http://cchronicle.com/2010/06/does-the- ... omeopathy/
Agro-what? You may have heard of homeopathy, but how does it apply to crop production? Advocates of agro-homeopathy attest to the modality’s ability to influence the biological processes of plants to affect growth and control plagues and diseases. Could this be the future of agriculture?
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine that is based on the theory that all disease originates from disruptions in an individual’s life force. These life force disturbances, or miasms, cause the symptoms that are unique to a particular diseased state. Homeopaths believe that a negative state of mind creates these energetic disease states out of the individual’s life force; in other words, all disease originates within the individual, not a separate invading entity.
Samuel Hahnemann, the German physician who first proposed homeopathy as a viable medical philosophy, reasoned from his experimentation that certain substances, when ingested in small doses, produced the same symptoms as those associated with particular disease states. This theory forms the basis for Hahnemann’s law of similars (“let like be cured by like”).
Homeopathic remedies are generally prepared from plant, animal, mineral and synthetic substances that are diluted with alcohol or distilled water through a process known as succussion. Nosodes, another form of homeopathic treatment, are created from diseased bodily tissue and fluids; sarcodes are prepared with healthy bodily tissue and fluids.
Studies in the efficacy of homeopathy have shown that this modality produces more than a placebo response in participants. One such study conducted in 2004 concluded that homeopathy is at least as effective as conventional medicine in treating respiratory tract and ear complaints in a primary care setting. In fact, 82.6% of the patients receiving homeopathic treatment responded favorably versus 68% of patients undergoing conventional treatment. Participants reported quicker response and fewer adverse effects to homeopathic rather than conventional treatment.
How does this alternative medical philosophy apply to agriculture? In agro-homeopathy, homeopathic nosodes produced from the diseased plant’s tissue are used to cure the plant through non-toxic methods. Plants, soil and groundwater all remain unharmed by the application of homeopathic remedies to ailing crops. Niurka Meneses Moreno’s article on agro-homeopathy outlines the benefits of this approach versus traditional agrochemical practices.
No less a scientific dignitary than Charles Darwin conducted his own experiments in agro-homeopathy, with positive results. Subsequent research has focused on the effects of homeopathy on crop production and yield. Results have shown that agro-homeopathy positively affects production and yield without the need for pesticides or genetic modification.
Agro-homeopathy enables increased crop production without pesticides and other harmful substances that disrupt the natural ecology. And, if you want to think of it in purely economic terms, agro-homeopathy saves the farmer on agrochemical costs. It’s definitely a winning situation for all concerned. Granted, this is an extremely simplified explanation of homeopathy and its applications beyond the realm of human and animal medical science. However, my hope is that this article will initiate a conversation on how we can apply this non-toxic modality to all of Earth’s life forms and reduce the harm caused to the environment through the use of agrochemicals.