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Subtle Agroecologies
FIGURE 15.8 Differences between conventional and organic farming in cocoa beans in the relative emission intensity of R40yellow/blue.
The SAFS sample had an overall very low emission intensity, characteristic for seeds in dormancy
or grown under extensive conditions. Overall, the implications are that more sustainable farming
systems are better able to produce or achieve products that are closer to their optimum, naturally
predisposed potential.
CONCLUSIONS
The FES has repeatedly been able to show differences between samples originating from different
farming systems, and a classifcation of samples according to their origin has been possible, which
was comparable to the classifcation on the basis of their analytical parameters (Hermanowski et al.,
2013). It will be just a question of time before the underlying principles of the induced emission
characteristic are better understood. Still, the existing results of the FES measurements are suffcient to support the rationale that the scientifc view should be broadened to look not only at the
microscopic and analytical world, but also at the phenomena of life and, holistically, at the farming
system as a whole that infuences the organisms within it and their development, their metabolism
and interactions.
A theory common among biologists is that plants seek a balance between growth and differentiation (Bloksma et al., 2003, 2007; Herms and Mattson, 1992; Stamp, 2003). This is based on the
evidence that plants may – dependent on the growing conditions – express a more growth-related
metabolism with enhanced nitrogen-related primary metabolism, resulting in enhanced yields, or a
metabolism which aims at the differentiation of matter by enhancing carbon-related secondary metabolites. The latter is often observed in plants of organic origin, and such plants are observed to suffer
less damage from predators or diseases (de Lange et al., 2019). This balance or equilibrium changes
with the ongoing development of the plant, from more growth-related to more differentiation-related
processes, and each part of the plant and each species has its own characteristic balance.
So when FES results indicate that crop samples of organic, biodynamic or agroforestry origin
are ‘more typical’ than conventional/industrial samples, including those from monocultures, the
measured emission can be seen as an indication of the growing conditions which were more or
less in congruence with the species-specifc demands. Under such optimum conditions, plants may
express their own individual quality and shape more explicitly than in less optimal conditions.
For example, in highly fertilised, conventional or monoculture conditions, where the plants are
restricted in their resilience to stay healthy (Döring et al., 2012, 2015), or to exhibit all stages of