Biodynamics and the Future

When Rudolf Steiner gave his original Spiritual-Scientific Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture, he restricted himself to the situation of the people who had demanded he give these lectures. In Koberwitz, which is now part of Poland, Steiner gave remedies based on what would be locally available on a diverse farm: weeds and offal. The recipes themselves may seem unusual, but realistically, these were not meant to be strange or esoteric at all. The biodynamic preparations are ways for farmers to grow their own fertilizers out of what is normally considered waste products. Steiner had to find things that commonly grew in the area and were commonly discarded on a farm. These, combined, are the basis of the biodynamic preparations. 

If Steiner were to have given his foundational lectures anywhere else in the world, it is quite reasonable to imagine that the plants and resources he would have recommended would have been different. The future of biodynamics centers on, first and foremost, looking at what grows well in your region, and then finding suitable analogs to what the biodynamic herbs and animal components were intended to do. This is not a colonial mindset, where the third world must accept recipes from Europe. No, this is is about finding suitable local indigenous plants from the resources of your own region in order to minimize inputs.

This is not a simple task, but it is the future of biodynamics.