Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
11.5 SPIRITUALITY AND AGRICULTURE
Environmentally connected agriculture and other land uses need to include spiritual
aspects, and these are often associated with organic farming. The early pioneers of
organic farming spoke of Mother Earth, implying a link with inner soil and feminine
wisdom. The Earth is thus also perceived and treated as a Goddess (Patzel 2010).
They also emphasized the “living” soil, usually the organic matter or humus and
the cycle of growth and decay. They also spoke of the soil as an “organized whole.”
Organic farming was originally seen as a holistic system, which assumes that a farm
is a single whole, complete organism, and if any part changes, then the whole farm
changes. This unity or holism was seen as important for health by Howard (1947),
who recognized that “the birthright of all living things is health; this law is true for
soil, plant, animal and man: the health of these four is one connected chain.” Berry
(2009) perceived this health as quality and connected to spiritual, economic, and
political health. One of the early pioneers of organic farming in the United Kingdom,
Lady Eve Balfour, considered that this holism means that “we cannot escape from
the ethical and spiritual values of life for they are part of wholeness.”
Organic farming is based on four principles of health, ecology, fairness, and care.
In Germany, organic farming originated as part of anthroposophy as described by
Rudolf Steiner. Anthroposophy is a spiritual philosophy based on the belief in the
existence of an objective, understandable spiritual world or forces and beings acces-
sible by direct experience through inner development. One of Steiner's legacies is
biodynamic farming, in which spiritual aspects are included in day-to-day manage-
ment. Steiner had a model of psychic and spiritual forces and “beings,” which would
form and inhabit plants, animals, and humans. These interacted and caused trans-
formations at the “farm organism” level (Patzel 2010). Biodynamic farming includes
the influence of planetary rhythms on the growth of plants and animals. Soil renewal
is important and is achieved through special composted preparations used to treat
the soil and plants. Materials are fermented in animal body parts such as cow horn,
which is claimed to help concentrate the life forces from the surroundings into the
material within. I visited the research center for biodynamic farming at Darmstadt
in Germany in 2001. The spirit there was good and bright.
Organic farming is seen by the general public as better than conventional farm-
ing, being on a smaller scale and with locally based farmers. It should improve the
ecological stability and long-term environmental sustainability of farming because
less fossil fuels and chemicals are consumed and more of the beneficial natural pro-
cesses and renewable resources available on the farm are used. Organic farming is
thought to have a good connection to the soil and to improve soil conditions. In my
experience in visiting and teaching about soil management in a variety of farms in
Scotland, soil structure was consistently better in the organic farms because the
farms contained both animals and crops, so that organic matter was being added
regularly, and the farms were not managed intensively. The diverse rotations with
grass breaks were good for the soil. As in our own existence, a change is as good as a
rest for the soil, and doing a variety of things (i.e., providing ecosystem services) and
receiving a varied diet is rejuvenating and promotes health and vigor. Organic farm-
ing improves soil quality by increasing microbial activity and porosity (Schjønning
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