The first time I read Tess of the d'Urbervilles I was seduced by the idyllic image of the dairy where Tess and Angel Clare fell in love as she milked her favourite cows. All that pastoral harmony and rhythm-of-the-earth stuff comes back to me every time I listen to a cheesemaker waxing lyrical about the way the cows give different milk in the mornings to the evenings, or harking back to the old "West Country cycle" (you have to chant this like a nursery rhyme): the cows eat the grass then give the milk that makes the cheese which gives the whey that is fed to the pigs who make the muck to grow the grass that the cows eat.

So when I hear about the likes of Jodie Kidd and Kate Moss flocking to Here, the smart Chelsea shop that sells biodynamic food produced in tune with the rhythms of nature and the cosmos, my reaction isn't to scoff and dismiss it as the latest food-chic, hippy lunacy or just organics with knobs on. Far from being the latest fad, biodynamic farming, as an organised concept, has been around since 1924 (though I suspect the earliest farmers behaved pretty biodynamically just by instinct). It is based on the ideas of Austrian scientist and philosopher Dr Rudolf Steiner, and, distilled down, it is all about self-sustaining agriculture, in which all the various kingdoms (mineral, plant, animal and human) work together to produce nutritious food and regenerate the soil, in tune with the natural rhythms of the moon, the planets and the stars (which influence the optimum times to sow, cultivate and harvest). Animals, fed by the produce of the farm, make the manure, which, along with other indigenous organic matter and herbal preparations, are fed back into the soil.

Biodynamic food production has grown steadily over the years, with the Demeter mark (the standard for biodynamic products) recognised in 33 countries, and it is particularly strong in Germany and Holland. Britain, however, has lagged behind.

Two things leave biodynamics open to scepticism: the moon and stars stuff, and the price (at Here, fillet steak costs Pounds 56.80 per kilo). However, as Troy Smith of Here points out: "People always ridicule high prices for good quality food, but if they want a nice new car, not a piece of junk, they know you have to spend good money. We are talking about superior food that always shines through, not just from a flavour point of view, but from an environmental and lifestyle point of view."

As far as the influence of the cosmos goes, according to Tim Brink of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association, which administers the Demeter standard, years of study have gone into proving, for example, that carrots sown at a favourable alignment of moon, planets and stars produce greater yields and keep longer. However, he admits to "mixed feelings" about the current fashionableness of biodynamics. "On one hand we want to create more awareness of sustainable agriculture and food that satisfies on a physical and spiritual level," he says. "But my concern is that it is seen as a niche thing for smart people with lots of money, which would dismay a lot of people, because it contradicts one of the principles of biodynamic agriculture - that it should be about food production at a local, self-sustaining level, at reasonable prices."

If you would like the Food Detective to investigate a foodie issue, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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