"Inside of the dullest exterior there is drama,
a comedy and a tragedy."
-Mark Twain
Organic Pioneers
Meanwhile in France, wine and grain trader Raoul Lemaire was developing a school of thought of his own. Through cross-breeding of wheat varieties he came up
with super strains for which he received international recognition, but it wasn't until he joined forces with Jean Boucher that his theories were fully realized. Boucher was a specialist in humus, and his partnership with Lemaire became known - and widely practiced - as the Lemaire-Boucher Method.
Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) had a very roundabout introduction to the stage of natural foods. In 1902 he was inducted into the Theosophical Society - an influential movement in its time with the ambitious goal of reconciling scientific laws with spiritual mysticism - as the leader of their German extension. Theosophism combined with his emerging thoughts of organic farming practices led him to found the Anthroposophical Society in 1913, key to introducing to the world biodynamism.
At about this time Swiss doctor Maximillian Oskar Bircher-Benner (1867-1939) was codifying theories of his own. With nutrition at the core of his treatments, he founded a very successful practice, developed "Bircher Muesli" and attracted such famous patients as Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann and Mahatma Gandhi. Hans Muller (1891-1988), also of Switzerland, had a very different inspiration. A farmer by trade, he saw the encroachment of industrialization as a threat to the very foundation of agricultural society. Following his passion, he founded the very successful Swiss Association for Abstinent Farmers, an organization dedicated to resuscitating Swiss agriculture by emphasizing harmony with nature. Later, with his wife Maria Mueller-Bigler (1894-1969) - a trailblazer in her own right - he became a very vocal supporter of biodynamism, and both are largely regarded as the modern founders of organic farming.
methodology. The illustrations are huge and plentiful, and I would
be remiss not to give a nod to photographer Ruprecht Stempell
and designer Peter Feierabend.
A Word of Caution
Generally, when we think of organic food we limit it to what can be grown in the dirt. Organic & Wholefoods goes beyond fruit and vegetables to cover dairy, eggs, even fish. The book is a European publication, and judging by the inclusion of meat and poultry, our friends on the other side of the pond are light years ahead of the organic movement at home. Each chapter includes recipes specific to its subject matter (potato raviolis are found in the chapter on potatoes, pears with blue cheese cream are in the chapter on fruit, etc.), and although very few of us will actually farm fish, it's interesting methodology. The illustrations are huge and plentiful, and I would be remiss not to give a nod to photographer Ruprecht Stempell and designer Peter Feierabend.
Curator of Coffee, Tea
The second book, also by Edward Bramah, is called Novelty Teapots: Five Hundred Years of Art and Design (Quiller Press, $76.00). Perhaps the only traded commodity older than coffee is tea, and Bramah's put together a fine
collection of teapots in this book. Although it reads more like a museum catalog (which is essentially what it is) he does include a brief history of tea, crediting Dutch influences with its arrival in Great Britain during the seventeenth century. The authors' Tea and Coffee Museum is located at Butler's Wharf in London, England.
Whether as a reader you're seeking to learn more about the growing of healthy food, or seeking nutritional information and recipes, Domine's Organic & Wholefoods is an excellent source. Both of Bramah's books are fascinating for their historical records, regardless whether or not you're a coffee or tea drinker. All three books are beautifully illustrated. All three books are heavy, really heavy. For that reason, it's recommended they be read sitting at a table, not while lying down. Attempting to read them in bed may cause bodily injury. I know from first-hand experience.
posted 03/11/07
Source: Organic &
Wholefoods: Naturally
Delicious Cuisine, edited
by Andre' Domine'.
Some books make for heavy reading due to their subject matter. These books are either "heavy" due to content that's challenging or all but impossible to get one's mind around. Then there are books that are heavy due to their sheer size. Encyclopedias - even dictionaries - are heavy due to the vast material contained within. Other books are heavy due to the amount of their material combined with subjects that boggle the mind. Da Vinci's Codex would fall into this category. Then there are books that are literally heavy. Their weight alone make them heavy. Organic & Wholefoods: Naturally Delicious Cuisine (Konemann, $39.95) edited by Andre' Domine' is one such book.
With a plethora of books on health food available, Organic & Wholefoods rises above the pack in its sheer volume of information. It offers a brief history of the natural food movement with bios of its founders, an international roster (mostly restricted to Europe) who were all developing their techniques and theories about the same time. Sir Albert Howard (1873-1947) was instrumental in developing a rationale for rejecting chemical fertilizers, founding the Institute for Plant Cultivation in Indore, India. Lady Eve Balfour (1899-1990), an English aristocrat was an early disciple of Howard's and spent a good part of her time spreading the word on the lecture circuit and through her book The Living Soil, published in 1943. She took Howard's teaching one step further, correlating organic compost and a balanced diet with healthful living.
Be careful not to relegate the bios of these organic pioneers into the trash bin of history. Their accounts take up but only four pages of Organic & Wholefoods, but they are the foundation for all the information that follows. Without them there would be no book. Without them our grocery shopping experience would not be what it is.
Since we're on the subject of food, I'll include two books here associated with beverages, both of them heavy hitters. The first, Coffee Makers: 300 Years of Art & Design (Quiller Press) by Edward and Joan Bramah, is a book about coffee makers. The Bramahs have a collection of coffee makers so huge they built a museum around them. That appliance sitting on your kitchen counter that provides you with a cup of java each morning has a history you've probably never thought about. Fortunately, the Bramahs have - one might say they're obsessed - and this book is the result. Chock full of photos, Coffee Makers provides a historical account of all aspects of the coffee trade (especially the different techniques we've employed to extract the black brew) in both pictures and words.
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