience in the last two years that is now a great benefit to the
organization. I find that the staff has a firm understanding of the
certification process and can constructively make suggestions for improvements.
I commend their effort to take responsibility for the daily operations of
Demeter before I started.
I find the actions of the Board to be reassuring that change
is at hand – having a hiring process open to any who wanted to apply,
developing a process for new Board member elections for the first time ever,
refocusing the organization on certification. I have found the Board to be
supportive of me as I work into this position—teaching, guiding, encouraging,
arranging access to a personal mentor.
I hope that we in the Demeter community can see this experience as an opportunity. We now have the chance for renewing Demeter. My focus in the coming months and
years will be to bring stability to Demeter, develop efficient processes and
uniformly apply the Standards in a commonsense manner while maintaining the highest
level of integrity. Biodynamic is the gold standard of certification; I want us
all to be able to hold our heads high as we represent Biodynamic to the world.
I hope to meet many, if not all, of you eventually, and am excited to carry
Demeter certification work forward.
I will be at the Biodynamic conference in Lake George, NY in
November and look forward to seeing folks there. Please find me at the Demeter
table (or in a workshop) and introduce yourself if I haven’t had the
opportunity to meet you.
