Aletta Venter
Freed Land Trust (South Africa)
Biodynamic agriculture is a worldwide movement that uses an approach to sustainable agriculture based on the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner as enumerated in a series of eight lectures given to farmers in Europe in 1924. A group of farmers started using these biodynamic methods to address the various problems they were experiencing on their farms. The course included valuable advice on how to prevent future problems – many of which we are now experiencing.
Some examples of Steiner’s insight and foresight include:
- Healthy and enlivened soil is the foundation of healthy plants, animals and humans.
- All of the various trace minerals and elements are essential for plant growth. Many of these findings are only now being corroborated by modern science, e.g. the recent ‘discovery’ that silica is vital for plant health.
- Cows would become mad (‘mad cow disease’) as a result of unnatural feeding practices.
- The current decline in the human immune system is a direct result of modern farming practices.