Changing the taste of apples by eurythmic treatments
Eckart Grundmann*, Tanja Baumgartner
Abstract: Eurythmy is a performing art based on anthro- posophy which tries to make non-visible forces visible by human movements. According to the concept of anthro- posophy a eurythmist is capable to come into an exchange with the life forces of organisms through his movements. In a field experiment – executed by the Institute ArteNova in cooperation with an apple farmer – a eurythmist treated trees of two apple varieties with a sequence of eurythmic gestures to observe the impact on the fruit quality. The apples showed no differences in the laboratory test of sugar content and firmness. In the sensory test, signifi- cant differences could be found in several parameters like freshness, crunchiness or the total judgement. The results present a basic effect of human movements on the taste of plants. Furthermore, it was possible to find appropriate movements for pre-determined aims. Eurythmic move- ments could be seen as a possible method for agricultural systems which refuse pesticides and other synthetic sub- stances. Follow-up experiments with different varieties, fruits, and places should verify the effects.
Keywords: Food quality; Biodynamic agriculture; Non-ma- terial influences; eurythmic