Biodynamics

What I choose to Buy at the Co-op.... and Why

A series of monthly articles from members of the HWFC Nutrition committee

by Louise Frazier

Whenever Biodynamic fruits, vegetables, grains and food products are available, I buy them. My partner Wolfgang Rohrs and I are delighted that the Co-op now carries some Biodynamic foods as well as beauty aids. Ever since we opened our restaurant in Cologne, Germany in the 1980s, we have been engaged in this association of farmers and consumers supporting local and regional nature-reliant farms. Indeed my book, Louise’s Leaves: A Cook’s Journal Around The Calendar With Local Garden Vegetable Produce, comes out of our experiences beginning with the restaurant where our menu was based on produce delivered to our door by area Biodynamic and organic farms and then, later, living on the original CSA Biodynamic farm in Housatonic (Mass.). There, I was asked by the farmer to write a leaf each week to familiarize members with the many ways to use the various vegetables in their weekly share. Biodynamic agriculture is the oldest non-chemical farming method in the western world.

Today, it has become a worldwide movement of farmers who produce high-quality, nutritious and vital foods with equal care for the natural world and the local community — its people and its economy. The Biodynamic farming method was initiated in 1924 by Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925), an Austrian philosopher, teacher and spiritual leader, when he gave a course presenting the principles of what has come to be called “bio-dynamic” farming — BD farming for short. It was in response to concerns of a group of farmers who observed on their farms a decline in crop quality, decrease in seed viability, loss in soil fertility and pest problems — as well as a group of veterinarians concerned about increasing animal diseases. Medical doctors and other scientists noticing a decline in human health were among those attending the course, which was held in Koberwitz, East Prussia (now Poland).

The course developed practices that could enliven the fertility of the soil and renew plant life, both having dwindled with the rise of the industrial age. To achieve this goal, the BD farmer uses eight special preparations that engage cosmic and earthly forces with Dr. Steiner’s recipes and applications. Using minute homeopathic doses, six are applied to the compost pile (composting means “to kindle life”); two are used as sprays on crops in the field to assist in adverse weather and pest invasions.

The word “bio-dynamic,” from the Greek bios (life) and dynamikos (active force), indicates that this form of farming focuses on the life forces inherent in all form-giving processes in nature. Their certification label is called “Demeter,” in recognition of the Greek goddess of the earth’s fertility. Recent 3- year studies in Europe attest to the effectiveness of Biodynamic praxis with sustainable increased crop productivity and food quality, surpassing commercial and organic methods.

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