The F.H. King group, which has been around since 1979, does a lot more than a little gardening, though. It also offers workshops, lectures and other programs aimed at improving “knowledge and policies relating to sustainable agriculture in our community.”

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What surprised me about this was not that a corn by-product was a natural herbicide and also acted as a fertilizer; I was surprised that our patent law system allowed a Iowa State University researcher to patent the use of corn gluten as a herbicide. I understand the basic policy behind patent law: to encourage people to expend their time and energy developing new products by rewarding them with exclusive rights to the fruits of their labors for a period of years. This makes sense to me and I think it is generally a good system in most cases, but sometimes it just seems to go to far.

Take corn gluten for example, this is a product that has probably been around for thousands of years. People have used it for a number of different uses, the primary use being feed for livestock. Sometime in 1985, a scientist at Iowa State University is claimed to have discovered that the product can also be used as a herbicide. Shortly thereafter he filed for, and obtained, a patent for the use of corn gluten as a herbicide.

So I’m a little bit torn about this. The lawyer in me says, “well, without the protection of the patent law system Dr. Corn Gluten and Iowa State wouldn’t have any incentive to discover new uses for products and it may have never happened.” The normal person in me thinks, “what the fu@%!, its corn meal mush! How can you patent that?!” I understand the policy from an intellectual standpoint but is seems that in some cases (like this one) it goes a bit too far.

The part about this that I think most concerns me is that I’m not sure if the patent system actually achieves its intended result. At least in this case (and the case of my relative) the fact that the patent exists will likely prevent him from producing and selling corn gluten. I am sure there are several other potential marketers of this product who will be deterred from bringing a environmentally friendly alternative to toxic herbicides to market because they do not have the capital to pay Iowa State licensing fees to sell it.

I guess I’m still not entirely certain about how I feel about this. I guess there is just some part of me that feels like ti is unfair to let someone of exclusive rights to any use of something as common as corn. From a legal prospective, I think the fundamental flaw in our patent law system is that it assumes that the patent holder will do a good job of bring the product to market or finding those who will. That doesn’t always happen and as a result we are deprived of use of a valuable product until the patent expires.

Since they were developed in the 1930s, modern pesticides have been used extensively in viticulture around the world. “Pesticide” is the generic term used to denote a wide range of both synthetic and biological insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and bactericides. Pesticides pollute the earth, underground water tables as well as rivers and lakes, and even the air. They disrupt food chains by poisoning species and are a major threat to biodiversity across the globe. Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that pesticides have harmful effects on humans, causing damage to the endocrine system and increasing the risk of cancer in farmers and winegrowers.

For example, in his research on newborn babies, Professor Charles Sultan of Montpellier in southern France discovered that the toxins in pesticides are transmitted from parent to child with alarming ease. He found considerably higher instances of malformations and cancers in farmers’ children than in the general population.

According to the French Wikipedia article on the subject (here’s the article in the English version of Wikipedia), in 2006 France was still the second largest consumer of pesticides in the world after the United States. Yet, despite the bleak statistics, organic agriculture and viticulture are gaining ground in France. As with organic food, wine that meets the standards carries one of the two nationally certified labels, “AB” or “EcoCert”. The labels are awarded largely for adherence to green practices in winegrowing and not necessarily in winemaking, that is out in the vineyards and not necessarily inside the winery.

But what exactly does organic winegrowing entail? What do winegrowers who have eschewed pesticides do to combat weeds, diseases and mildew?

As a young man working in his father’s vineyards in the Champagne region of northern France, Jacques Beaufort scoffed at organic viticulture. But in 1969 an acute allergic reaction, which erupted after he had sprayed chemicals on the vines, caused Mr. Beaufort to reconsider. Since 1971, the Beaufort estate has been green. Today ecological methods are used in both the winegrowing and winemaking processes, giving rise to award-winning bubbly wines.

Although greening a vineyard is not a simple task, there is a pesticide-free solution to every viticultural problem. On the Beaufort estate, shallow tilling prevents the growth of weeds but without damaging the vine roots. Chemical fertilizers have been replaced by vegetable compost, which retains moisture even during periods of dryness. The soil is enriched by nutrients from the decomposition activities of microorganisms, and aerated by earthworms and other insects. The aerated soil is more permeable, and while rainwater filters through to replenish underground water tables, erosion of the Beaufort lands has ceased.

Traditionally sulfur has served as a fungicide in winegrowing but, with a certain degree of toxicity, it upsets the surrounding ecosystem. As an alternative, Mr. Beaufort has been experimenting with essential oils since 1974, and since 1980 he has been working on homeopathic remedies against spoilage. Inside the winery efforts are made to add as little sulfur dioxide as possible during the fermentation process. Instead bacteria transform malic acid into lactic acid through a natural series of changes.

While the first years of organic winegrowing saw a substantial decrease in yield from the Beaufort vineyards, today the return is healthy even if still subject to the vagaries of the weather. More importantly, the wines produced are scooping up silver and gold medals at a number of national wine fairs, in competition with vintages from the most established estates and wineries. So if you are visiting Reims, the town famous for hosting the coronation of French kings throughout the centuries, make sure you swing by the Beaufort estate near the village of Ambonnay for some bubbles tasting.

If you do not have the opportunity to visit Champagne or any of the other winegrowing regions of France, your best bets for finding organic wines are in the supermarkets and online. Purchasing Bacchus’ brew from a supermarket shelf or a website may detract from the glamour and mystique of wine drinking but until “vins bios”, organic wines, are accepted by the major wine brotherhoods and federations, and become part of the mainstream, they will make but few appearances in specialized shops and wine cellars.

Champagne Andre & Jacques Beaufort