Dr. Hauschka Champions Biodynamic As Step Up From Organic
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
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Certification to biodynamic standards could represent the next rung up on the sustainability ladder for natural and organic brands looking to stand out from the competition. However, some have taken a skeptical view of the approach, which they believe lacks a scientific foundation and reflects aspects of the occult. Already enjoying traction in the natural food and beverage market, the practice is beginning to drive interest in the personal-care sector, much as organic grew out of the former industry and into the latter. Biodynamic agriculture incorporates many of the same ideals as organic production, but goes further in viewing the farm as a “whole living and self-sufficient ecosystem,” according to Mirran Raphaely, CEO of Dr. Hauschka Skin Care, who presented at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit May 13.
The concept took shape in the 1920s based on a series of lectures from Austrian scientist/philosopher Rudolf Steiner in response to farmers’ concerns about declines in crop vitality. Steiner cast farms as living organisms and advocated a closed-loop system that shuns imported materials as well as synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. According to the U.S. division of Demeter International, which was formed in 1928 to codify the principles of biodynamic agriculture and set standards for certification, “it is the biodiversity of the farm, organized so that the waste of one part of the farm becomes the energy for another, that results in an increase in the farm’s capacity for self-renewal and ultimately makes the farm sustainable.” The organization explains how a biodynamic farm can supply its own resources to maintain fertility and to minimize the impact of disease, insects and weeds. “Fertility is generated via the integration of livestock, compost and green manure, nutrient catch crops and careful crop rotation,” Demeter says. Guidelines for animal care and welfare include housing provisions, forbid the use of antibiotics and “strongly recommend” homeopathic remedies rather than vaccines. Disease and insect control “are addressed through botanical species diversity, predator habitat, balanced crop nutrition and attention to light penetration and airflow,” while biodynamic weed control “emphasizes prevention, including time of planting, mulching and identifying and avoiding the spread of invasive weed species,” the group says. Dr. Hauschka Promotes Soil/Skin Parallel In its marketing, Dr. Hauschka proposes connections between biodynamic farming and skin care that recognizes and respects “the body’s natural rhythms,” as well as between human skin and soil, or what Raphaely calls “the skin of the earth.” Skin and soil are both systems of “interconnected activity,” with “fungi, bacteria and organic matter working together,” the chief exec said. “Like the skin, when the soil is tended to with understanding, it becomes healthy and self-sufficient,” she added. The parent company of Dr. Hauschka, Wala-Heilmittel GmbH, has long been a proponent of sustainable agriculture. The company’s founder, Viennese chemist Rudolf Hauschka, met and was directly influenced by Steiner, leveraging the natural “rhythms” Steiner championed in his development of medicinal herb extracts, according to Wala’s website. The company says it purchased land in the 1950s and currently harvests more than 150 ingredients for Wala preparations via biodynamic methods on the roughly 11-acre gardens in southern Germany. While all of the firm’s international cultivation projects are organic, Wala is in the process of transitioning 90% to biodynamic agriculture, Raphaely said. Among its cultivation projects is an initiative whereby Wala buys organic shea butter from village communities in Burkina Faso and another that supplies it with rose oil from Afghanistan while providing local farmers with a sustainable cash-crop alternative to opium (Also see "Entrepreneur's Fragrance Offers Afghan Poppy Farmers Alternative Livelihood" - HBW Insight, 8 Nov, 2010.). Raphaely claims that Weleda is the only other firm in the beauty sector that “grows and processes its own botanical ingredients according to biodynamic and organic standards sustainably.” Both Wala and Weleda have operations certified to Demeter standards. Methods Include Stargazing, Cow Horn Manure Biodynamic farming isn’t for everyone. The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association refers to the “spiritual-scientific insights of Rudolf Steiner” as inspiration behind the biodynamic movement, characterizing biodynamic farming as an effort “to work actively with the health-giving forces of nature.” There was a mystical element to Steiner’s teachings, known collectively as Anthroposophy and defined by the Anthroposophy Society in America as “a source of spiritual knowledge and a practice of inner development.” Through Anthroposophy, “one seeks to penetrate the mystery of our relationship with the spiritual world by searching for answers and insights that come through a schooling of one’s inner life,” the organization says. On its website, the Demeter Biodynamic Trade Association, made up of Demeter-certified farms, vineyards, wineries and other biodynamic operations, says the farm “organism” at the basis of biodynamic farming consists not only of humans, animals, plants and minerals, but also of the “cosmic periphery.” The group cites “observance and integration of astronomical phenomenon” as a component of the biodynamic approach to farming. The U.K.-based Biodynamic Agricultural Association, which serves to promote biodynamic methods and also certifies to Demeter standards, offers a “Monthly Guide to the Stars” on its website. In her presentation, Raphaely suggested that “[just] as the effects of the moon and oceanic tides are vital to the life of a fisherman,” a biodynamic farmer studies the effects of “constellations on planting and harvesting,” because “the sun and moons and seasons are deeply understood to gain vitality.” Also unique to biodynamic farming are the “preparations” used to aid fertilization and the ritualistic methods employed to derive them. For Preparation 500, for example, a cow horn packed with manure is buried over autumn and winter months to create the humus mixture that is later sprayed on crops to stimulate root growth. Biodynamic Farming A “Hoax”? The eccentricities of biodynamic farming have generated controversy and compelled at least one organic vineyard owner to speak out, labeling the movement unnecessarily “divisive” and, in fact, a “hoax.” Food & Wine magazine called biodynamics “the next trend” in 2006, noting that “the intense attention it forces growers to pay in the vineyard can’t be anything but good.” Indeed, “in the wine world, biodynamics has really taken off,” Raphaely noted. Benziger Family Winery is a biodynamic wine producer that adopted the practice two decades ago in California’s Sonoma Mountains. The vintner champions biodynamics because “when you eliminate all the artificial crutches, you learn to trust your instincts and to trust nature’s ability and capacity to make a great wine,” Benziger says. All four of its estate’s vineyards are Demeter-certified. Mike Benzinger, cofounder and winemaker at Benzinger Family Winery, has dubbed biodynamic farming “the Rolls Royce of organic farming.” However, there are others in the wine industry whose opinions of biodynamic farming are not quite as high. Winegrower Stuart Smith has created a blog – “Biodynamics is a Hoax” – “to offer an alternative view to biodynamics and to engage the biodynamic community in debate over the merits and efficacy of biodynamic farming.” Smith maintains that sound science and biodynamic principles are mutually exclusive, and suggests that biodynamics “deserves the same level of respect the scientific community has for witchcraft, voodoo and astrology.” Moreover, by claiming that their wines, vines, soils and techniques are superior to organic operations, biodynamic advocates have managed to divide industry, “pitting winery against winery and grower against grower,” Smith says. “Historically, the wine industry has been a friendly industry; we help one another and work together to solve problems – like most farmers do. But that’s not the case with biodynamic farming: biodynamic promoters claim superiority and not so subtly put down conventional winegrowers,” he asserts. Justified or not, the biodynamic wine business “is booming,” as noted by Raphaely. “Critics say that you can taste the passion,” she said. Whether that passion translates as readily in personal care is a matter of speculation. There is emerging evidence supporting the efficacy of biodynamic techniques, according to Raphaely. She cited a “multi-decade” trial suggesting that biodynamic agriculture yields “more carbon- and nutrient-rich soil,” as well as a U.S. study showing biodynamic corn to have 18% more weight and protein than organic corn. Dr. Hauschka products include Rhythmic Night Conditioner ($89.95), which “supports the skin's natural 28-day process of renewal, restoring harmony during periods of imbalance or transition, such as times of stress, travel, the change of seasons,” according to the brand’s site. Regenerating Day Cream ($79.95) contains kalanchoe, biodynamic red clover and raspberry seed oil “to support natural skin regeneration,” the company says. In addition to facial products, Dr. Hauschka also offers bath & shower products, body care, decorative cosmetics and hair-care items. |