Food Rules #30: Eat Well-Grown Food from Healthy Soil

Sure, organic soil is healthier than soils that have been treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides & the like. So eating organic local foods should be all that much better for you, right?

This Rule reminds me of Biodynamic farming. Biodynamics was essentially created in the late 1920s by Rudolf Steiner, who was approached by some farmers that expressed their frustration with how their crops were yielding less year after year, even with the invention & availability of modern fertilizers & other soil treatments. Steiner concluded that the ecosystems within these farms were out of balance by the introduction of these 'foreign' elements into the areas. Biodynamic practices help create a healthy ecosystem without the introduction of chemicals. Compost from animals living within the system, integrated pest management and several other practices help keep the soil healthy and maintain a balanced cycle that keeps the lifeforces flowing and alleviates the need for chemicals.

Now, biodynamics is becoming more and more common with winemaking, which is essentially agriculture, but we don't see it too often with farming of other crops. Angelic Organics in Caledonia, IL uses biodynamic practices and they've got some of the best produce I've tasted. It all goes back to the soil and the care that is put in in the fields (much like wine i.e. grapes).

If anyone knows of other biodynamic farms in the midwest, I'd love to learn about them. Also, I would encourage anyone to take a class or seminar or read a book on biodynamics. Nicolas Joly, the French winemaker from the Loire Valley, has written some books on biodynamics; Tyler Colman, aka Dr. Vino, is based in NYC but occasionally teaches a 1/2 day class on biodynamics at the University of Chicago that is very informative and his teaching style is very approachable.

We carry a number of biodynamic wines at the shops that I encourage people to try if they are interested in tasting more of these wines and/or supporting methods that are kind to our soils!