Early Roots of the Organic Movement: A Plant Nutrition Perspective

Abstract

Lord Walter Northbourne first used the term “organic farming” in 1940 as a chapter heading in his book Look to the Land (Northbourne, 1940). That same year, coincidentally, was also the 100th anniversary of Justus von Liebig’s monograph Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology. The fundamental tenet of Liebig’s doctrine was the development of the mineral nutri- ent theory of plant nutrition. About 100 years later, the primary American proponent of organic farm- ing, J.I. Rodale, cited Liebig as the founder of the fertilizer industry (Rodale, 1945) which he prob- ably was, and the N-P-K mentality in agriculture. The basis for these remarks was that “up to that time the humus theory had been the guiding basis for agriculture” (Rodale, 1945). What exactly was the humus theory? How did it evolve? Was it a viable theory? What was the role played by the pivotal player, Liebig? This review follows the evolution of plant nutritional theories from the early use of crop rotations in China, to the devel- opment of the humus theory, and finally to the time and work of Liebig and his influence on theories of plant nutrition.