RE need for animals in Bd. Just a short reply, as I am flat out. We need the animal parts for the BD preparations, as they work with bringing in the astral forces. Plants are etheric and bring in astral substance for our food from the cosmos if prepared with the animal parts.
Also, if we only use plants for manures, we lose the astrality that brings in the form or basic blueprint of the plant. One of the observations of plants continuously grown without any animal manure is that they gradually lose shape ( as chemically grown plants do) and the seed loses viability. Earthworms only have weak astrality, but are attracted by the astral forces that the Cow Horn manure (Prep 500) brings to the soil. "The cow horn has the ability to hold and ray back the astrality coming from the digestive system, which continues to enliven the digestion and resultant dung to a high degree. The horns retain this ability even after removal." P.Proctor "Grasp the Nettle" pge 36. Working with astrality and etheric is one of the major factors that differentiates biodynamic from organic . The role of the preparations is to balance these forces in the soil and atmosphere and to bring the forces and substances of the cosmos to our food. And we as humans need these forces and to evolve in our consciousness. We are grateful and honour the role animals play to help us evolve. It is our duty to see that animals are cared for well in their lives. Cheryl Kemp ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frank Teuton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, December 16, 2001 9:29 AM Subject: Re: Off Topic-BDNow and the Waldorf Critics List > > What I don't understand about this is why animals of a mammalian nature are > needed to mediate between plant growth and soil building. Economically, they > are necessary to harvest perennial forage growth, with meat, milk and fiber > sales providing income while the perennial sods rebuild the land. The > manures are less important than the permanent cover, lack of tillage, and > especially the exudates pumped into the rhizosphere by the plants > themselves. Or so it seems to me. > > Lacking a method to use perennial forages, it is also possible to use > vegetative materials brought in from other parts of the farm, or else from > off farm. This latter possibility can be combined with on farm inputs to > regenerate soils, using materials such as collected fall leaves, chipped > branch wood, and similar products which may be free or even available > carrying tipping fees. > > http://www.sbf.ulaval.ca/brf/regenerating_soils_98.html > > http://www.woodsend.org/sustain.pdf > > Similarly, importation of rock dusts to remineralize the soil, can be > carried out in the absence of large mammals, although I hope everyone > realizes that it is completely impossible to farm in the absence of all > animals. > > See > > http://www.statlab.iastate.edu/survey/SQI/SoilBiology/soil_biology_primer.ht > m > > Protozoa, nematodes, arthropods and earthworms, on to the small vertebrates > that share our earth, all these are animals, and anyone who eats from tilled > earth has participated in their carnage. The plow does the least damage, the > harrow, the most. Don't even ask about rototillers. > > I'm sure these Steiner critics buy no food from tilled soil production, eh? > > I am not smart enough to know whether slaughtering a cow, or several sheep, > or a few dozen turkeys, or more chickens, per acre, is less cruel than doing > in thousands and thousands of smaller animals via tillage; when the words > 'animal cruelty' are placed together my first thought is for the mice in the > paws of the cats. Cruelty to animals by humans is a serious issue, but not > one subject to simple analysis---the obvious problems with factory farming > include but are not limited to the low quality of life the animals within it > experience. The better life they have on organic and biodynamic farms is > still short of wild, natural life. > > In some sense, all agriculture is the concentration by humans of plant and > animal production, and what the organic and biodynamic movements claim to be > able to do, is to balance this process with natural methods, including tools > introduced to them by Rudolf Steiner. There is much in these claims that I > do not yet understand, but I do think there is a great deal of substance > there. > > > I guess my major point here is that a poor soil on impoverished land can be > replenished by plant matter alone, or with plant matter and rock dusts. The > smaller animals will do an adequate job of manuring it. I say that not to > say that there is anything wrong with bring grazing animals into the > picture; this is likely desirable where it is possible. But, where these > animals are not available or even forbidden, other good options exist which > can bring good results. > > Frank Teuton > > > > > What many consumers and vegetarians do not seem to understand is that our > > soils are now so depleted, that we require the use of animal manures, > > rotational grazing and or preparations to re build our soils to the point > > where they can produce quantities of quality food to feed masses of > people. > > In order to farm without any animal based fertilizing, one would have to > > have so much land so as to establish at least 7 to 10 year rotations. > Which > > is extremely unlikely and unrealistic today, or tommorrow. > > > > Sincerely, > > Christy Korrow > > > > >
