An Agricultural Perspective

If you haven’t seen Food, Inc., go! It says a lot. And it speaks to what’s behind what we’re choosing.

This rambling is based on the idea that agriculture is not natural to start with. Industrial & large scale agriculture most often appears in the form of monoculture (one crop fills the cleared land). Can monoculture be a good thing? Does the story start to change when some biodiversity is part of, or is added to a one-crop farm? And what about when there’s a monoculture next to monoculture? Who and what exactly are supported by that set of dominos?

A friend shared with me an interesting way to play with some farming terms. He described conventional farming’s goal as getting the crop to the supermarket shelf as fast as possible. Then he came out with the following one word snipets to help clarify making distinctions betweent 3 types of farming used in vineyards. Chew on this:

• Conventional farming as… antibiotics
• Organic farming as… vitamins
• Biodynamic farming as… yoga

I like this a lot. Here’s what I’m thinking:

Conventional and organic farming both use lots of inputs from outside the farm to support what they do on the farm. Biodynamic farming says focus on the assets of the farm. Listen and observe the land and become aware of the assets of that particular place. As you do that, you become part of the assets of the farm, and you cultivate that. In working and developing these assets, you build the immune system of that ‘living organism’, and the need for outside inputs lessens over time. The farm becomes a self-regulating organism that works in harmony with what’s around it, as opposed to taking from it.

Does a corporation put biodiversity, soil health, and having that land (and it’s surroundings) available in a healthful way for future generations at or near the top of their priority list?

A mantra I like for buying wine is, if you’ve never heard of it, buy it! Even buy the ugly duckling label. A nice label is fun, and so are labels I can find from coast to coast in a dozen box stores, but I’d prefer the heart & soul of the farmer in the products I buy.

Another movie pops to mind that I first saw at the Ashland Independent Film Festival. A film that I told friends about for several years, and although I haven’t yet bought a copy, I’ve seen it 3 times. Two thumbs up goes to  The Real Dirt on Farmer John.

So where has this lead ConsciousWine? To an approach of looking at, and evaluating wineries based on the Principles & Practices of ConsciousWine, and looking at things from the perspective of The Sustainability Car.

Cheers to farms and farmers who work their land in a way so that it receives through its giving.