Last weekend, we started a new season of subscribing to fresh produce from the Live Power Farm. Farmers Steve and Gloria Decater came down from Mendicino County to kickoff their 18th year growing for what is now a community of 37 families. Each week, we get a basket from the farm – this week was chard, lettuces, carrots, scallions, and the best strawberries I’ve tasted in a long time. In the 1980’s I stopped eating fresh strawberries (and tomatoes) because they were usually tasteless and mealy. Many apples too. But the produce Steve and Gloria grow is fantastic – the lettuces, carrots, beets, even the potatoes have a quality that I haven’t tasted anywhere else. Yes, even better than organic, they’re biodynamic.
Biodynamics is a non-chemical method of farming, based on a series of lectures in 1924 by Rudolph Steiner, the Austrian philosopher, educator, theologian, dramatist, and architect. Steve and Gloria talked to us about how they farm — completely by hand, and without chemicals. Its amazing that in 2005, they’ve made a decision — for the land, for the quality of produce, and for the community — to farm using horses rather than tractors. They’re not luddites though; they’ve invested in 22 solar panels for their barn roof so they can use as little fossil fuels as possible.
Steve and Gloria also talked about the benefits of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). We subscribe to the farm, which means we give them all the money upfront, so they know how many people they’ll be feeding for the season. This lets them plant a dozen different types of vegetables, rather than just one, which benefits the land, yields higher quality produce, and helps create a sustainable ecosystem. Since Live Power doesn’t just plant one veg, it isn’t victim to market fluctuations or weather or diseases which can ruin a single crop. They look at our way of dealing as a relationship — they know us, and we know them. We know where our produce is coming from and how its grown, and they appreciate being out of the market system, knowing who is eating the literal fruits of their labors, and having our kids play together in the yard while the meeting is happening.
Steve and Gloria are special folks. Their committment to the philosophy and process of biodynamic farming is impressive, and their farmer discomfort with public speaking just adds to their charm. I look at their wild hair and scruffy boots and wish I had the guts to live the way they do. As they talk, they show us slides from the many elementary school groups who visit the farm to learn about biodynamic methods, and re-connect modern kids to the land and its plants and animals. Its a part of their mission they especially enjoy, and it connects us together even more tightly as a community since most of us in the room have kids who’ve visited the Live Power at least a couple of times.
The vegetable is political? Absolutely. Non-corporate, non-chemical, reduced fossil fuel usage, de-commoditized, incredibly delicious, and bursting with food value. Eating food from Live Power Farm is probably the best thing I do to support a strong and sustainable America. We need more heroes like Steve and Gloria.