Skeptopia

O.k. I’m going to take a deep breath and try not to flip out about this.

I was looking through some of my favorite Aussie blogs on sustainable living and the simple life today, and having a nice leisurely time about it. You see, I’ve taken refuge in the Aussie blogs because every time I look through similar American blogs, I find out that many people living the simple life in America are either hippies or the kind of people who homeschool their children in order to teach them bad science.

My little bubble of secularism and reason was rudely popped when I saw a link on an otherwise lovely blog for this: Biodynamic Agriculture Australia.

Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with biodynamics, it may sound as reasonable as organic farming. I personally have no real problem with organic farming, per se. It’s an ideal farming method for small farmers as it does not require the use of chemicals manufactured in labs by chemical companies. <mini-rant>There is not, however and evidence that organic vegetables or products are any healthier, tastier or better than non-organically farmed ones. It also does not guarantee that the product is any more ethically produced nor does it necessarily mean (anymore) that the product was made by a small farmer or independent company. The word “organic” has become a marketing tool that makes people buy things that are more expensive. </mini-rant>

Biodynamics, however, is just plain silly. It is a combination of astrology and homeopathy applied to agriculture. It was made up by a guy in 1924 and, well, look for yourself:

Field preparations, for stimulating humus formation:

• 500: (horn-manure) a humus mixture prepared by filling the horn of a cow with cow manure and burying it in the ground (40–60 cm below the surface) in the autumn. It is left to decompose during the winter and recovered for use the following spring.
• 501: Crushed powdered quartz prepared by stuffing it into a horn of a cow and buried into the ground in spring and taken out in autumn. It can be mixed with 500 but usually prepared on its own (mixture of 1 tablespoon of quartz powder to 250 liters of water) The mixture is sprayed under very low pressure over the crop during the wet season to prevent fungal diseases. It should be sprayed on an overcast day or early in the morning to prevent burning of the leaves.

Both 500 and 501 are used on fields by stirring about one teaspoon of the contents of a horn in 40–60 liters of water for an hour and whirling it in different directions every second minute.

That’s right, they crush up crystals and sprinkle them on the crops. It’s about as scientific as ridding yourself of a wart by selling it.

(EDIT: Here’s how the above two preparations are described on the BAA website (emphasis on pseudoscience terms, mine):

Horn Manure Preparation (500) is used to enliven the soil, increasing the microflora and availability of nutrients and trace elements. Through it the root growth, in particular, is strengthened in a balanced way, especially the fine root hairs. Develops humus formation, soil structure and water holding capacity.

Horn Silica Preparation (501) enhances the light and warmth assimilation of the plant, leading to better fruit and seed development with improved flavour, aroma, colour and nutritional quality.

A lot less useful information, a lot of claims that essentially have no meaning.)

Here’s how biodynamics gets rid of pests:

• Pests such as insects or field mice (Apodemus) have more complex processes associated with them, depending on what pest is to be targeted. For example field mice are to be countered by deploying ashes prepared from field mice skin when Venus is in the Scorpius constellation.

• Weeds are combatted (besides the usual mechanical methods) by collecting seed from the weeds and burning them above a wooden flame. The ashes from the seeds are then spread on the fields, which is intended to block the influence from the full moon on the particular weed and make it infertile.

What. The. F***? Do I need to give another analogy to express how stupid that sounds?

Like homeopathy and chiropractic, “biodynamics” is a word that sounds nice and science-y. It also appeals to anti-authority and agriculture, like medicine, is often seen as a big faceless entity controlled by corporations and an elite few. However, “biodynamics” is a protected term. There is an organisation that holds the right to it, and you need their approval to use it on your products. (Seriously, how anti-authority is that?) I’ve seen this term cropping up (oops, bad pun) everywhere. It’s on products, produce, shop signs and everywhere I see it, I instantly want to grab somebody’s shoulders and yell, “This is ridiculous! Why are they trying to sell me this?? Why can’t I just have normal yogurt???”

I am all for ethical products, local farmers and eating healthy whole foods. I am totally supportive of the simple life and I’m really interest in self sufficiency, but when self sufficiency means using magic to make your tomatoes grow redder and fatter, count me out. I’ll stick with real scientific farming methods like good rich soil, plenty of sunlight and regular watering.

     I really enjoy being domestic. There are some simple pleasures that I enjoy as a housewife.  However, I am also somewhat of a feminist and of course, an atheist.  I’ve been looking at a lot of housewifely sites out there and I ran across something that had all sorts of alarm bells going off in my head. www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com

But are these women really anti-feminist?

I find it hard to believe that women would actually be against feminism, and after reading a little bit of their site, I got some impressions, and I hope they will forgive me if I misrepresent their beliefs.
I think that most of the women there would agree that some empowerment of women is a good thing, that women should be free to make their own choices and pursue happiness. I am sure that they believe at the very least that women deserve equal treatment under the law and that women deserve the right to vote and be seen as individual citizens that are the intellectual equal of men.

However I think there are some byproducts of feminism that these women seem to disagree with.
Reproductive rights: They see abortion as murder.
Sexual freedom: They see this as immorality.
Masculinisation of women: They see this as a disruption of the natural order.
Lesbianism: Again, immoral.

I disagree with them all of these things.  While I am against abortion as a form of birth control, I think making abortion illegal is dangerous, as women will still seek it out for many reasons and it is important for doctors to offer it when it is needed.
I believe in sexual freedom, of course, as anyone who knows me will tell you.
I think women look good in pants.  But I also think men should wear skirts more.
And lesbians rock.
I  suppose what the LAF gals are preaching is a return to the family unit as the core unit of society. I cannot help but look critically at this belief.

First of all, any Biblical arguments have to ruled out completely.  The Bible is a book written by men and then reinterpreted over thousands of years to mean various things and whatever modern women get out of it can be contradicted by itself.

Secondly, the nuclear family is a terrible thing. It was invented in the 50’s at the latest, the 1900’s at the earliest and is a product of the modern world, not something to “return to”. It is a myth of the middle class that we were ever meant to live this way. It’s not only wasteful, it’s selfish.

On the other hand, I do not think modern individualism is good either. Communities are extremely important and I think that is what is missing in modern life.  We have huge online communities, but they are merely evidence that we crave a sense of group connectedness.  We are social animals and require community.

I disagree with the idea that in order to be a feminist, a woman must take on the responsibilities and characteristics of a man. I think women and men both deserve the right to be domestic. Why is it still a woman’s role to be a stay at home parent and if a man isn’t working, he’s a bum? It’s changing, true, but there is still a stigma. Now, as the economy demands more and more that we live on a dual income, the burden is on women as well.  I am not currently employed, but I know we could live much more comfortably if I were currently working.

This may change if we move to a larger house. I may still want to work, but perhaps only a couple of days a week. If we live in a larger house, there will be more for me to do. Perhaps, I can begin planting a kitchen garden with herbs, vegetables and fruit. Perhaps I will be able to spend more time working on my creative projects. And baking. And composting. And making clothes and… oops, I’m getting carried away.
I daydream about being a great housewife, about living sustainably and raising good moral children. I don’t think this means I am Anti-Feminist and it certainly doesn’t make me a Christian. But I think that these women are incredibly creative and it is important for women to know that being a “domestic engineer” is a valid career choice even in modern society.  I wonder what these women would think of me?