Quote
Dear lisa and juan,
there are many organic methods that care for the soil but Biodynamics is different in that it also supports a profoundly racist and colonialist doctrine. Don’t believe the hype around the Biodynamic ‘scientific’ trials; they have been falsified and exagerated by people who want to believe the mysticism rather than face the science.
Sincerely
Nick Nakorn
Reply
3 07 2010
lookingfortherainbow (14:14:47) :
Thanks for your comment Nick!
More than a doctrine or a hype, our experience with biodynamics is based on what we saw and lived at Gabeno, the farm we stayed at. It involves the people we worked with, the work we did and the results we saw. We are not farmers, nor scientists, and we don’t take a side in the controversy regarding Steiner’s work, so we cannot seriously discuss the scientifical nor mystical facets of biodynamics. What we did was visit a farm in Colombia that follows certain aspects of the biodynamical method and shared our experience with our readers.
Again, thanks for your comment, and please feel free to share any knowledge you have on other organic methods that take care of the soil. We love to share!
juan and lisa
Reply
3 07 2010
nicknakorn (15:06:27) : Your comment is awaiting moderation
Dear Juan and lisa,
Well, I think you should look into the racism and mysticism on humanitarian and political grounds if not on scientific grounds and take a position on these issues. Accepting institutional racism as being either ok or insignificant simply because you enjoyed your experience on a farm is hardly a credible ethical or moral position. The most scholarly work on this issue can be found here:
[
www.social-ecology.org]
and there are a bunch of other resources on my blog at:
[
nicknakorn.wordpress.com]
please do have a look at these resources as combating racism in the world is a vitally important issue. A wonderful quote from Christopher Hitchens:
“Since we left Africa, we have diverged as a species hardly at all. If we were dogs, we would all be the same breed. We do not suffer from the enormous differences that separate other primates, let alone other mammals. As if to spite this huge natural gift, and to disfigure what could be our overwhelming solidarity, we manage to find excuses for chauvinism and racism on the most minor of occasions and then to make the most of them. This is why condemnation of bigotry and superstition is not just a moral question but a matter of survival.”
full text at: [
www.slate.com]
Please do follow these up as I hate to see young enthusiastic people like yourselves sucked into situations that might be hard to leave.
best wishes
Nick
Reply
Hi Nick,
Thank you for your comment!
We understand and share your concerns regarding equality and respect amongst the many peoples that live on Earth. Moreover, we believe we are all one organism. So please rest assured that whenever we have the chance we proactively promote these values.
Regarding Steiner and Anthroposophy, thank you for sharing the links. Even though the information is interesting on an intellectual level we do not feel concerned with anthroposophy or any of its doctrines. As mentioned previously, we do not read about anthroposophy, we do not follow any type of anthroposophical teachings and we certainly do not take sides on the polemics regarding any of this. Yes, we visited a farm that follows some of the biodynamical practices (preparations and some experiments with the calendar). But that is as far as our involvement goes.
As for the racism and colonialistic behavior that is so present amongst development agencies and policies, we do acknowledge their existence and work actively to find alternatives. For now, we support local initiatives rather than worldwide policies and top-down approaches.
Finally, we would like to stress the point that we are all one big community, one big family, sharing a wonderful planet. And that by realizing this unity and focusing on it, we humans have the ability to overcome racism or any type of discrimination.
Cheers,
juan and lisa :)