xxxiv
Introduction to the Book
The case is made for the inclusion of homeopathy in the debate on, and practice of, agroecology and
its social commitment, providing further insights into the multifunctional character of agriculture.
Chapter 14 (Rodríguez Rodríguez et al.) presents research on the effects of the use of low-power
laser pretreatment on shooting and initial growth of mulberry and sugarcane crops under flood
stress. These two crops are commercially important in Cuba, and many areas where they are grown
are prone to flooding which can have damaging impacts in the early stages of plant growth. In a completely random design, cuttings of both species with two different laser exposure times (10 and 20
seconds) were evaluated after 15 and 30 days. After 30 days, shoots that were exposed to a laser for
10 seconds were placed in flooded and non-flooded substrates. The results indicated that exposure
of the shoots for 10 seconds to the laser beams gave the best results in terms of the number of buds
sprouted, and in flooding conditions caused a greater elongation of the bud and increased the spongy
plant tissue. These results indicate the potential for producing a physical method of seed priming on
an industrial scale. Also concerning light frequencies, Chapter 15 (Wohlers et al.) explores how to
evaluate a farming system’s impact on food quality using the method of Fluorescence-ExcitationSpectroscopy (FES). This technique analyses the emission of light from a sample in order to provide
biochemical information, and thus may be used as a measurement in food quality assessments. The
chapter presents the historical background of the development of the methodology based on previous research into mitogenetic radiation and biophotons, and also a description of the measurement
devices. Food produce grown under organic, biodynamic and conventional farming systems are
compared from three scientifically controlled field experiments (wheat in Switzerland, cocoa beans
in Bolivia and apples in the Netherlands). The results are used to explain the epistemology and the
specific quality criteria which may be evaluated by FES, including product-specific or species-specific emission spectra, expression of specific maturation, plant development stages, organisational
performance, and aspects of the integrity of the plant and its resilience to stay healthy. Finally in this
section, Chapter 16 (Doesburg) also explores food quality, in this case through the crystallisation
fingerprint method which is concerned with vitality through an organism’s ability to self-organise
and form signature patterns. Although not directly wave-based, this approach manages to capture
the somewhat elusive nature of vitality and is being applied in commercial practice. The method of
copper chloride crystallisation with additives is based on the generation and subsequent evaluation
of dendritic crystallisation patterns (i.e. ‘fingerprints’), which emerge when an aqueous cupric chloride solution is crystallised on a glass plate in the presence of a water-soluble additive (the sample).
Existing research demonstrates the potential of this method to study the effect of food processing,
the livestock feeding regime and farming system in a broad range of agricultural products. Trained
panels have been able to correctly assign encoded samples to the farming system from which they
came (conventional, organic, biodynamic) based on the degree of decomposition perceived in the
crystallisation patterns. Conceptually, this relates to estimating the sample’s degree of self-organisation in the sense of ‘resilience’ (its elasticity or capacity to cope with challenges) in response to
the controlled ageing of the sample.
Overall, these exceptional examples and their impacts draw attention to how little investment or
effort has yet been made into exploring and mainstreaming such benign applications in the food
and farming sector.
Section 3: in Search of more emBodied methodologieS
This section turns to the social sciences and humanities to explore a range of more embodied
methods for connecting with the hidden half of nature. Chapter 17 (Kieft) dives straight in by
examining the means by which the body can be used as a research instrument in order to attune
to subtle information. Assuming an animist perspective in which everything in nature is imbued
with a spark of life, soul or consciousness, it proposes ways to educate the body in order to perceive such ‘intangible’ aspects of the natural world. Divided into three parts, the chapter first
Introduction to the Book
The case is made for the inclusion of homeopathy in the debate on, and practice of, agroecology and
its social commitment, providing further insights into the multifunctional character of agriculture.
Chapter 14 (Rodríguez Rodríguez et al.) presents research on the effects of the use of low-power
laser pretreatment on shooting and initial growth of mulberry and sugarcane crops under flood
stress. These two crops are commercially important in Cuba, and many areas where they are grown
are prone to flooding which can have damaging impacts in the early stages of plant growth. In a completely random design, cuttings of both species with two different laser exposure times (10 and 20
seconds) were evaluated after 15 and 30 days. After 30 days, shoots that were exposed to a laser for
10 seconds were placed in flooded and non-flooded substrates. The results indicated that exposure
of the shoots for 10 seconds to the laser beams gave the best results in terms of the number of buds
sprouted, and in flooding conditions caused a greater elongation of the bud and increased the spongy
plant tissue. These results indicate the potential for producing a physical method of seed priming on
an industrial scale. Also concerning light frequencies, Chapter 15 (Wohlers et al.) explores how to
evaluate a farming system’s impact on food quality using the method of Fluorescence-ExcitationSpectroscopy (FES). This technique analyses the emission of light from a sample in order to provide
biochemical information, and thus may be used as a measurement in food quality assessments. The
chapter presents the historical background of the development of the methodology based on previous research into mitogenetic radiation and biophotons, and also a description of the measurement
devices. Food produce grown under organic, biodynamic and conventional farming systems are
compared from three scientifically controlled field experiments (wheat in Switzerland, cocoa beans
in Bolivia and apples in the Netherlands). The results are used to explain the epistemology and the
specific quality criteria which may be evaluated by FES, including product-specific or species-specific emission spectra, expression of specific maturation, plant development stages, organisational
performance, and aspects of the integrity of the plant and its resilience to stay healthy. Finally in this
section, Chapter 16 (Doesburg) also explores food quality, in this case through the crystallisation
fingerprint method which is concerned with vitality through an organism’s ability to self-organise
and form signature patterns. Although not directly wave-based, this approach manages to capture
the somewhat elusive nature of vitality and is being applied in commercial practice. The method of
copper chloride crystallisation with additives is based on the generation and subsequent evaluation
of dendritic crystallisation patterns (i.e. ‘fingerprints’), which emerge when an aqueous cupric chloride solution is crystallised on a glass plate in the presence of a water-soluble additive (the sample).
Existing research demonstrates the potential of this method to study the effect of food processing,
the livestock feeding regime and farming system in a broad range of agricultural products. Trained
panels have been able to correctly assign encoded samples to the farming system from which they
came (conventional, organic, biodynamic) based on the degree of decomposition perceived in the
crystallisation patterns. Conceptually, this relates to estimating the sample’s degree of self-organisation in the sense of ‘resilience’ (its elasticity or capacity to cope with challenges) in response to
the controlled ageing of the sample.
Overall, these exceptional examples and their impacts draw attention to how little investment or
effort has yet been made into exploring and mainstreaming such benign applications in the food
and farming sector.
Section 3: in Search of more emBodied methodologieS
This section turns to the social sciences and humanities to explore a range of more embodied
methods for connecting with the hidden half of nature. Chapter 17 (Kieft) dives straight in by
examining the means by which the body can be used as a research instrument in order to attune
to subtle information. Assuming an animist perspective in which everything in nature is imbued
with a spark of life, soul or consciousness, it proposes ways to educate the body in order to perceive such ‘intangible’ aspects of the natural world. Divided into three parts, the chapter first