The emergence of a dialogue between different knowledges on a common ground of confrontation and mutual enrichment, leaving aside preformed ideas that too often inhibit the achievement of concrete collective utility, is crucial. Biodynamic agriculture in three European case studies in Anna Airoldi’s research thesis<\/p>\n
Many inaccuracies have been written about biodynamics in the Italian media. “Pseudo-science” the most frequent criticism. Yet biodynamics, which has been around for a century and is “more organic than organic,” is a sustainable and ethical practice. Academic research, particularly in Italy, has done little in-depth study of biodynamic agriculture, and this deficit in literature has paved the way for its detractors.<\/p>\n
Scientificity, sustainability and cost-effectiveness are the three pivotal points to investigate in order to understand what it means to practice biodynamic agriculture today. We talked about this with Anna Airoldi<\/strong>, who recently discussed her field research thesis entitled Organic Is Not Enough. Biodynamic Agriculture in Three European Case Studies<\/em><\/strong> for the Sociology of the Environment discipline of the Graduate Program in Intercultural Communication at the University of Turin.<\/p>\n Can you walk us through the boundaries of your research thesis and the issues addressed?<\/strong><\/p>\n “I structured my research, which began in May 2021, following reflections about the parliamentary debate on the Italian organic law in which Senator Cattaneo proposed the amendment of biodynamics from the text of the law. I focused on three issues of strategic importance and how these are developing in three European nations, Italy, Greece and France<\/strong>. The research took about a year and a half because I wanted to try to highlight diachronic developments and not just give a static snapshot. The first theme I focused on is related to the comparison between science, pseudo-science and post-science.<\/strong> My work involved the analysis of public narratives in relation to this theme, how the concept of science is popularized through the generalist press, and its relationship to everything ascribed to the pseudo-scientific hive. The second theme dealt with sustainability in agriculture<\/strong> and in particular the concept of sustainability as a complex object, how this difficult topic is in fact interpreted and declined according to both objective and subjective directions and is, therefore, different from context to context. The third theme is a reflection on agribusiness<\/strong> in light of the concepts of food security and food sovereignty, and alternative strategies to the neoliberal global market.”<\/p>\n How was the research conducted?<\/strong><\/p>\n “The focus of my thesis was the interviews collected in the three countries to analyze the different approaches to the issues. In general, I found a reticence toward academia, the same reticence that the Academy has shown, on several occasions, toward biodynamics.<\/p>\n In Greece there is no public debate on the topic of the development of agroecology in general and biodynamics in particular, because they are still at a stage of raising public awareness about the sustainability of production and consumption.<\/p>\n In particular, I could detect a disconnect between the farming world, the world of producers, and the world of research and institutions.<\/p>\n In France I found a little less difficulty. I interviewed Jean-Michel Florin of the Mouvement de l’Agriculture Biodynamique, Martin Quantin of Biodynamie Recherche, an organization whose goal is to support and develop research in biodynamic agriculture, and Ren\u00e9 Becker, president of the Anthroposophical Society in France, a retired farmer who nonetheless still does consulting and training.<\/p>\n As a farm, I interviewed a biodynamic farmer from northern France in Brittany.<\/p>\n In Italy, however, I found it a bit more difficult. An important contribution was that of Carlo Triarico, president of the Association for Italian Biodynamic Agriculture, and that of the owner of a biodynamic farm in Lirano, Serralunga d’Alba, in the Barolo Langa, which grows vines, fruit trees, herbs and cereals.”<\/p>\n What conclusions did you come to?<\/strong><\/p>\n “In relation first issue, that concerning the relationship between science and pseudo-science<\/strong>, I found rather rigid positions among my interviewees. However, as philosopher Ted Benton argues, there cannot be such a marked caesura between the physical sciences and the social sciences, since the laboratory also participates in dynamics of social construction. Post-normal science (slang for “post-science”) is that which postulates the possibility of making use of pluralities of knowledge<\/strong>, whether scientific, traditional, local, indigenous, without excluding traditional repositories of knowledge. In short, it includes everything that can become a source of knowledge. In this day and age, leaving “pure” science in its ivory tower, detached from the living society, culture and politics, could prove to be a harmful limitation, as French scholar Bruno Latour has been suggesting since his 1998 We have never been modern.<\/p>\n Regarding the second theme, sustainability, it is interesting how the concept is declined differently in the states covered by the study. In Greece sustainability is translated with \u03b2\u03b9\u03ce\u03c3\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 which could be retranslated with the Italian term “vital,” while in France with durable, lasting. Sustainability, precisely because it is a complex object, has both objective and subjective characters, and for this reason it is valued according to the specific sensibilities of the cultures, histories and individual actors who then put it into practice. For example, an institutional definition of sustainability is that given by the 2030 Agenda.<\/p>\n Regarding the second theme, sustainability, it is interesting how the concept is declined differently in the states covered by the study. In Greece sustainability is translated with \u03b2\u03b9\u03ce\u03c3\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 which could be retranslated with the Italian term “vital,” while in France with durable, lasting. Sustainability, precisely because it is a complex object, has both objective and subjective characters, and for this reason it is valued according to the specific sensibilities of the cultures, histories and individual actors who then put it into practice. For example, an institutional definition of sustainability is that given by the 2030 Agenda.<\/p>\n Regarding the third theme, agribusiness, the thesis comes to the conclusion that alternative strategies to the neoliberal global market should aim at reducing asymmetries, seeking to pursue a more respectful and equitable model of production, distribution and consumption. This remains one of the greatest challenges of organic in general and biodynamic in particular.<\/p>\n Ultimately, my hope is that a dialogue between knowledge will emerge on a common ground of comparison and mutual enrichment, leaving aside preformed ideas that too often inhibit the achievement of concrete collective utility.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Progetto Innovazionebio finanziato dal MASAF – PQAI 01 – Prot. Uscita N.0580828 del 19\/10\/2023 CUP JB1523000560001<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The emergence of a dialogue between different knowledges on a common ground of confrontation and mutual enrichment, leaving aside preformed ideas that too often inhibit the achievement of concrete collective utility, is crucial. Biodynamic agriculture in three European case studies in Anna Airoldi’s research thesis Many inaccuracies have been written about biodynamics in the Italian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corsi"],"yoast_head":"\n