The Farm as a Living Organism

The Best of All Organic Food

Comes From True "Organic Thinking"!

 

 

If we are to cultivate organically, we need to think of our gardens and farms as living organisms.  For this we may turn to Rudolf Steiner, from whom the biodynamic farming and gardening method originated (https://www.biodynamics.com).  

 

I'd like to quote from Spiritual Ecology: Reading the book of nature

and reconnecting with the world, a selection from the vast works of Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) made by Matthew Brown (2008). 

 

Brown's passages, "all drawn from the 'Agriculture Course' which Steiner gave to farmers in 1923, elaborate in great detail on Steiner's vision for a revitalized agriculture.  His 'biodynamic' method was not only the forerunner of organic farming, but in several respects goes beyond it in an effort to return to soil and crops the full vitality they once had.  Here again, before the full advent of industrial farming methods, we can see how prescient Steiner was in seeing approaching dangers and taking steps to remedy them." 

 

 

A Self-sustaining Farm

 

 

Brown introduces a Steiner lecture given in Koberwitz, Silesia, June 10, 1924:

 

"The truly self-sufficient and sustaining farm is a complete organism in which everything is of reciprocal benefit to everything else.  In this overall organism every 'organ'--soil, crops, animals and even the farmer himself--interacts harmoniously.  This is light years away from a materialistic agriculture, which adds chemicals to get results but overlooks the weakening effect of this on biodiversity, animal and plant vitality, and nutritional value.  In Steiner's view . . . the farmer is a kind of artist in tune with his material--the land--and sensitive to its changing needs."

 

 

The Essence of a Farm

 

Rudolf Steiner speaks:

 

 

Now a farm comes closest to its own essence when it can be conceived as a kind of independent individuality, a self-contained entity.  In reality, every farm ought to aspire to this state of being a self-contained individuality.  This cannot be entirely achieved, but we need to aspire towards it.  This means that within our farms we should attempt to have everything we need for agricultural production, including, of course, the right number of livestock.  From an ideal perspective, any manure and so forth introduced from outside the farm would have to be regarded as remedies for an ailing farm.  A healthy farm would be one that can produce everything it needs from within itself.

 

 

Imagine what our food would be like

 

if raised on farms and in gardens conceived as living organisms!

 

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