ORGANIC (Ltd) - People

Fri, 16 Apr 2004 11:00:00 GMT

Profiles of the pioneers and supporters of the organic movement. (organic.com.au/people)

Albert Howard

Sir Howard's work and writing inspired many of the early pioneers of organic agriculture. He communicated the importance of soil fertility and the inherent weakness of chemical fertilizers.

Sir Howard noted the relationship between the rise and fall of civilisations and their agricultural practices, such as the Romans, who abandoned sustainable methods.

In 1905, he began work in India, with his wife Gabrielle, as an economic botanist, where he observed the methods of cultivation adopted by the local farmers and peasants. It was here that he promoted the 'Indore Method' of composting that focused on returning nutrients to the soil and creating quality 'humus'.

Howard's book, An Agricultural Testament (1940), explains the relationship between the health of the soil, the health of plants and the health of animals.

Howard acknowledges Darwin as the founder of reformed agriculture in the West and in his introduction to the 1945 edition of Charles Darwin's The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Howard states: "Nature is the supreme farmer and gardener, and that the study of her ways will provide us with the one thing we need - sound and reliable direction."

Alexis Phitidis

Alexis is a founding member and director of ORGANIC (Ltd).

He was born in Africa and enjoyed a large part of his childhood in a nature reserve adjoining the family home.

By 1996, Alexis had obtained his Honours Bachelor of Commerce. Thereafter qualifying as a chartered accountant in South Africa and Australia in 1997 and 1998 respectively.

In 1999 he sold his home with its extensive vegetable garden and left his country of birth and furthered his corporate career in New York, later gaining first hand experience on an organic farm.

Alexis has settled in Sydney, Australia and travels on a yearly basis to Europe to fulfill director duties in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Although not a hands-on farmer, Alexis contribution is primarily through negotiating beneficial strategic initiatives for the benfit of all stakeholders in the sustainable agricultural industry.

Athena Patricios

Napoleon & Athena Patricios travelled for most of their lives between their home country in the Mediterranean and the Southern hemisphere.

Enjoying fresh produce from their own vegetable gardens and establishing signature lemon and fig trees amongst the other fruit trees at both homes

A testimony to basic qualities and virtues, they have quietly established themselves as leaders of their community.

Simple pleasures and an intuitive understanding to food, health, nutrition, love, family, friends have been their guiding principles.

They are a true legacy to the art of living.

Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin, a humble British Naturalist, brought the theory of evolution to common acceptance through his concept of "natural selection".

The often miscredited term 'survival of the fittest' was coined by Herbert Spencer and it's use was encouraged by Alfred Russel Wallace, whos theory of evolution incorporated the removal of the unfit in the process of the struggle of existence.

In the preface to The Origin of the Species, 1859, Darwin explains: "Until recently the great majority of naturalists believed that species were immutable productions, and had been separately created. This view has been ably maintained by many authors. Some few naturalists, on the other hand, have believed that species undergo modification, and that the existing forms of life are the descendants by true generation of pre-existing forms."

In Darwin's final book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, published in 1881, the year before his death, he returns to a subject first explored in his 1840 publication on the actions and importance of worms.

Darwin writes: "Worms prepare the ground in an excellent manner for the growth of... plants and for seedlings of all kinds. They periodically expose the mould to the air... They mingle the whole intimately together, like a gardener who prepares fine soil for his choicest plants. In this state it is well fitted to retain moisture and to absorb all soluble substances, as well as for the process of nitrification....The leaves which are dragged into the burrows as food ... partially digested, and saturated ... are commingled with much earth. This earth forms the dark coloured, rich humus"

Initially published for specialists, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms has gained popular appeal due it's emphasis on the significance that the cumulative effect of seemingly small things have over time.

Charles Darwin, a humble British Naturalist, brought the theory of evolution to common acceptance through his concept of "natural selection".

The often miscredited term "survival of the fittest" was coined by Herbert Spencer and it"s use was encouraged by Alfred Russel Wallace, whos theory of evolution incorporated the removal of the unfit in the process of the struggle of existence.

In Darwin"s final book, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms, published in 1881, the year before his death, he returns to a subject first explored in his 1840 publication on the actions and importance of worms.

Initially published for specialists, The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the Action of Worms has gained popular appeal due it"s emphasis on the significance that the cumulative effect of seemingly small things have over time.

Elle MacPherson

Elle has become the international image of Australian beauty and health. Effortlessly progressing from supermodel to business woman, Elle's focus is with her family as she pursues other interests such as acting.

Elle's career began at 18 years of age when she decided to leave Sydney University after one year's study in pre-law to sign up with the Click modelling agency. In the following years she amplified her success through her association with Sports Illustrated and long standing collaboration with Elle magazine.

In 1994, she left the prestigious Ford Agency to create her own business, Elle MacPherson Inc. Partnering with New Zealand's Bendon group she successfully created the Elle Macpherson Intimates range of lingerie.

Reportedly worth $40 million dollars, Elle's financial success has not effected her down to earth attitude and appreciation of life's basic enjoyments.

On February 14, 1998, her son, Arpad Flynn Busson was born in New York. Elle is based in London with her partner Arpad "Arkie" Busson, a Swiss financier. Now engaged to marry, the couple are expecting their second child due in early February.

Elle is a consumer of organic products and supports the Soil Association and the Organic Picnic. Her views are expressed in the following statement:

"I feel happy that I can feed my family food that avoids unnecessary pesticides and harmful food additives. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't yet tried organic food to give it a go. I'm sure that, like me, you'll enjoy the taste and the quality. Organic farmers in this country deserve our support so that more of our countryside can be farmed organically."

Eve Balfour

Lady Eve Balfour's ideas inspired the formation of the Soil Association in England with other farmers, scientists and nutritionists.

Eve Balfour was one of the first women to graduate at the University of Reading to with a degree in agriculture. She was later to be inspired by the work of Sir Albert Howard.

At 20 years of age she purchased the Young Bells farm in Haughley Green, Suffolk England and later farmed the neighbouring Wall Nut Tree Farm.

In 1939 she started the Haughley Experiment - the first study comparing conventional and natural farming methods. Eve funded the study with the proceeds of her magazine Mother Earth.

In 1943, she published The Living Soil, which drew together a large meeting of like minded people in the summer of 1945. This formed the roots of the Soil Association, in England, that was founded in 1946 with Lady Eve as the first president.

Hans Muller

Hans Muller & Maria Bigler pioneered an organic approach to agriculture with the German microbiologist, Hans Peter Rusch.

Hans and Maria both grew up in Switzerland on separate farms in the Emmental and married in 1914.

Hans studied to be a teacher in Hofwil near Berne. After working for a teacher for three years he began studying biology, gaining his doctorate in 1921.

With first hand experience of the difficulties farmers where facing during the industrial revolution and influenced by the charitable example of his mother, who had 7 children of her own and also raised an additional 14 orphans, Hans founded the Swiss Association for Abstinent Farmers and in 1926 initiated week long courses in adult education.

In 1946, the M?llers, together with like minded people, founded the Co-Operative for Cultivation and Utilization which still exists today as well as the journal Culture and Politics.

The M?llers worked closely with Hans Peter Rusch to develop a natural and sustainable approach to farming. A long friendship prevailed and all parties contributed to the field and also participated at the M?schberg. Hans M?ller continued giving courses there for farmers until he died.

Hans Peter Rusch

Hans Peter Rusch developed a test to determine the level of soil fertility. He collaborated with Hans Muller and his wife Maria Muller to pioneer organic agriculture in Switzerland and the Germanic speaking countries.

Hans was born in East Prussia and enjoyed his childhood there. He studied medicine in Gieseen and from 1932 practiced gynecology at the university clinic. Once he had qualified as a university lecturer he was appointed as a lecturer in gynecology and obstetrics. However before he could take up his teaching appointment he was ordered to Sicily to serve as a military medical officer.

After the war, Rusch found a position as a doctor at the cancer clinic in Lehrbach and the bacteriologist A.Becker, he researched the function of bacteria with the aim of developing new medicines. In the process, Rusch made discoveries which he published in an article in the 1950 medical journal entitled: The Cycle of Bacteria as Life Principle.

In the article, Hans Muller found the basis for the scientific approach to natural farming. Muller sought out Rusch, and when Rusch was given notice by the clinic, Muller urged him to found a laboratory, for which a friendly pharmacist in Herbon made a garage available. Over the years, a significant medical institute evolved from it.

In this laboratory, Rusch investigated the microbial condition of the soil a developed a test which was named after him which allowed farmers and gardeners to test soil fertility.

At the same time Rusch acted as scientific adviser to the Swiss Co-Operative for cultivation, gave courses on the Moschberg and explained the scientific principles of organic agriculture in lectures and regular contributions to Culture and Politics.

Text: Organic & Wholefoods (Culinaria) Konemann

Henry Doubleday

Jamie Oliver

"I was born in May 1975 and straight into the business, really. My dad runs a lovely pub-restaurant, The Cricketers, in Clavering, Essex, where I grew up. As soon as I was old enough to peer over the worktops, I remember being fascinated by what went on in the kitchen. It just seemed such a cool place, everyone working together to make this lovely stuff and having a laugh doing it."

Jamie grew up surrounded by good food: his parents ran the Cricketers pub in Essex and, from the age of eight, he started cooking and helping the chefs.

The use of quality fresh produce at the pub gave Jamie a love of good ingredients. After an undistinguished school career, he decided he wanted to cook for a living and went on to study at Westminster Catering College. It was around this time that he met Jools and they started dating. After college, he travelled to France to learn more about his trade.

Jamie's apprenticeship to restaurant cooking came under some of the best chefs in London. To begin with, there was Antonio Carluccio at the Neal Street Restaurant, then he moved on to the River Caf? under Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers. The Italian influence on his cooking is strong, with its use of herbs and simple, full-flavoured recipes. It was while he was working at the River Caf? that he was spotted by a TV producer and his life changed.

The first series featuring Jamie cooking was the Naked Chef. Viewers were treated to a glimpse into his world, zipping about London on a scooter and hosting parties for all of his friends, all to a rock'n'roll soundtrack. The food was reassuringly hearty, but not too fiddly, and Jamie always seemed to have his hands full of fresh herbs and olive oil. It was an overnight success, attracting an audience that wouldn't normally watch food programmes. The book that accompanied the series became a bestseller and the young chef, always fully clothed, was catapulted into the limelight.

Fast on the heels of the first series came the Return of the Naked Chef. Again, it was packed full of the same stylish food and London partygoers, but we also saw more of Jamie's domestic side, at home with girlfriend Jools and cooking on a smaller scale. The second time around, viewers loved the show and the book, forcing Jamie into a whirlwind schedule of travelling around the world to promote the Naked Chef.

After taking some time off to marry Jools, Jamie worked on his third series, Happy Days with the Naked Chef. The series and book had a slightly different feel as Jamie had taken into account what viewers wanted. There were different moods and ideas in the last outing, but the cheeky grin and wisecracks were still there.

In 2002, Jamie embarked on his most ambitious project yet. He took 15 under-privileged youngsters who had never been anywhere near a restaurant kitchen and turned (most of) them into professional chefs to work under him at his new restaurant Fifteen in London. The restaurant and its accompanying TV series have both been huge successes. Jamie now plans to repeat the formula elsewhere in the UK and in Sydney and New York.

Before leaving to set up Fifteen, Jamie was consultant chef at Monte's in Knightsbridge, working with his close friend Ben O'Donoghue, star of BBC Two's The Best. He has written for The Times, as well as for GQ and Marie Claire magazines. He currently writes for Delicious magazine in the UK and Australia.

Jamie also started, and continues to be involved with, the charity Cheeky Chops, which provides training and mentoring for disadvantaged young people - allowing them to follow their dreams and become chefs.

He has recently been credited with getting the Government to increase funding for school meals. He has raised awareness of nutrition through his "Jamie's School Dinners" series and "Feed Me Better" campaign.

Jamie lives in London with his wife, Jools and their daughters, Poppy and Daisy.

Biography Courtesy: BBC

Jean Boucher

The collaboration between Jean Boucher and his fellow countryman Raoul Lemaire popularised the Lemair-Boucher method of natural farming in France.

Jean Boucher specialised in soil life in 1936 during his studies in Versailles. He was later appointed as the chief of Department for Plant Protection in Loire-Atlantique and Vendee. Here he objected to the officially recognised methods of pest control and despite their use, increasingly attacked them.

In the early 1950's Jean Boucher made humus the focus of his scientific investigations. He concluded that the humus created on farms and nurseries was of poor quality and thus studied methods by which it could be improved. He used the principles of Albert Howard as a starting point.

Jean Boucher personally stood up for methods of agriculture that did not use toxins nor artificial fertilisers.

Text: Organic & Wholefoods (Culinaria) Konemann

Jerome Irving Rodale

Having a lifelong interest in health and wellbeing and through his success as a publisher, J.I. Rodale's message popularised the organic movement in America.

During the depression, the Rodale family moved their manufacturing business from New York City to Pennsylvania. Here, the opportunity arose to establish the Rodale Press.

During World War II, the shortage of nitrogen exposed the nutrient poverty of the nation's soil. In 1940, J.I. Rodale and his wife Anna purchased a 60-acre farm. The primary goal was to develop and demonstrate practical methods of rebuilding natural soil fertility.

By 1942, he published the magazine Organic Gardening. Thereafter, in 1950, Prevention was published to encourage people to avoid illness by being proactive and using preventative measures to lead a healthy life.

Lawrence Hills

Lawrence Hills was the driving force behind The Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA), which began in 1954.

As an horticulturalist he had a keen interest in organic growing, but he earned his living as a freelance journalist writing for The Observer, Punch and The Countryman.

Whilst researching a book called Russian Comfrey,he discovered that the plant grown widely in Britain today was introduced in the nineteenth century by a smallholder named Henry Doubleday.

When Doubleday came across comfrey he was so intrigued by its possibilities as a useful crop that he devoted the rest of his life to popularising it. Hills took up his crusade and before long requests were coming from far and wide for plants and additional information.

Eventually Hills was able to raise ?300 to rent an acre of land at Bocking, near Braintree in Essex, and he began to experiment with comfrey. By 1958 the enterprise had reached a point where it had to become official or be dropped altogether So he decided to set up a charitable research association to study the uses of comfrey and - more significantly - to improve ways of growing plants organically. He named the association after his pioneering Victorian mentor, Henry Doubleday

For ten years, Lawrence Hills received no pay whatsoever, funding the work from his Observer articles. The Association grew slowly through the '60s, and by the end of the decade had a loyal band of around 17,000 members.

In December 1986, Lawrence Hills, who had charted the course of HDRA for more than thirty years, stepped down as Director and became its President.

Article Source: Henry Doubleday Research Association

Lord Northbourne

The first use of the term organic in the agricultural sense was by Lord Northbourne in his 1940 work Look to the Land.

"The best can only spring from that kind of biological completeness which has been called wholeness. If it is to be attained, the farm itself must have a biological completeness; it must be a living entity, it must be a unit which has within itself a balance organic life. Every branch of work is interlocked with all others. The cycle of conversion of vegetable products through the animal into manure and back to vegetables is of great complexity, and highly sensitive, especially over long periods, to any disturbance of its proper balance. The penalty for failure to maintain this balance, is in the long run, a progressive impoverishment of the soil. Real fertility can only be built up gradually under a system appropriate to the conditions of each particular farm, and by adherence to the essentials of that system, whatever they may be in each case, over long periods."

Maria Bigler

Hans Muller & Maria Bigler pioneered an organic approach to agriculture with the German microbiologist, Hans Peter Rusch.

Hans and Maria both grew up in Switzerland on separate farms in the Emmental and married in 1914.

Maria received her education at the School of Horticulture and Home Management. After giving birth to a son, Maria made an intensive study of literature concerning diet, health and agriculture. From 1933 onwards, she passed on this knowledge in a small home management school.

From the 1940's onwards, reading through the night, Maria researched organic literature and discussed the contents with her husband. She tried out the knowledge she had obtained in her own garden and on the M?schberg. Just before she died, Maria's work, "Practical Instructions for Organic Horticulture was published", culminating a lifetime of experiences and knowledge.

In 1946, the M?llers, together with like minded people, founded the Co-Operative for Cultivation and Utilization which still exists today as well as the journal "Culture and Politics".

The M?llers worked closely with Hans Peter Rusch to develop a natural and sustainable approach to farming. A long friendship and prevailed and all parties contributed to the field and also participated at the M?schberg.

Maria Yiakoulis

Maria is a director of ORGANIC (Ltd).

Born in Sydney, Australia, she comes from a lineage of agriculturists and olive growers. Maria studied archaeology at Macquarie University where she developed and furthered her knowledge in ancient agricultural methods.

Maria contributes to the awareness of the organic industry through her high public profile.

Masanobu Fukuoka

Masanobu Fukuoka received the Magsaysay prize for his world-wide contribution to the well-being of mankind in 1988. In the last 20 years he applied his method with the greening of desert areas. In Thailand, the Philippines, India and Africa he transformed smaller devastated areas into varied and green landscapes. The first larger-scale experiment took place in March 1998 in Greece.

"The power of Nature is great, because the natural structure is solid, three dimensional, not horizontal or two dimensional. Some of my mountain peach trees have kiwis climbing on them, and above the kiwi vines, there is a kind of melon. So three kinds of fruit exist together at different heights. I get one or two kilograms of fruit from one square meter of ground. This is a good sustainable yield. Natural production is greater than man-made production, because the structure is solid.

Humans are destroying the power of Nature. We have only one fourth of the growing power of Nature left. We are not increasing fertility or production, but rather trying to prevent production from failing by using fertilizers. The world is digging itself into a bottomless pit with modern agriculture. The simple hearth of the small farm is the true center of our universe. Scientific thought is leading you away from a healthy life. Even the practice of conventional organic agriculture is a dangerous digression. It cannot be sustained if you have to rob part of the earth to feed another."

"Most farmers begin by asking, what if I do this or what if I do that, but only dissipate themselves that way. My approach just the opposite, seek the pleasant, natural way of farming. In order to make the work easier, not harder, I ask, how about not doing this or how about not doing that? By actual practice I finally reached conclusion there is no need to plow, no need to apply artificial fertilizer, no need to use pesticides at all. Most of the work of farming is created by tampering with nature, which causes negative side effects. Very few agricultural practices are even necessary, just scattering seed, spreading straw on the soil and harvesting."

Napoleon Patricios

Napoleon & Athena Patricios travelled for most of their lives between their home country in the Mediterranean and the Southern hemisphere.

Enjoying fresh produce from their own vegetable gardens and establishing signature lemon and fig trees amongst the other fruit trees at both homes

A testimony to basic qualities and virtues, they have quietly established themselves as leaders of their community.

Simple pleasures and an intuitive understanding to food, health, nutrition, love, family, friends have been their guiding principles.

They are a true legacy to the art of living.

Patrick Holden

Patrick Holden, director of the Soil Association since 1995, has been involved in the organic movement for 28 years, initially as a full time organic farmer (1973-1988) and for the last 14 years working for the Soil Association.

Aged 51, he retains his farming interest as a partner on a 230 acre mixed organic farm in west Wales which produces milk from 60 Ayrshire cows and grows carrots.

He was a member of the United Kingdom Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) Board (1987-1999) and has international experience of organic standards as chair of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM) Accreditation Committee (1988-1992).

He is a regular broadcaster, speaker and writer on organic food and farming issues and is a member of the Countryside Agency?s ?Eat the View? National Advisory Panel.

Man of the Soil

Patrick Holden, part-time farmer and director of the Soil Association, explains to Catey Hillier of Waitrose, why going organic made sense for him. Portrait by Toby Glanville.

Sitting behind his battered wooden desk in the Soil Association's Bristol offices, Patrick Holden is wearing brown leather brogues. They speak of a brisk walk in the country. In contrast to his rather serious tweed suit, he wears a 'themed' tie, speckled with baby carrots (organic, of course) and a white rabbit - more the sort of item worn by city traders.

Women's magazines declare you can tell a man by his choice of tie and shoes. This unlikely analysis slots him into the Country Man About Town category, which is, in fact, a pretty accurate description of a man who has his roots in the soil, yet was born in London. Twenty-six years of organic farming account for his links with the country and go some way to explaining his deep understanding of the complex social and economic issues affecting food producers today. And, his part-country, part-townie existence has provided perfect training for his role as director of the Soil Association, the charity which campaigns for sustainable organic farming and responsible forestry.

"My very urban childhood was spent looking out onto the countryside, yearning to make contact with it. Then, in the 60s, my family bought a house on the Isle of Skye. I started to love wild places. I was always fond of animals, and had pets upon pets: frogs, newts, red budgerigars. Every time we moved house, we got a new garden and I'd dig a new pond.

"It was my desire to connect with the countryside that attracted me to farming. The first chapter of my career started in 1973, when I became a farmer in west Wales, literally milking cows. Why Wales? Cheap land and it's very beautiful. It is Britain's California.

"We couldn't find a local market for our organically grown vegetables, so I used to load up my Citro?n Dyane and drive to London once a week to deliver to Cranks and wholefood shops. Our organic wheat was ground by a friend who owned a mill. We'd sell it to a wholefood shop in Aberystwyth. It's amazing to think there were so few outlets for organic foods then.

"When I joined the Soil Association full-time in 1988 - chapter two of my life - my involvement in the farm had to become more marginal. I do go back there every second weekend though, and I still assist in the managing and planning. It keeps my feet on the ground. Practical farming experience allows me to speak with authority on a subject which, up until recently, was viewed with suspicion."

There's no questioning Holden's knowledge of "kinder farming systems", and his belief that organic agriculture - no pesticides, no herbicides, no routine use of antibiotics, and no genetically modified "anything" - makes for better quality foods. His commitment to organically produced food and its environmental, health and rural benefits is unquestionable: he has been shouting about the pluses of organic food and farming for decades. And, the fact that organic food and drink is so widely available in Britain today is in no small part due to his vision and drive. He humbly puts it down to BSE, E-coli and the rash of recent food scares.

"I always thought there would be a significant change, that organic food would one day come of age, but I never imagined it would be quite this sudden. BSE was the single event that made everyone think about the food we eat and where it comes from, in a way they've never done before. Now we've all got PhDs in BSE after reading acres of print devoted to it, but how much has been written about finding a solution?

"The Soil Association has created an informed body of opinion. We told a story and made the issues accessible to the public through campaigns for everything such as better food-labelling and sustainable forestry, and against genetically modified food. We also opened demonstration farms for visitors to see organic farming in action. Conventional farming has lost its way. As a result, we've now got one of the strongest markets in Europe for organic food and drink. Unfortunately, we've also got a tiny production base." He's referring to the fact that up to two-thirds of organically grown produce is imported and goes on to explain what he believes needs to be done to underpin British organic farming.

"Farmers respond to economic signals, and so far the signals coming from MAFF about organic farming have been unclear. Farmers, being a canny lot, think they might get a bit of support during the two-year conversion period. Fine. But suppose a lot of farmers convert, and premiums go down because the market is oversupplied? They need signs of long-term confidence before they will commit.

"The food minister acknowledged his interest in organic farming at the Cirencester Soil Association conference earlier this year, but now he needs to put his money where his mouth is. But it's not up to him, it's up to Tony Blair. Blair's wife has realised the benefits of organic food, but I'm not sure he has yet."

An account of how the PM acknowledged his lack of understanding of the subject clearly amuses Patrick. "At one of those prime-minister-meets-the-people sessions, I stood there with my hand up like a schoolboy and asked why, when there is so much interest in our food policy post-BSE, the Government is not doing more to support organic farming. The meeting happened to be in Wales, so I quoted a few statistics. The level of support for Wales is pitiful. There was a pause and Blair said he wasn't going to answer my question because he didn't know enough about it, so he'd write to me. An honest answer. But I got a letter from a middle-ranking civil servant. I'd heard it all before.

"I hope Blair will see me to talk about the strength of public interest in organic food and farming sometime soon. Does he realise there are votes in it? Food quality and safety are inextricably linked to environmental sustainability and most people's lives are touched by that. After all, we all eat three times a day and the public are increasingly realising the connection between food and health - that's what the Soil Association is all about."

Patrick predicts that the organic sector will grow by a further 30 per cent in the next decade. "That's a far cry from my days doing the 500-mile round-trip in my Citro?n to the Big Smoke to seek out shops to sell my organic food. Now even the Prince of Wales is one of our patrons."

Philip Jones Griffiths

Philip Jones Griffiths was born in Rhuddlan, Wales in 1936. While studying pharmacy in Liverpool he became a part-time photographer for The Manchester Guardian, and later joined The Observer newspaper. He covered the Algerian war in 1962, and since then has covered most of the major conflicts throughout the world.

His epic book, Vietnam, Inc. published in 1971 is recognised as pivotal in changing US attitudes to the war. Agent Orange - Collateral Damage in Viet Nam, is in some ways, his epilogue to that great work. His returning to Viet Nam to document the effects of Agent Orange on the people, reflects not only his commitment to a valid, if cataclysmic, explanation of war, but also to the people of Viet Nam. He lives in New York.

Prince Charles

Eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, christened Charles Philip Arthur George.

Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Knight of the Garter, Knight of the Thistle. In the Scottish Peerage, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick and Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.

As Duke of Cornwall, he is chairman of The Prince's Council, the supervisory body of the Duchy of Cornwall, which owns about 128,000 acres (51,270 hectares) of land and property in twenty two counties.

The Prince takes a close interest in the estates and farms at Balmoral, Scotland, and Sandringham in Norfolk, although management is in the hands of The Duke of Edinburgh.

In 1990, the Prince created Duchy Originals, (one of the UK?s leading brands of organic food and drink), because of his belief in the clear advantages of organic farming: the production of natural and healthy foods and sound husbandry which helps to regenerate and protect the countryside.

All of the profits from Duchy Originals are donated to The Prince of Wales?s Charitable Foundation.

Rachel Carson

Writer, scientist, and ecologist, Rachel Carson, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. Her mother bequeathed to her a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.

Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

Disturbed by the prolific use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson warned the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.

Rachel's work initiated the ban of the DDT pesticide.

Raoul Lemaire

Raul Lemaire's acquaintance with Jean Boucher, a specialist on the subject of humus, led to the Lemaire-Boucher method of natural farming that became popular in France.

Raoul Lemaire was already working in the wine and grain trade at age 14. In a few years he had become the largest wine and grain trader in the Somme, his native region of France.

In 1931 Lemaire founded the first business selling natural products in Paris. Bakers could obtain stone ground flour from Soci?t? Lemaire and bake Pain Lemaire according to his company recipe. Today it is available in thousands of bakeries and foodstores.

Lemaire had been studying the problem of using fertilizers since 1924. He approved of natural fertilizers and later experimented with magnesium fertilizers. In 1959 he discovered the advantages of calcified seaweed which contains calcium carbonate and magnesium.

Renate Kunast

Renate is a strong supporter of sustainable agriculture and is now using her position as Federal German Agricultural Minister to pursue that aim.

Renate Kunast was born in Recklinghausen in North-Rhine/Westphalia on 15 December 1955. She studied social work at the polytechnic college of Dusseldorf. From 1977 to 1979 she worked as a social worker in the penal institution of Berlin-Tegel, taking care of drug addicts in particular. She subsequently studied law, completing her studies with the second state examination in 1985.

She joined the Alternative List of West Berlin in 1979 and has assumed various functions for the Party since then. She acted as parliamentary group chairwoman during the Red/Green Coalition in Berlin.

After the end of the Red/Green senate coalition, Kunast continued to serve as a Member of Parliament in the parliamentary group of the Alliance 90/the Greens, first as a chairwoman until 1993 and then as a legal policy spokeswoman.

On 24 June 2000 Renate Kunast was elected chairwoman of the federal party executive of the Alliance 90 / The Greens and has been Federal Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture since 12 January 2001.

She has used the once low-profile job of Agriculture Minister to become one of the nation's most popular politicians. In one recent poll, the she ranked behind only Chancellor Gerhard Schroder and Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer

Selman Waksman

Selman Abraham Waksman was born of Jewish descent in Novaya Priluka in the Ukraine. He immigrated to New Jersey, America at 22 years of age.

In 1915, he graduated at Rutgers University with a degree in Agriculture, later expanding the curriculum, embracing the study of bacteria, actinomycetes, protozoa, and fungi. In 1918, he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California.

Waksman expanded the scientific field of soil microbiology publishing over 28 books, including "Principles of Soil Microbiology" (1927), "The Soil and the Microbe" (1931) and "Humus" (1936).

He travelled widely in the 1920's and 1930's and carried out systematic studies of composts throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

In 1952, Waksman obtained the Nobel Prize for medicine and is respected for his contribution to the science of microbiology.

Vandana Shiva

Vandana Shiva, physicist, philosopher and activist, was born in the city of Dehradun, located at the bottom of the Himalayas. She is known as an eloquent speaker and provocative writer that fights for people's rights. She holds a master's degree in particle physics and in 1978 completed her Ph.D. in the philosophy of science.

Dr. Shiva founded the Navdanya system of agriculture that conserves agricultural diversity. It places the farmer at the center of conservation and empowers him or her to take control over the political, ecological and economic aspects of agriculture.

Born to a father who was the conservator of Forests and a farmer mother with a deep love for nature, Vandana Shiva received her first lessons on environment protection in the lap of Himalayas. A student of St Mary?s School in Nainital and later of Convent of Jesus and Mary, Dehradun, Vandana Shiva had always aspired to be a scientist since childhood. But particle physics soon raised questions in her mind regarding its Impact on Life and the environment. And thus began Vandana Shiva?s passionate affair with the environment.

Dr. Vandana Shiva is trained as a Physicist and did her Ph.D. on the subject ?Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory? from the University of Western Ontario. She later shifted to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore.

In 1982, she founded an independent institute, the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehra Dun dedicated to high quality and independent research to address the most significant ecological and social issues of our times, in close partnership with local communities and social movements. In 1991, she founded Navdanya, a national movement to protect the diversity and integrity of living resources, especially native seeds.

Dr. Shiva has contributed in fundamental ways to changing the practice and paradigms of agriculture and food. Her books, ?The Violence of Green Revolution? and ?Monocultures of the Mind? have become basic challenges to the dominant paradigm of non-sustainable, reductionist Green Revolution Agriculture.

Demystifying GATT, working with farmers to explain TRIPS and the Agreement of Agriculture are other dimensions of her work on Agriculture and Food Security.

The area of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Biodiversity is another area where Dr. Shiva has contributed intellectually and through campaigns.

The ?Neem Campaign? and ?Basmati Campaign? are other examples of her leadership in IPR and Biopiracy issues. Besides her activism, she also serves on expert groups of government on IPR legislation.

Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering are another dimension of Dr. Shiva?s campaigning internationally. She has helped movements in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Ireland, Switzerland and Austria with their campaigns against genetic engineering.

Dr. Shiva?s contributions to gender issues are nationally and internationally recognised. Her book, ?Staying Alive? dramatically shifted he perception of third World women. In 1990 she wrote a report for the FAO on Women and Agriculture entitled, ?Most Farmers in India are Women?. She founded the gender unit at the International Centre for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu.

More recently, she has initiated an international movement of women working of food, agriculture, patents and biotechnology called, Diverse Women for Diversity. The movement was launched formally in Bratislava, Slovakia on 1-2 May 1998.

Dr. Shiva has been a visiting professor and lectured at the Universities of Oslo, Norway, Schumacher College, U.K. Mt. Holyoke college, U.S. and lectures at York University, Canada, University of Lulea, Sweden, University of Victoria, Canada, and Organisations and Institutions worldwide on environment, feminism and economic development. She has also founded Bija Vidyapeeth, the Schumacher College in India.

Besides her academic and research contributions, Dr. Shiva has also served as an adviser to governments in India and abroad as well as NGOs such as the International Forum on Globalisation, Women?s Environment and Development Organisation and Third World Netwok.