Cosmos, Earth and Nutrition E-Book

Richard Thornton Smith

• Herausgeber: Rudolf Steiner Press
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Seitenzahl: 529

Beschreibung

In recent years there has been an explosion of interest in organic and biodynamic produce. Although once marginal and 'alternative', escalating concerns about the environment, health, food quality and animal welfare have brought organics into mainstream consciousness. Biodynamics, a unique development of the organic approach, does not narrowly focus on agricultural techniques. It was conceived as a new way of thinking about farming, nutrition and the world of nature, allowing for a revitalized relationship with the living soil, the elemental world and the cosmos. Originating from a series of eight lectures given by Dr Rudolf Steiner in 1924, biodynamics broadens the outlook of agriculture and the science behind it, leading to a holistic perspective that incorporates astronomical rhythms and unique preparations for plants and earth. The author describes the foundations on which not only biodynamics but also the wider organic movement is based. He builds bridges between mainstream science and Steiner's insights, making it easier for the wider organic and ecological movement to approach biodynamic concepts and practise. This book has much to offer to the beginner as well as to those already involved with biodynamics. Its broad range of topics - including the ecology of the farm organism, food quality and nutrition, community supported agriculture, planetary influences, seed quality, and the vitality of water - contribute to a deeper understanding of the subject. The author is also concerned to promote innovation so that biodynamics moves with the times. An appendix includes details for contacting various elements of the biodynamic world. DR RICHARD THORNTON SMITH was formerly a geography professor at the University of Leeds, specializing in soil science, environment and conservation. Widely travelled, he has a long-standing interest in indigenous and sustainable farming. He was introduced to the work of Rudolf Steiner at an early age, although his full involvement with biodynamics dates from 1990 when he began to participate in training programmes and workshops at Emerson College, Sussex. In 1996 he began a biodynamic extension programme in Sri Lanka, for which he published a book, most recently updated in 2007. Since 2001 he has been an inspector for the Biodynamic Association's Demeter and Organic Certification in the UK. In 2003 he produced an edited selection of Steiner's work relating to agriculture. He is currently a council member of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association, and lives in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

Leseprobe

DR RICHARD THORNTON SMITH was formerly a geography professor at the University of Leeds, specializing in soil science environment and conservation. Widely travelled, he has a longstanding interest in indigenous and sustainable farming. He was introduced to the work of Rudolf Steiner at an early age, although his full involvement with biodynamics dates from 1990 when he began to participate in training programmes and workshops at Emerson College, Sussex. In 1996 he began a biodynamic extension programme in Sri Lanka, for which he published a book, updated in 2007. Since 2001 he has been an inspector for the Biodynamic Association’s Demeter and Organic Certification in the UK. In 2003 he produced an edited selection of Steiner’s work relating to agriculture. He is currently a council member of the Biodynamic Agricultural Association, and lives in Ross-on-Wye Herefordshire.

COSMOS, EARTH AND NUTRITION

The Biodynamic Approach to Agriculture

Richard Thornton Smith

Sophia Books

Sophia Books Hillside House, The Square Forest Row, RH18 5ES

www.rudolfsteinerpress.com

Published by Rudolf Steiner Press 2012

© Richard Thornton Smith

The moral right of the authors have been asserted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 85584 319 6

Cover by Andrew Morgan Design Typeset by DP Photosetting, Neath, West Glamorgan

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. The Foundations of Holistic Agriculture

2. The Nature of Life: Looking to the Cosmos

3. The Living Earth and the Farm Organism

4. The Working of Cosmic Energies in Plant and Soil

5. Supporting and Regulating Natural Processes

6. Working Practically with Astronomical Rhythms

7. Seeds: Nurturing a Vital Resource

8. Water: The Foundation of Life

9. Healing Outer and Inner Landscapes, by Margaret Colquhoun

10. Food Quality, Nutrition and Health

11. Community supported Agriculture, by Bernard Jarman

12. Looking to the Future

Appendix: Biodynamic Contacts and Publications

Notes

Further Reading

Preface

There has been growing interest in biodynamics in recent years. For a long time the organic farming and gardening movement was dismissed as marginal and ‘alternative’, but escalating concerns about the environment, health, food quality, animal welfare and related issues have raised the profile of organics in a way few could have imagined 30 years ago. As a branch of organic agriculture, it is scarcely surprising that biodynamics has emerged more into public consciousness.

Biodynamics was never narrowly focused on agricultural techniques. It was conceived as a new way of thinking about farming, nutrition and the world of nature. Originating from a series of eight lectures on agriculture given by Dr Rudolf Steiner in 1924, it offers a new holistic outlook that frees agriculture and science from the limits of a purely materialist philosophy.

Like others before it, the present book supports practical biodynamic farming and gardening. Those already involved with biodynamics should find among its broad range of topics much to deepen their understanding of the subject. They will also detect the author’s concern to promote innovation and for biodynamics to move with the times. Those new to biodynamics, but perhaps already committed to an organic philosophy, may have little idea of Rudolf Steiner’s immense contribution to knowledge. A major task of this book is therefore to set out the fundamentals on which not only biodynamics but also the wider organic movement depend. To meet this need, the book aims wherever possible to create a bridge between mainstream science and Steiner’s insights and suggestions, and to offer the wider organic and agro-ecological movement a firmer basis for acknowledging biodynamic concepts.

While Steiner’s Agriculture Course remains the cornerstone, those working with biodynamics have found it essential to study his other lectures and books to gain better foothold with the content of the agriculture lectures, and to extend their scope. This is a long, ongoing process. Yet there is an urgency about getting to grips with the current disruptions to climatic, ecological and economic conditions, and this concern has provided the motivation for the present volume.

Considered as a group, the first four chapters lay the foundations. I first place biodynamics in the context of holistic forms of agriculture, outlining the cultural fault-line with conventional agriculture and the kinship of biodynamics with organic traditions and the wider agro-ecological movement. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 explore themes from the Agriculture Course—-the cosmic dimension, the farm organism and the role of the soil. Crucial to the aim of this book is that we adopt a more enlightened view of how the farm or garden manages the interplay of earth and cosmos, and how soil, too often regarded as the most mundane of substances, truly sustains the whole of life.

Having widened our view of nature, the principal biodynamic practices are presented in Chapters 5 and 6. In previous literature these are mostly treated as axiomatic. Here, we engage in discussion and critique rather than straightforward description of procedures. In addition to the established biodynamic preparations, the window is opened on a range of less familiar innovations with biodynamic pedigree. Chapter 6, on the biodynamic calendar, includes much that is familiar to organic gardeners but urges reappraisal of the use of the zodiac and a clearer understanding of the opportunities a calendar may offer. Chapter 7, on seeds, represents a topic of vital importance to organic and biodynamic growers in face of challenges from the biotech world. Chapter 8 enters into the special character of water, the most vital of substances supporting life, and the way in which it is used and treated in biodynamic procedures.

The last four chapters, in their different ways, all connect with the human being. Chapter 9 examines the relationship between outer visible landscapes and our inner mental landscapes, and contends that working with nature in the biodynamic way can offer a mutually healing process for society and the earth. Chapter 10, which tackles the immense subject of food and health, will represent for many people the prime mission of biodynamic agriculture and is justification alone for probing the hidden pathways of nature explored in this book. Through discussion of modern health problems, the chapter confirms the wisdom of a holistic approach to nutrition.

Chapter 11 introduces the social element of agriculture. So far of limited impact, community involvement with agriculture seems set to gain momentum as pressure builds for more local production and consumption networks. In this field we highlight experiences on a number of pioneering biodynamic farms. The final chapter reviews the dramatic nature of current circumstances, highlighting concerns about food cost and security. It discusses issues which confront the organic movement and the challenge for biodynamics to be more flexible if it is to gain impetus. It points to the need for new relationships between society, the land and planet earth, all of which are inspired by spiritual ideals.

As the book’s chapters are written with a progression of ideas in mind there will be some benefit reading it that way. However, they can also be regarded as separate essays, and generous cross-references are provided. It is hoped that in this way, and with the provision of numbered notes, the book will offer useful study material.

Acknowledgements

This book is dedicated to my mother, Winifred Smith, who introduced me both to gardening and to the work of Rudolf Steiner.

I offer thanks to those with whom I have been able to work and discuss biodynamics, notably to my former partner Freya Schikorr and to Matthias Guépin. These include colleagues and friends within the Bio-dynamic Association as well as those I have visited in the course of inspection work with Demeter UK. Friends and acquaintances overseas, notably in Sri Lanka, have helped broaden my cultural awareness.

Those who have opened doors or played a part in my work within the biodynamic movement deserve mention. I would especially acknowledge Jimmy Anderson, Pauline Anderson, Joan L. Brinch, Timothy Brink, Alan Brockman, David Clement, Anthony Kaye, Hans-Günther Kern, Manfred Klett, Walter Rudert, Patricia Thompson and Olive Whicher.

I am grateful to Dr Margaret Colquhoun and Bernard Jarman for contributing Chapters 9 and 11 respectively, while Mark Moodie and Simon Charter provided assistance with Chapter 8. Others have offered valuable comments, including Alan Brockman, Peter Brinch, Wendy Cook, Bernard Jarman, Hans-Günther Kern, Dr Nicholas Kollerstrom, Paul and Anny König, Dr William Smith and Hans Steenbergen. Finally, various suggestions for improvement have arisen during the editorial process.

1. The Foundations of Holistic Agriculture

A historical context can help readers assess the distinctive contribution that biodynamics offers for understanding the natural world. Here we shall review how people in the past approached agriculture, and what has happened as a result of using agrochemicals. Organic farming will then be considered, noting the many benefits this can bring, before finally introducing biodynamics.

The nature of indigenous knowledge

Truly great minds are never those of narrow specialists. If we go back in time before the last three hundred years we find that knowledge was drawn from a wider field than tends to be the case today. Many great minds of the past—Leonardo da Vinci, Kepler, Shakespeare—could thus be described as polymaths, for their creative strength lay in a universe of knowledge to which they were still receptive or in which they were well versed. Chaucer, for example, commented that no one could be a physician who was not also informed by astrology,1 and when we use the word consider (siderus, Lat. star) we can appreciate that originally it meant to ‘consult the stars’. Holism, as it arose in Greek times, reflected the merging of a dawning intellectual faculty and its keen observation of the world with an intuitive wisdom which had prevailed for thousands of years. The contribution of Aristotle was pivotal in this respect. The Greeks stood at a crossroads of human evolution for they recognized the reality of a realm beyond material physical existence, embodied in their mythology. Awareness of cosmic influences on earthly life, as will be discussed in Chapter 2, was common amongst all ancient peoples. As we have increasingly gained independent intellectual skills, we have largely lost a faculty which once gave us access to a universal wisdom.2

To understand indigenous agricultural practices, some of which offer examples relevant to our time, we need to realize that ancient peoples, in particular their priestly elites, had an intimate understanding of natural phenomena. In the mystery centres, they were able to consult with cosmic wisdom (oracles) on all aspects of cultural life, including agriculture. Such access was normally acquired via a path of initiation (Fig. 1.1). Nowadays we assume trial and error has played a key role in human progress, including plant and animal domestication. This is the brainchild of an intellectual era, for the first domestication of grasses was achieved many thousands of years ago while a broad range of evidence shows that in temple architecture, music and painting, sublime expressions of artistic endeavour preceded later and lesser achievements.

Fig. 1.1 Angelic being depicted as pollinating flowers. Assyrian bas-relief from Nimrud, Iraq (Boston Museum of Fine Arts)

But living with nature year after year, in the rhythm of seasonal changes, was more than an education; it was the profound, first-hand experience of ancient peoples aware of the outer reality of their environment but also aware, inwardly, of how harmony or balance was to be achieved on the land (see Chapter 9). Balance is of course the aim of sustainable agriculture—farming which puts a premium on building and maintaining the quality of the land resource.

Traditional cropping systems

Until the nineteenth century all the world’s agriculture embodied elements of holistic practice. In Britain this consisted of relatively modern practical measures (rotation, tillage, drainage) with an underlay of tradition (use of locally adapted species, timing of agricultural activities, observance of seasonal festivals, folk knowledge of medicinal plants). Each indigenous system adopted different approaches to building and maintaining soil fertility but from ancient times it was evident that the waste discarded from settlements—from animal housing in particular—led to prolific plant growth, so the principle of applying surface organic materials became widespread. This can still be read from the dark appearance of soils in the vicinity of ancient settlement sites.

Many systems relied on combinations of fallowing and the collection of various nitrogenous materials for incorporation into the soil. Field-based and largely rain-fed systems from Europe to Asia depended especially on the manure from draft animals. These were not available in the Americas at the time of European contact, and other materials were used here including the guano of sea birds, together with fish heads.3 The Celtic coastlands of north-west Europe traditionally made use of kelp and other seaweeds which they laid out in long, narrow beds—‘lazy beds’ (Figs 1.2 and 1.3).

Fig. 1.2 Seaweed beds on the Isle of Rhum, Scottish Hebrides

Fig. 1.3 Harvesting seaweed in Brittany, France

Other systems relied on the natural fertility of fresh silt, flood and irrigation water to provide for sustainable production, the Nile, Indus and Mekong being classic examples.4 For this and other reasons, rice growing throughout the East—often virtually a monoculture—as well as wet yam growing in the Pacific region, has been amazingly robust. For example, paddies in parts of the East would be fertilized by the leaves and branches of surrounding trees, some of which were nesting sites for fruit bats which thus delivered guano. Buffalo would contribute by treading in crop residues and other organic matter while also adding dung. Meanwhile, after irrigation or flooding, paddies would benefit from blue-green algae, and even fish! Not so any longer, in the vast majority of areas.

In forested regions the food production strategy depended on whether native species offered enough subsistence or trading potential to be worth exploiting. In this way, and subject to other land being available for field crops, forest gardens came about. Much advocated by permaculturists, these are highly productive systems but mainly appropriate for tropical environments. Such sophisticated forms of polyculture are thus still practised locally in Sri Lanka (known as Kandyan gardens), parts of Indonesia and other areas of fast-diminishing rain forest. Here, the forest provides all its own nutrient needs while the diversity of species and ecological niches create a vast food web within the ecosystem. This is the eminently suitable form of productive land use for sloping terrain, and many of the best examples owe their survival to the difficulty of other types of cropping on such land. Even so, cultivators formerly constructed terraces to maximize food cropping and conserve soils against erosion.

For the growing of field crops, farmers widely used the system of ‘slash-and-burn’ land preparation, given names such as swidden, ladang, milpa, tlacolol and chena in different parts of the world. It is also thought that the brief burn of the soil surface helped stabilize nitrogen until the next rains came and seeds could be sown. After several seasons of cropping, the land was left as fallow for a lengthy period. Such systems achieved a reasonable equilibrium as long as land resources were plentiful in relation to population levels. During the cropping years it was common for different main crops to be planted in succession, both perennial and seasonal, according to their nutrient demands. Eventual abandonment, while allowing the bush to return and fertility to be restored, reflected the extra work involved as weeds became more troublesome. Especially in lower latitudes, cropping utilized not one but several species in combination, for example maize, beans and a cucurbit (Mexico and Peru), or alternatively manioc with either pigeon pea and sweet potato (Indonesia) or cow pea and melon (Cameroon). Such polyculture was worldwide prior to the advent of chemicals and modern farming methods—in fact prior to modern agricultural science!

It has been repeatedly shown that crops grown in combination outperform those grown separately over an equivalent area (the Land Equivalent Ratio), and that for poorer soils the benefits are proportionally greater.5 We should not be surprised by this, for the net primary productivity of complex ecosystems such as native forests is as much as two orders of magnitude greater than for modern arable farming. The benefits from mixed cropping are not trivial either, for increases of 1.5 to 4 times have been recorded in experiments. This arises from efficient utilization of soil and light, beneficial interactions between neighbouring plants above and below ground,6 effective pest management, and from comprehensive ground cover which stifles weed germination and helps maintain soil moisture. Also implicit in this system is a spread of the ripening and harvesting of each component. Polyculture was fundamental to food security, for if one crop failed, the family might survive on what remained. In Japan, barley and sweet potato used to be interplanted with Calendula. Intercrop systems were also widespread in China, though recent reports indicate those still adopting such practices are reluctant to talk about them as they tend to signify poverty. In fact, however, nothing could better exemplify holism in practice than such a cropping system. But with increased scale and mechanization, diverse cropping systems have become impractical. In many parts of the world, principally the tropics, we can see the remnants of such ancient systems. Even where mainstream agriculture has erased them they survive in home gardens where cultivation is based on bed systems and hand tools.

In higher latitudes with a lower angle of sunlight and more limited growing seasons, simpler cropping systems—whether in beds or fields—would have been more practical. The keeping of animals also had an effect on how cropping could be organized. In Britain, a strategy involving fallowing—swidden in prehistoric times—had been the norm. The medieval-village ‘three-field’ system embodied this idea and incorporated so-called ‘open-field strips’—very much an expression of people still labouring communally. But from Tudor times these strips were consolidated, a process accelerated by Acts of Parliament, and largely driven by the Industrial Revolution. To increase the intensity of production yet avoid soil exhaustion, cereals were followed by other crops—roots and later legumes—giving rise to locally distinctive rotation systems. Some idea of the earlier character of agriculture and biodiversity throughout Europe can be gleaned from recent studies of Transylvania.7

Even so, European single-variety rotations were as nothing compared to those of Central and South America or even West Africa. In the Andes, fields nominally planted to maize or potatoes in different seasons are commonly interplanted with other species, while not just one variety but up to 30 varieties of the main crop can be identified! If this is not a measure of our agronomic regression in recent times then it is certainly a measure of the genetic erosion which modern practices have caused.

Traditions of sowing and planting

There are countless local traditions for sowing, planting and other agricultural practices across the world. Extant in China in the Middle Ages was an elaborate calendrical system incorporating moon and constellations (Fig. 1.4)8 while a system of neketh or timings is still used in India and Sri Lanka.9 This not only concerns auspicious timings for work on different crops but, through the use of tithi (denominations of the lunar phase cycle), optimal timing can be assigned for individuals according to their horoscope!

Fig. 1.4 Calendrical diagram from the Wang Chen Nung Shu, China, AD 1313 (from Francesca Bray, 1975)

In the tropics where, rainfall permitting, cropping is possible throughout the year, the moon’s phases feature strongly in indigenous knowledge. Seasonal positions of sunrise as well as lunar rhythms used also to be keenly observed in temperate regions. Among many variations, the writer has detected similarities with regard to sowing and planting. Thus, traditions worldwide tell of sowing 2–3 days before the full moon and of planting or transplanting 3–4 days after full moon. It is acknowledged that the moon strongly influences water processes while seeds absorb water more rapidly around full moon (Fig. 1.5).10 Germination is therefore more effective if seeds are sown at that time.

One of the priorities of farming is to achieve rapid and even emergence of seedlings, so besides attention to seedbed preparation, seed priming may be undertaken (see Chapter 7). Without this, many seeds are victim to fungus or predation, while slow emergence invites weed competition. Agriculturalists of the past appear to have anticipated the optimum water uptake of seeds around full moon by sowing a few days before. For transplanting from a nursery the situation is different, for here we have already a plant with its root system. In this case, re-establishment of roots in fresh soil is the priority so that planting out in the moon’s waning period—when water is drawn less strongly within the plant—is entirely prudent.

Fig. 1.5 Water absorption by bean seeds around full moon (after Brown and Chow, 1973)

Decisions about what and when to plant were made also on the basis of keen observation. Indigenous knowledge systems thus included awareness of the habits of a range of wildlife species as portents of the weather in the seasons ahead.

Traditional systems of pest management

Traditional pest management took different forms. There were cropping combinations which helped contain such problems, together with attempts to scare pests or lure their predators by day or night using a variety of ingenious devices (Fig. 1.6).11 Auspicious timings were used to control different combinations of animals. Thus the phase cycle of the moon was divided into seven-day sub-cycles, each day deemed to have a particular characteristic ‘energy’. Such days, accorded the names of animals, are known as karana in Indian and Sri Lankan tradition.

The shaman’s services were widely used for tasks seeking control over nature that could not be undertaken without attaining high moral standing. Mantras would be chanted—stanzas which had power when recited with correct emphasis and repeated a particular number of times. Such rhythmic utterances are aimed at influencing the powers guiding the activities of different animal groups (group souls) and the world of elemental spirits (see below). In a similar way, Pirith ceremonies in Buddhism, which make use of water, offer protection for the person, for properties and land. But such mystical procedures, as with the Agni Hotra puja (offering),12 may also involve a burning process (dematerialization), a reflection of which is found in the church’s use of incense. While shamanism has always been concerned with human welfare (e.g. the witch doctor), it addresses not only the hazards of pests and disease but, in the Andes, protection of potato fields against violent hailstorms (Fig. 1.7).

Fig. 1.6 Indigenous devices for pest control, Sri Lanka. Left: Attracting birds to clear ground-dwelling pests. Right: Nocturnal lure for insect pests

Meanwhile a traditional method by which gamekeepers controlled the destructive habits of crows was to kill a few and place them on fence posts to deter their brethren, and some other pests are treated in a similar way to this day in parts of Britain. In a similar fashion, rice insect pests in paddy fields in Sri Lanka were once widely deterred by pinning said insects on posts at the four corners of fields. The choice of particular times or of chanting reinforced the deterrent effect (see Chapter 5).

Fig. 1.7 Shaman invoking powers to protect potato field, Bolivian Andes

Traditional reverence

It will seem strange to western people—now almost completely separated from the land—for this subject to be brought up in the context of agriculture. The sanctity of the harvest, together with sowing and other seasonal events, has been and continues to be a feature of traditional societies and, though poor, many in the developing world spend heavily on festivals and other celebrations. Formerly, in Britain and elsewhere, observance of each lunar cycle according to a system of Esbats and Sabbats was once widespread.

From the various theocratic religions of Asia and America to the animistic traditions of Africa, deities and elemental nature beings have traditionally been acknowledged. In these traditions there is recognition it is not only human work which gives us our crops but the participation of unseen helpers and unseen forces, now largely beyond human experience. Before starting work, many Hindu farmers still worship at a shrine placed within the field (Fig. 1.8), while in other parts of the world a consciousness of nature spirits remains. On a village development programme in Ghana, the writer encountered people who could engage in such communication. He was informed that these spirits were now departing because of the noise and pollution of tractors and the clearance of ‘bush’, which left them with no natural places to which they could retreat. This is no isolated incident, for recent sources illustrate the reality of a highly structured body of knowledge about nature beings.13 Many people have a capacity to perceive such spirit beings, more so when they are children, but such experiences are, of course, completely at odds with western paradigms.

Fig. 1.8 Hindu shrine beside rice paddies in Bali, Indonesia

Modern science assumes that with similar techniques different people can achieve similar results—but we know this is simply not the case. Individuals most certainly do have an impact on the world of the living; and a reverence for nature, whether displayed or not, appears to be fundamental to this (see Chapters 3, 4 and 5). We may therefore begin to understand how people in the past, and perhaps not just the shaman, were able to exercise influence over some of agriculture’s natural hazards.

Chemicals and commercialization

The history of conventional, chemically based agriculture parallels that of developments in science, warfare and commercial activity since the early nineteenth century. The details of this are outside the scope of the present volume but the lessons are not.14 We may be reminded here of the contrast between need and greed as famously pronounced by Gandhi. The advent of chemical fertilizers meant that farmers were no longer dependant on cultural strategies to maintain nutrition for crop growing. It simplified the farmer’s life but was also to be the start of rural indebtedness. Chemicals led directly to continuous cropping, to a decline in soil organic matter, soil organisms and soil structure, with urea a key culprit.

A further step was made when Norman Borlaug’s ‘miracle’ seeds hit the market place in the 1960s. These were the high-yielding, hybrid cultivars which were to give the Green Revolution its name. And chemicals, of course, were a necessary part of living that particular dream. They were needed for growing the crops to their potential yield, for preventing pest damage and for reducing weed competition. How ironic that when the chemist and the business world uses the word ‘green’ it usually means the exact opposite!

In consequence, a small number of hybrid varieties displaced countless open-pollinated traditional cultivars (see Chapter 7). This loss of biodiversity spelled the beginning of a continuing campaign against pests and disease which fails to be won despite huge expenditure. Enlargement of fields and farm units in the course of time to facilitate mechanization has merely increased these problems. The uniformity which resulted from the new varieties placed crops at risk because fewer organisms find suitable niches. Short-strawed cereals help avoid wind damage to heavier crops but bring the crop nearer to the ground, reducing ventilation and increasing the incidence of fungal disease. The introduction of genetically engineered crops is but a further turn of the screw which, despite current belief in technology, will not prevent future plagues of pests.

This narrowing of the range of crops has also meant that part of the broad nutritional base has been lost from local diets the world over. Thus a great deal of malnutrition is directly attributed to changes following the Green Revolution—an increased incidence of children with rickets being one example. Looking back to the nineteenth century, the lack of agricultural diversity was the key factor in the infamous Irish potato famine.

It could be claimed that agrochemicals have helped the world’s population climb from 1.5 to over 6.5 billion in the last hundred years. On the other hand, the environmental and human costs of achieving this have been enormous: soil erosion and desertification, water pollution, greatly reduced biodiversity and health risks to farmers and consumers alike—all this before considering the implications of increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, a process to which an intensified agriculture has made its own sizeable contribution.

Pesticides

The story of pesticides is a story of self-defeating aggression. It is also a story of bad science—bad because of the adverse consequences of pesticide use, and bad because most of the research has been conducted under the control of those with commercial interests. Pests of field crops usually have control organisms. When pesticides are applied, their natural enemies are killed along with the target organisms. Spraying affects the entire food chain dependant on insect life or other food sources.

Susceptibility of plants to pest and disease attack is crucially affected by stress. Arising from many sources, stress causes changes in metabolism. For example, prolonged intense solar radiation causes stress, so that temperate C3 plants are more prone to insect attack in the tropics. The provision of shade is therefore a vital consideration. Stress can also be caused by pesticides interfering with the surface protective layer of the leaf, then being absorbed by the plant. While plants can to an extent metabolize pesticides or their fragments, the latter can lead to retarded plant metabolism. The resulting elevated sugar levels may increase susceptibility to insect attack.15 The latter not only feed on the plant but also introduce virus diseases. In addition, pesticides inhibit soil micro-organisms such as nodule bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, so for this reason too plants may struggle to maintain healthy growth.

Owing to their rapid and frequent life cycles, pest organisms are well placed to develop resistance to the various chemicals—this principle also applying to virulent weeds. The result is that the farmer either sprays more frequently or increases the dose, irrespective of what the small print on the bottle may say. This intensifies the evolutionary pressure to acquire resistance, as well as increasing the health risks to the farmer. Pesticides and herbicides are formulated with a carrier substance which allows them to stick to or penetrate biological tissue more readily. While most of this propellant-surfactant is evaporated quite quickly according to humidity, it is not uncommon for the chemically active agent itself to have volatilized within 48 hours. This highlights both the pollution risk and the comparatively short-term effectiveness of many pesticides. Indeed, it has been estimated that at least 80 per cent of pesticide is wasted,16 and due to the world’s air movements temperate regions receive an undue share of the deposition of chemicals carried upwards in the atmosphere of the tropics.

Since the Industrial Revolution and major urbanization, living in the countryside has generally been healthier than town life with its pollution. But since the advent of agrochemicals, farmers have been at particular risk from pesticides, particularly poor farmers in hot countries who work unprotected and without access to adequate water for washing.

Organic-ecological farming

Without the recent history of so-called ‘conventional’ chemical farming it would be unnecessary to label any form of agriculture as organic in a generic sense. The word organic (or biological, ecological in other languages) signifies farming according to standards or agreed sets of principles. This sort of farming is ‘non-chemical’ in the sense that it does not use synthetically produced fertilizers or pesticides, nor does it permit the use of genetically engineered crops or products. And in order to ensure as far as possible that only genuine organic products reach the marketplace, each producer, processor, packer or importer of organic produce is subject to annual inspection in order to maintain what is referred to as certification. So the term ‘organic’ indicates a type of production but also signals customer assurance in the marketplace. Thus no produce may be labelled ‘organic’ and receive an organic logo unless it has been through such a process.

We will not attempt a historical review of this kind of agriculture, as excellent coverage already exists.17 A common misconception is to pigeon-hole it as merely ‘traditional’. Detractors often choose this direction of attack, for they like to promote the idea of organics as unprogressive and backward-looking, even ‘medieval’. But agriculture has a long heritage so it is natural and healthy that ideas which have proved themselves successful will live on into the future and become adapted in the course of time. In this way, different schools of thought originating from twentieth-century pioneers have contributed to a range of recognized organic practices. Additionally there is Permaculture, a complementary movement driven by a design philosophy. This is concerned with sustainable living as much as agro-ecological strategies appropriate for different local environments.18 The latter actively supports multiple-crop strategies and agro-forestry.

Differences between organic and conventional (non-organic) agriculture

What then, are the main differences between chemical and organic agriculture? In a nutshell, conventional chemical farming supplies nutrient for direct use by crops—soil is the medium in which this takes place. Nutrient concentrations fluctuate widely in the course of the year, influencing the behaviour of plant roots and micro-organisms. Wastage of chemicals occurs—especially under tropical conditions. The principal approach to pests is to target offending organisms—in other words to treat symptoms rather than causes. Environmental and human costs are externalized in the drive to maximize productivity.

For organic farming, building and maintaining a healthy and fertile soil is fundamental and can be illustrated from the sample data shown below where the ‘organic’ soils have higher water-holding capacity, a less compact nature and, through better rooting and biological activity, they extend to greater depth before the parent material is reached. The driver for all this is a combination of rotated and mixed cropping, green manures and the use of recycled organic wastes. In the majority of cases animal husbandry will also play its part. Organic farming and gardening provides plants with access to nutrients delivered by slower-release soil processes. The primary approach to pests is to use methods which promote a diversity of organisms. The aim is to produce a sufficient supply of healthy food while preserving the environment for future generations.

Fig. 1.9 A framework for organic-ecological farming

As part of rural economic life, agriculture has always sought to achieve two things: to provide a suitable basis of fertility, and to limit the losses due to pests. These twin realities are recognized in Fig. 1.9, where it is evident that organic farming cannot be viable without also being ecologically based. There is a parallel with the human being, for while we require nourishment (inputs) we also depend on an immune system (defence). Indeed, the essential philosophical difference between chemical and organic farming is that the latter formally recognizes the connectedness of things. It is for this reason that the ideal organic farm has been likened to an organism (Chapter 3). Organic farming must therefore go beyond a mere substitution of chemicals by organic fertilizer inputs. Indeed, its approach to plant nutrition and control of pests illustrates a potential robustness which deserves further comment.

Building soil fertility

Figure 1.9 shows a certain focus on the making of compost—manures and compost continuing to mark out organic farming and horticulture in people’s minds.19 Nevertheless, it is impossible to rely on compost as an input, so soil fertility is normally maintained in the rotation by growing green crops which lift nutrients and build nitrogen reserves. Some operations may depend heavily on the latter. For reasons to be elaborated in Chapter 3 this is far from ideal, but it can be a route to achieving organic production over large areas. Because the majority of organic farms and most home gardens will be handling compost, further comments are now offered (Fig. 1.10).

Fig. 1.10 Compost making as part of the educational process, Sri Lanka

Here we have to consider the most beneficial and least wasteful way of returning organic materials to the soil. To apply manure or slurry to the surface of land can be wasteful, although every method has its correct application and slurry applied to pastures as early grass growth occurs is a tried and tested practice. But if possible, organic materials should be composted, for in this way the nitrogen is more stable, especially under a regime of leaching, while the soil will not be so prone to developing acidity. Composted manure applied in the autumn to the soil surface will generally be carried down into the soil by earthworms. Given the tendency for increasingly mild and wet winters in the UK it is more important than ever for organic farmers to manage their nutrient resources wisely.

So what actually is compost, why is it so valuable to us and why therefore should organic practitioners take trouble to make it in a professional manner? Practically speaking, compost contains a high proportion of humus, which is what all organic matter breaks down to in the soil. The problem is that in the course of breaking down in the soil there is likely to be a shortage of nitrogen for plant growth depending on the carbon to nitrogen ratio of organic matter added. A soil environment in which decomposition processes predominate conflicts with healthy root development and crop establishment while a soil containing high levels of humus colloids is of the greatest benefit to plant rooting (Fig. 1.11).

Compost can be made from many different types of plant and animal waste and depends on the bacterial breakdown of carbohydrate- and protein-based substances together with incorporated minerals (see also Chapter 3). Providing there is adequate aeration, the organic matter is broken down initially to ammonia which dissolves in the moisture present to form ammonium ions. These in turn are oxidized progressively to nitrite and nitrate by different bacterial strains. It is in the form of nitrate that most plants take up nitrogen for subsequent elaboration of amino acids and proteins.

Besides nitrogen, completed compost contains sulphur, phosphorus and all the major and minor nutrient elements. For example, all green matter consists of chlorophyll which incorporates magnesium as well as nitrogen. Composts will vary in their chemical composition but in general they provide a well-balanced range of nutrients for plant growth. The organic matter itself is of benefit to the soil’s physical consistency, contributing to the soil structure and water-holding capacity. Compost is both a source of, and substrate for, soil micro-organisms which are the essence of a healthy soil. The added humus also improves a soil’s capacity to hold nutrients, a property known as the cation exchange capacity (CEC). In many soils a comparatively small addition of compost, providing this can be sustained year-on-year, will significantly enlarge the CEC (see also Chapter 4). In tropical soils, this can have spectacular results and is, more demonstrably than in cooler countries, a foundation for the success of a sustainable organic agriculture.

Fig. 1.11 The relation of plant roots to soil humus content (from Jochen Bochemuhl, 1981)

Management of pests and disease

The main object of organic farming is to build health rather than fight disease and pests. If we think about plants growing in the wild, the issue of disease and pest attack rarely arises because in addition to wild plants being more robust, the diversity inherent in the plant community effectively controls any organism getting out of hand. The message is that we have to design our agricultural ecosystems—on both larger and smaller scales—to be as species-diverse as possible.

As portrayed in Fig. 1.9, diversity of insects and invertebrates is a cornerstone of pest management and there are several ways in which this can be achieved. Creating and maintaining habitats for wildlife, such as woodland and hedges, together with ponds and wetland areas, is essential, using species native to the area as these are usually host to far more insects than introduced plants such as ornamentals. Both arable rotation and mixed cropping contribute to the management of pests for they signal plant diversity, and whether this is generated in space or time, diversity of insects and invertebrates will follow (Figs 1.12 and 1.13).20 The latter includes organisms or their larval stages in the soil. Changing the crop means changing the characteristics of the surface litter layer and the rooting environment (rhizosphere) so that certain organisms—parasitic nematodes for example—cannot go on multiplying, while the numbers of their cysts will diminish through predation. So the aim must be to provide an environment in which organisms generate mutual control. Any particular outbreaks of pest and disease may then be contained more easily by the use of a range of environmentally friendly methods.21 These include the application of a herb extract such as that based on nettle, the use of compost teas and use of imported materials such as neem (azadoractin). Biological control can also be achieved by imported pathogenic organisms such as Bacillus thuringiensis and different types of insect predators.

Fig. 1.12 Intercropping in New Zealand, North Island

When considering pest susceptibility one also needs to consider a plant’s natural defences. It is standard practice for farmers to select crops for their pest and disease resistance. In this respect, indigenous cultivars and primitive varieties are sometimes less susceptible, or even resistant. As plant domestication has proceeded, in order to enlarge the organs we wish to harvest, other attributes have become weakened (see Chapter 7). In this way natural plant defence through chemical inhibition (allelopathy) has been progressively reduced. Even so, the cells of organically grown plants have higher levels of accessory plant defence substances, the same ones we associate with flavour and, in particular, bitterness. These include phenolics, cyanogenic glucosides, tocopherols, beta-carotene and flavonoids. Organically grown plants also have thicker cell walls than those grown with synthetic chemicals.22

Fig. 1.13 Intercropping at Oaklands Park, Gloucestershire, UK

We should also address what it is that makes plants prone to pests and disease in the first place. Earlier we referred to various stresses. Plant health arises from a balance among the various processes involved in the vegetative and ripening stages of crops. Under a well-operated organic system, because nutrients are released more slowly by biological processes, such a balance is achieved and plants are less susceptible to pest problems. If we consider a community of wild plants, inter-specific competition is the norm and at no time could one plant ever experience luxury uptake of available nutrient. It is undoubtedly flushes of nutrients into plant tops which promote pest problems. One can observe that the type of growth with chemicals is different from that with organics—a rich green lushness often characterizes the former. Growth rates and yields are commonly reported as higher using chemicals—though in temperate rather than tropical experience. Yet it makes little sense boosting plant growth if the result is increased pest attack, post-harvest losses and a polluted environment.

It is therefore important to understand that fertility inputs and control of pests are not separate issues but interrelated.

The benefits of organic farming

Before leaving the better-known territory of organic farming and gardening it is important to underline the advantages arising from such husbandry as compared with chemical methods. These are summarized below but it is of greater value to appreciate the connectedness of the different aspects involved. This is portrayed in Fig. 1.14.

Produce quality and health. Organic food is recognized to be beneficial for health and is recommended in a number of therapies including those for allergy sufferers. Organic and less intensive methods lead to reduction in the incidence of veterinary problems and associated costs. Compared with untreated conventional produce, fresh organic products have superior keeping quality.

Soils and organic matter. Organic matter reserves are increased under organic management. This results from better plant rooting as well as from cultural practices including mulching, green manuring, compost application and appropriate cultivation practices within a rotation system. Improved soil structure results from this, giving better soil stability under rainfall impact. While carbon fluxes are an inevitable part of soil processes, organic units may claim to be working effectively towards carbon sequestration.

Plant nutrition. Access to nutrients is mainly through biological release. Organic matter levels normally ensure adequate nitrogen and other nutrients while the resulting humus enhances CEC. The activity of nodule bacteria and mycorrhizae is increased, which improves access to micro-nutrients. Phosphate fixation is countered by the flux of organic anionic compounds.

Drought tolerance. Organically grown plants have thicker cell walls which increase resistance to wilting. Deeper rooting and higher levels of soil organic matter improve access to soil moisture. Roots with highly developed mycorrhizal systems have increased drought resistance. As a result, irrigation frequency may be reduced which in turn reinforces strong rooting. Reduced wetting and drying in the topsoil reduces losses of soil organic carbon through microbial metabolism.

Fig. 1.14 Beneficial effects and interactions of organic farming and gardening practices

Water. There is little risk of contamination of surface drainage waters or ground water by nitrate or other soluble materials providing compost areas are kept covered and animal yards are equipped with suitable liquid storage. As water quality and availability become ever more critical, organic farming will play a positive role in our agricultural future.

Energy. Organic farming has a significantly lower ‘carbon footprint’ than conventional agriculture due to the latter’s consumption of energy for agrochemical production and transportation. As energy reduction plans gain momentum, organic farming is well placed for using predominantly local resources.

Wildlife. A variety of studies show that organic farming leads to increases in the numbers and diversity of wildlife. Together with a diversity of farm activities, this makes organic farms attractive for educational visits and community involvement in agriculture.

Biodynamics

In view of the formidable list of benefits for soils, environment and health arising from the adoption of organic practices, one might reasonably ask whether biodynamics can offer anything more.

The first thing to say is that biodynamics is founded upon good organic farming and gardening principles and is not something apart from it or even a substitute for it. At the risk of sounding over-simplistic at this point, it involves working more deeply with nature’s processes and, in so doing, striving for produce of the very highest quality to promote the health of human beings. The organic farming movement deserves credit for bringing a healthier and more ecological approach to land work and consumer consciousness. Biodynamics carries this picture further, in particular, by addressing a system of energies underlying life processes. One can rightly say that the realm of knowledge which it uncovers provides the deeper raison d’être for the whole organic movement.23

In order to develop an understanding of biodynamics it is helpful to know why this name came into use. ‘Bio’ signifies life, from the Greek bios (French biologique; German biologisch), while ‘dynamics’ derives from the Greek dunamikos (French dynamique; German dynamisch), a force or impulse stimulating change. So when we use the word ‘biodynamics’ as Ehrenfried Pfeiffer first did24 there is a presumption that we are dealing not simply with the visible forms of nature or of agriculture, but with underlying forces or energies. These ‘life forces’ create and vitalize nature’s forms—from the germinating seed to the developing mammalian embryo.

Although the biodynamic movement began in Europe following Rudolf Steiner’s seminal lectures of 1924,25 the pressing issues of soil and health leading to it were similar to those we associate with other, if slightly later, pioneers such as Eve Balfour.26 Steiner’s lectures quite clearly dealt with a form of agriculture which could be called ‘organic’ but, as a reading of them reveals, they were also designed to open windows on a new way of thinking about plant and animal nutrition (Fig. 1.15). Hence it was not just a case of substituting recycled organic matter for chemical fertilizers, but of understanding how—via the soil—we can best facilitate the working of unseen, sustaining forces. By knowing the existence of these forces we would be able to optimize the health of plants and animals. In this regard, chemical agriculture was headed in entirely the wrong direction.

Fig. 1.15 Rudolf Steiner c. 1920

But there was something more which lay behind Steiner’s motivation to speak on agriculture. He is on record as suggesting that a time would come when it would be very difficult for us to grow our crops owing to the declining vitality of the earth. We are free to interpret this as we like in relation to the world we currently inhabit, but this terrifying vision was a contributing factor to his instructions for a number of special ‘preparations’. The task of these was to strengthen connections between plant life and cosmic forces (also known as ethers) and to support the essential activities of what Steiner called ‘elemental beings’.27 It is not difficult to see ways in which the earth’s vitality has declined or been significantly compromised since Steiner foresaw this problem.

Although biodynamics encompasses a broad vision of the farm, of the human being and the way we work with nature, it tends to be associated in the public mind with two practical aspects:

1. To make soil and plant life more receptive (or responsive) to cosmic influences it utilizes field and compost preparations as directed by Steiner. Such measures are a basic requirement of all who work in a biodynamic way and who aspire to biodynamic (Demeter) certification. These are discussed in Chapter 5.

2. To access appropriate cosmic timings for production of different crops it makes use of a biodynamic calendar. This is largely a development since Steiner’s time and is not a requirement for those seeking Demeter certification. While timings can optimize certain effects, weather and other circumstances will frequently pose unreasonable constraints. The use of a calendar is discussed in Chapter 6.

A worldwide movement

Biodynamics has been adopted as a method of agriculture and cultivation in at least 40 countries, by many people and organizations around the world—originally largely by those inspired by Steiner’s ideas in a range of other fields.28

With the development of a genuine organic sector within agriculture a steady proportion have chosen biodynamics as a way of achieving a distinctive quality product, as for example in viticulture and tea growing.29 In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, biodynamics is formally recognized by government agriculture departments and research institutes for its contribution to ecological agriculture. Biodynamics has an impressive record of bringing back into production areas abandoned after years of chemical management—and this trend is set to continue. Thus large cattle and cereal farms in Australia became viable, and animals healthy, after years of decline under conventional farming methods. It is interesting to note that here and in New Zealand, isolated from its original roots, the method has been pursued with independent-mindedness and to great visible effect. This was originally thanks to the strong individual initiatives of Alex Podolinsky and Peter Proctor.30 The latter, in conjunction with other advisers, has also played a significant part in bringing biodynamics to India. Meanwhile, a truly remarkable story is that of Sekem—a sustainable biodynamic community in the Egyptian desert, established by Ibrahim Abouleish.31 Interest in biodynamics has also been shown in other eastern countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines. Here again, it has offered a much needed land-restoring agriculture within a holistic framework which addresses traditional spiritual values.32 Cosmic influences are no alien intrusion into life for many in these lands, as the use of a biodynamic calendar connects with the observance of auspicious timings for many important social activities. And while group certification in all these countries has provided access to export markets, it has also helped engender community consciousness.

As will therefore be evident, biodynamics connects not simply with the organic or wider environmental movements but with a holistic awareness of cosmic and spiritual influences on our lives. Concerning the latter, modern consciousness dictates that our relationship to this all-surrounding spirituality (or other-dimensionality) be based as far as possible on intellectual understanding and logical thought. It is with the latter that we shall now continue our journey.

2. The Nature of Life: Looking to the Cosmos

Biodynamics aims to understand how earth and cosmos work together. This requires us to build a knowledge of what lies outside the earth, and how it sustains what we call ‘life’. So, first of all, what is life?

Life is nothing if it does not involve process and development. For plants this encompasses seed germination, formation of roots and leaves as part of vegetative growth, leading on to flowering and seed formation. For animals, besides growth, it includes movement and consciousness. For human beings, besides a sentient quality there is awareness of individuality, or ego. Whatever organism we would consider, the processes of development, of maturity and ageing, are all parts of living a physical existence.1 Compared to non-living substance, living things are animated by a type of energy. As distinct from the body of physical substance which is clearly visible and embodied in the Greek bios, some call this energy principle a life body or etheric body—Indian culture calls it ‘prana’. The Greeks, too, recognized that life had a cosmic element which infused it. This they called zoë. It is this which ultimately underlies all the processes of life involved in anatomy and biochemistry.

Because biodynamics is informed by Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual insights,2 our attitude towards science, the human being and evolution is considered to have direct consequences. Does one, as Sherry Wildfeuer starkly contrasts, see humanity ‘as an accidental product of physical processes occurring randomly in the universe’ or as a ‘wisely fashioned divine creation with a capacity for love’?3 This philosophical fault-line needs addressing before we proceed further.

Scientific method—illusions and limitations

Materialist philosophy depends on all assertions being scientifically verifiable or capable of logical or mathematical proof, and it does not accept things which are metaphysical and which cannot therefore be directly observed or measured. This is the crux of the scientific method and it defines a paradigm which has come increasingly to rule the world of the last two centuries. We may not be able to agree with this approach in its extreme form4 but we should be ready to accept that the use of intellect and logical thinking has helped focus minds and has encouraged a spirit of disciplined enquiry in very many fields. But although philosophers and psychologists such as C.G. Jung have plumbed the depths and ascended the heights of the human mind,5 a spiritual or religious view is mostly considered irrational—the antithesis of a scientific outlook. However, the reality of a metaphysical or spiritual counterpart to the manifest world cannot be as easily dismissed as adherents to a materialist dictum might wish.6

Countless people have experienced unusual states of consciousness and are convinced that a realm exists beyond the physical. ‘Near death experiences’ are of this kind and have a remarkable consistency of form. States of meditation are a further example of finding a way beyond solely physical perception. The inspiration of those involved with the visual arts and music offer insight here. Similarly, for very large numbers of people there is the reality of intuition which is not rational yet is capable of engendering an often trustworthy sense of certainty. Indeed, many of the greatest minds have had ‘hunches’—intuitions by another name—which enabled key questions to be formulated, prior to the observations or experimentation which led to, and which took credit for ‘discovery’. So if we dissect the process of scientific enquiry—if we look at it as a continuum—it is complex and cannot claim to be entirely rational. To persist in arguing that scientific and spiritual approaches are fundamentally opposed is either misguided or mischievous.

Rudolf Steiner’s ‘anthroposophy’ (literally, ‘knowledge of the human being’) may be characterized as a spiritual knowledge of the human being in the context of the wider universe.7 With roots in theosophy, it is based on his faculty of spiritual vision and its disciplined use to achieve specific research objectives. However, it is presented in such a way that the knowledge can be compiled in a manner suitable for the mind of today to grasp—hence his use of the term ‘spiritual science’. In the end, spiritual research and subsequent comprehension of its findings relies on clear, logical thinking. And surprisingly, this quest for objective spiritual knowledge in no way demeans religion—it enhances our view of its role in the evolution of humanity. Most important of all is Steiner’s assurance that through spiritual science we don’t just exercise the intellect—we nourish the soul.8

Evolutionary theory—problems left unsolved

Evolutionary theory was an achievement of both logic and courage at the time it was presented. On physical evidence it appears that life has evolved through time and that higher forms have evolved from lower, like links in a chain. Human ontogenesis appears to reinforce this notion.9 Thus ‘natural selection’ and ‘survival of the fittest’ were expressions found in the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.10 But while the origin of species was addressed, the origin of life was not. It is this question which will remain a barrier unless certain basic ideas are understood.

Aside from the creationist view there is general belief that life arose spontaneously from inorganic substance. Yet to become an organism is to incorporate chemical substances within a cellular framework. The organism needs to enclose itself and become separated from an outer environment. It then needs to be capable of propagation, for which replicating signatures—DNA and chromosomes—are required. And just as photosynthesis and flowering are governed by solar radiation, there is emerging evidence that these very particular combinations of proteins are activated by cosmic signals.11 Again, if we consider micro-organisms that contribute to an animal’s digestive process these only begin to decompose their host when that illusive thing called life withdraws. Living organisms demonstrate an organizing principle or energy without which the body cannot be sustained. This is not just a spiritual idea but an empirical fact.

To perpetuate standard evolutionary theory is not to understand life or its origins. Scientific method is limited to the observation and measurement of physical reality whereas spiritual science, together with religious writings and mythology (albeit veiled and allegorical), tell of what lies behind this reality. Rudolf Steiner gave credit to what orthodox science had achieved but was emphatic that its methods, appropriate for understanding the mineral world, would never reveal the truth about living organisms. Scientific method was able to tell us about the corpse (the geological record) rather than the living entity (the origin and nature of life). Natural and spiritual science would appear to be two sides of a coin—in our present world, one cannot exist independently of the other.

Learning from the past