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How to Save the World: One man, one cow, one planet
Review by Mary Avant
The subtitle to this fascinating documentary about biodynamic farming doesn’t exactly sum up what it’s about. But it comes close. The one man is Peter Proctor, considered the father of modern biodynamics. The one cow refers to the miracle of a cow’s four stomach processed by-product: manure, and the fact that in India small farmers have at least one cow, and that’s all it takes to help renew the health of their farmland. Of course, the one planet is the one we know about and live on which is in dire environmental straights.
Biodynamic farming was the brainchild of Austrian anthroposophist and scientist Rudolph Steiner who understood that the health of all plants and animals were dependent upon their ability to access the powers of the cosmos and be linked with the rest of Nature. Bio – of course means life, and dynamics refers to energy, both of which are completely lacking in today’s chemical agribusinesses. It is interesting to note that Steiner was using biodynamics to help Austrian farmers learn how to restore soil and crop health back in the early 1920s, long before chemical farming became the rage.
