Comments on: Biodynamics: The DooDoo VooDoo Yoga Effect

By: David Vergari

David Vergari — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:12:58 +0000

It’s plausible that burying a cow’s horn in one’s vineyard will channel cosmic forces…as long as the cow jumped over the moon first.

By: Jeff V.

Jeff V. — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 15:52:55 +0000

I’m often puzzled by the ‘scientific’ argument. As if nothing works if it is not scientifically proven. It is extremely shortsighted to believe that ‘science’ is a safety net. There is a long list of agri-chemicals that were at one time deemed “safe” (i.e. proven?) to use on plants, to then find out that “ooops, we were wrong” please stop using DDT. Didn’t they give Dr. Muller the Nobel Prize in Medicine (the science and art of healing) back in the 1940′s? And what kind of environmental damage have these agri-chemicals done? There are also more conflicting reports about the long term effects of Glyphosate based herbicides/pesticides. Wait a minute, didn’t scientists ‘prove’ they were safe? Gee, thanks science!

Have there been any recalls based on crops grown biodynamically? Can anyone tell me which of the Biodynamic preperations that are harmful? Has spraying compost teas killed any human, insect, or animal?

Many of the agricultural practices contained within Biodynamics are centuries old. They pre-date Steiner in fact. Planting, pruning, sowing, harvesting based on lunar/celestial movements is nothing new. Pick up a Old Farmers Almanac….or read up on how Benjamin Franklin farmed.

It’s always best to keep in mind how unique farming is. Each farmer makes personal choices that have a direct result on their livelihoods.

As for “blind tasting”, there was a study done back in 2004:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/08/23/379392/index.htm

What’s simple is that everyone can do this. Buy a Biodynamically grown/made wine, buy a comparable conventional wine, taste them blind, make up your own mind. Try the same thing with biodynamically grown tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, eggs….try them with their mass produced counterparts….see which tastes better to you.

By: Allan Sapp

Allan Sapp — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 02:24:45 +0000

I was pretty much a skeptic until I spent some time talking to Steve McIntyre.

http://www.mcintyrevineyards.com/home#!__home/about-us/vstc2=case-study-1

By: RobLL

RobLL — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 02:19:45 +0000

Robin Goldstein in Wine Trials, and Nathan Myrvold in Modernist Cuisine, both suggest rigorous blind testing. Which is something few if any wine critics do. I suspect that no practitioners of biodynamic wines would consent to participate in true blind tasting. It would be a little difficult, and perhaps expensive. As the evidence piles in I am increasingly persuaded that there is a real difference between OK wines and good wines. Between good wines and the very best wines? It greatly helps if you can see the label and know the price! The implications of that? Obvious.

By: Julie Johnson

Julie Johnson — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:01:05 +0000

While I haven’t yet read the book the yoga analogy seems apt for farmers who actively embrace the natural exuberance of their land (clearly we’re not talking about managers who nurse their trucker tans). One almost has to enter into a spiritual communion to make a farm really prosper –a regular commitment to a “practice”. There are clearly both physiological and psychological benefits to glean (farming endorphins?)

My preference is to look at the subject as a spectrum from conventional to biodynamic. You do what you can. I haven’t met a grower yet who’s not looking at “best practices” —wherever they are on that spectrum. At the same time I’m not willing to confine myself to Steiner’s proscriptions just to garner a moniker. I raise sheep and guineas but not cows so why would my prep be more ‘certifiable’ if I used mail-order cow horns and cow manure from a farm in another part of the county (where the cows hadn’t spent a good part of the year munching on my own cover crop)? It’s just fortunate for the whole planet that more people are coming around to the idea that wiser, more ecologically sensitive, integrated, diverse farming is the way to go. For some, economics (think of it as good muscle tone) will continue to be the main driver–for those who dig down a little deeper I do believe that their motivation will continue to be bolstered by something much more powerful.