198 the rice diet renewal
Biodynamic Farming Epitomizes
Healing at the RootThe Italian countryside also introduced us to farms that are certifi ed
biodynamic by Demeter International, a nonprofi t organization that
certifi es farms and produce as biodynamic for consumers. Demeter
plays an analogous role to what the USDA does to certify organic
produce for consumers. The Demeter Certifi ed Biodynamic farm-
ing method is devoted to cultivating healthy soil, and thus plants,
and incorporating techniques beyond “ planting with the moon ” to
produce the best-tasting food I have ever eaten.
In 1924, Rudolph Steiner, an Austrian scientist and philoso-
pher, gave eight lectures in response to observations from farmers
that soils were becoming depleted following the introduction of
chemical fertilizers at the turn of the century. Biodynamic agri-
culture developed out of these eight lectures given to a group of
farmers. (These lectures, as well as four supplemental lessons,
are published in the book Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of
Agriculture .) The farmers reported their concerns that in addition
to the degraded soil conditions, there was also deterioration in the
health and quality of their crops and livestock. So, biodynamic
agriculture was the fi rst ecological farming system to develop as a
grassroots alternative to chemical - based agriculture.
Biodynamic farming advocates appreciate, on a very deep
level, that soil in its natural state is alive, and this vitality sup-
ports and affects the quality and health of the plants that grow
in it. Thus, one of biodynamic farmers ’ fundamental priorities is
to build up stable humus in their soil through composting. Like
plants, we humans gain our physical strength largely from the pro-
cess of digesting the food we eat. And the more vital our food, the
more it stimulates our own activity and promotes the health we
desire. Chemical-dependent conventional agriculture has devel-
oped shortcuts to producing large quantities by adding soluble
minerals to the soil, much as the average person in the modern
world has turned to fast food for fuel. The plants take up these
chemicals via water and bypass their natural ability to seek and