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Cultivating Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture

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Cultivating Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture Cultivating Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture A comparative study of local meaning-making at Earth Haven Farm in Canada and Nordgard Aukrust in Norway Imre van Kraalingen Master Thesis in Development, Environment and Cultural Change Centre for Development and the Environment UNIVERSITETET I OSLO May 2019 II Cultivating Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture III © Imre van Kraalingen 2019 Cultivating Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture http://www.duo.uio.no/ Print: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo IV Abstract Nature’s living ecosystems, which sustain all of us, are unravelling, and the world is changing at an unimaginable pace. There is an increasing urgency to move away from the commodification, desacralization and exploitation of natural resources in agricultural systems. Deeper insights into the underlying ethics of food production and consumption can facilitate alternative ways of working with nature for cases where conventional methods are conflicting with values about working on and with the land. This study contributes to an evolving understanding of the relationship between humans and the natural world. Placed within a unique and empirically grounded discussion of spiritual ecology, this thesis takes an ethical approach to explore the cultivation of embodied connections within biodynamic agriculture. These embodied connections lie at the intersection of the individual, the community and the environment. The research is based on a comparative, ethnographic and participatory study of two biodynamic farms: Earth Haven Farm in Canada, and Nordgard Aukrust in Norway. Whilst acknowledging that every biodynamic farm is embedded within broader, nested levels, this study demonstrates that it is at the micro-scale where personal, contingent and embodied relations develop. These, in turn, have the potential to facilitate empathic identification with the earth as a living entity. This study suggests that such processes may offer pathways to developing ethical and active engagement with the living planet, in which we are deeply immersed and with which we are in constant interaction. Key words: Biodynamic agriculture, spiritual ecology, environmental ethics, embodied connections, community development, Self-realization. V Acknowledgements A lot of what you tell me I cannot understand, because it is not a part of my world. In order for me to understand, I need to enter your world and you need to be willing to share it with me. One of my participants said to me that, when we are open to truly listen and learn, to pause our thinking, speaking and acting, we can open new doors to ways of knowing and understanding the world. I wish to thank all the people who participated in my research, for allowing me to enter their world, and for sharing their stories, visions and experiences. Without them, this research would not have been possible. I wish to express a huge ‘thank you’ to my supervisor, Martin Lee Mueller, for consistently allowing me to follow my own course, while gently steering me in the right direction with his aspiring guidance and constructive feedback. You have challenged me to be bold, to stand up for my work and to keep on growing – as a researcher, a writer, a thinker and an experiencer. Thank you! I want to thank all the people involved with my department for co-creating a stimulating and comforting environment in which to learn and grow. My sincere gratefulness also goes to Rob van Wilgen for his dedicated language review. I wish to thank all my friends for the cheering, support and caring they provided. Miriam, words lack to express how grateful I am for having a friend like you: you are my rock in the ocean. Arnar, you were the one to deal with my everyday struggles, my ups and downs, and you stood by me every step of the way. Thank you for patiently (and less-patiently) listening to my endless contemplations, for always believing in me, and for taking me out in nature to reflect on the beautiful and meaningful in life. Finally, I wish to thank my family for their never-failing encouragement to always follow my heart; throughout my life, my study and now throughout my research. I am grateful for all the beautiful people in my life, who continuously remind me that every small change, every act and every word we speak sends ripples into the world – in the vastness of space and immensity of time. I am beyond words. VI In a time of melting ice sheets, in a time of wars, in a time of inequalities, in a time of insatiable hungers, in a time of constant competition, in a time of alienation, in a time of denial, The freer seed of a sunflower is resting in the palm of my hand. Hope. VII Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... V Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ VI List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... X 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 Thesis Outline ....................................................................................................... 2 2. Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 5 Agriculture and Environmental Ethics .................................................................. 7 2.1.1 The Challenges of Modern Agriculture ............................................................. 7 2.1.2 Conceptualizing Environmental Stewardship .................................................... 9 2.1.3 A Paradigm Shift.............................................................................................. 11 Ecological Paradigms .......................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Spiritual Ecology ............................................................................................. 13 2.2.2 Deep Ecology ................................................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Anthroposophy ................................................................................................. 19 Embodied Connections in Biodynamic Agriculture ........................................... 21 2.3.1 Humans and Nature .......................................................................................... 22 2.3.2 Humans and Community ................................................................................. 24 2.3.3 A Sense of Self................................................................................................. 25 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 27 3. Methodology and Methods ........................................................................................ 29 Methodology ....................................................................................................... 29 Research Methods and Method Triangulation .................................................... 31 Data Processing and Analysis ............................................................................. 33 Ethical Considerations......................................................................................... 34 4. Context ....................................................................................................................... 36 Canada ................................................................................................................. 36 4.1.1 Earth Haven Farm ............................................................................................. 37 Norway ................................................................................................................ 39 4.2.1 Nordgard Aukrust ............................................................................................. 41 5. Part I: From Experiential to Intellectual Ways of Knowing Nature .......................... 43 Dancing with the Cosmic Rhythms of Nature .................................................... 44 VIII 5.1.1 Soil and soul ...................................................................................................... 44 5.1.2 Living in living landscapes ............................................................................... 49 Local Food, Local Engagement .......................................................................... 58 5.2.1 Growing food, growing community? ................................................................ 63 Sowing Seeds for an Ecological Self .................................................................. 67 5.3.1 Children of nature ............................................................................................. 68 5.3.2 Being alone or being all-one ............................................................................. 69 6. Part II: From Intellectual to Experiential Ways of Knowing Nature ......................... 73 Rooting in Nature ................................................................................................ 74 6.1.1 From beauty to duty .......................................................................................... 79 Creating Conditions for Growth .........................................................................
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