Christus my babe draw near
Though brightest light now overshadows
The innocents preparing your home,
The cradle and the straw,
The closeness of the animals,
The warmth of fire and the moon’s bright glow,
The angels there for all to see:
This image keeps and holds the mystery
Of your first incarnation.
And so we see that you are there for all
And in the simplest smallest way
Our savior and the savior of this earth
That we belong to.

Draw near now, permeate each grass, each drop of dew
With your sweet presence, let all be comforted.
They say the church of the Nativity stands empty:
Yes perhaps that is so for now
But if you fill the souls with love

Then rushing into emptiness will come new meaning.

I want to go where you were born and walk the path
Your earthly feet once traveled.
I want to pour my own love out
So that it spreads and spreads
Even unto coldness of stone,
Barrenness of field laid low by greed,
And suffering of beasts.

I want my love to sing out and be merry
So that stones begin to throb with joy,
The grasses grow and blossom into seed,
And beasts combine in concert
Kicking up their heels to such extent
That old earth mother and all her fairy
Helpers above and below
Ring out with laughter and well-being.

Poor is the land that carries dead soil
From far comes the wind that moves it
Burdened the folk that tarry awhile
And not tending it merely abuse it
We once had an Eden where grasses grew tall
And crickets hummed their sweet music
The fragrant abundance matured in the fall
Hands harvested, cherished and used it.

Come brothers and sisters, return to your task
Embrace what is yours—give it ferment
You know that without it your soul cannot last
Find your heart—be the earth’s willing servant.
Build a vessel for life from wealth wide and vast
A bequest to the children you parent
It will unchain your limbs, your true purpose unmask
And reward you with praise ever fervent.

Search the web for an article by Darina Allen in the Examiner, March 11...genetically modified potato planting in Ireland

Genetically Modified Pigs

Blogs flying around, some for and some against the issue of the socially and genetically improved pig (see Newsweek article on new phosphorus-low enviropigs, and other articles which you can find on other blogs) offering the perfect omega-3 rich grunter.

First of all, would you consider it strange that just when the issue is heating up of BASF going to plant GM modified potato seed in Ireland, and growing negative findings concerning GM, there is a diversion...the lure of an environmental and culinary MIRACLE cooked up by the genemod kitchen?

Would you find it strange that a Newsweek article writes about phosphorus pollution in rivers, but doesn't specify how that pollution came about, however connecting it to the excretions of pigs? Never mind that this was not an issue down through the ages when pigs and mankind and cows and birds lived easily together and waters were clean?

And would it not be excessively strange that in all of this the pig seems not to exist as a living, breathing, sentient being, a fairly intelligent being actually, and an affectionate one and not a thing, a product, an omega-3? Was not the farm animal cared for with respect previously and didn't this add to the nutrition of the meat it offered?

Are we going to watch our earth being destroyed because we only see its purely physical components without any consideration for the larger, subtler, connections that give us joy? An earth in which food is manipulated to create, as it were, supplements and medications for the diminishing vitality our materialists would like us not to notice?

And will we continue to fall for the repeated convenient fables and dogmas that pass for 'science' while our children are denied wholesome food so that they become too lethargic to protest? I have lived long enough to witness the decline and the hype that never lets up until we all believe it, and I can tell you, it is not funny.

Fruits have come
When all is said and done—
The myrtle creeping on the wall
Has even filled with rounded seed
And when we think that we have gone
Through thick and thin
And here and there
And now tis flown—
What will the next epoch prepare?
We have our task; we know not
has it met the needs of others—
Have we right principles and are we able?
Are all the places that we’ve had to furnish set?
The fruit laid out, is it all ready yet—
For now the guests are bidden to the table
Have we fulfilled and have we made
The purpose that we came for?
Are we now free, or is there more
And how will we be weighed?

Community Supported Agriculture

In 1997 a remarkable book was published by the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association in the US, called Farms of Tomorrow Revisited, co-authored by Trauger Groh and Steven McFadden. Trauger Groh is an agricultural pioneer who spearheaded the extraordinarily successful CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) movement of the mid-1980's.

Here are a few quotes:

'The financial and agricultural practices of recent decades have made it increasingly difficult for existing models of agriculture to prosper. In America, the family farm has fallen victim to a relentless marketplace; meanwhile, corporate farms have tended to place short-term economic advantage over our relationship with each other and the earth.'

'What do we want to achieve with nutrition besides keeping up our bodily functions? How can our diet support not only our physical health but also the development of our spiritual faculties so that they function in the best way? The point that men and women live longer today than in the past is a poor argument for the quality of our food if we do not pose questions about the conditions of our lives.'

'Nearly all manipulations with food--additives, radiation, and conservation methods--serve not the purpose of quality, but rather the purpose of distribution over long distances, shelf-life, and a pleasing appearance. Contrary to what might be right for many industrial products, the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food favors quality when it is done locally.'

'We cannot move back to a rural society. We have to create a new relationship between the citizens and 'their' farmland that will make the benefits of farm experience available for anyone who seeks education, recreation, or therapy.'

The book goes on to describe steps for beginning with the CSA model.

We are fortunate to have Trauger Groh visiting us here in Dingle this June.



Technorati tags: biodynamics, agriculture, farming

Finding the Value in Food

Recently, organic food has been given positive press here in Ireland. Several days ago we noticed an article by Oliver Moore in the Irish Examiner; Food science advances have led to nutritional decline. I will paraphrase in part:

1. there is now a substantial body of nutritional information suggesting that we have sacrificed quality over quantity.
2. The Food Commission (UK) has found a decline in micronutrients in food since the middle of last century: 'highly processed foods mean we are likely to be overfed yet malnourished.'
3. the rise of industrialisation and globalisation of agriculture results in nutritional deficiencies.
4. medical interventions become a substitute for a healthy lifestyle.
5. while we may be living longer it does not necessarily follow that we are living healthier or particularly happy lives.

Now, fortunately, public attention is being focused on local, smaller scale foods, organic where possible, produced in a less intensive way...as Oliver Moore says: more seasonal, fresher and less processed foods with all the attendant socio-environmental benefits.

May Ireland preserve her verdant land and become a haven for living food.


Technorati tags: organic, food, farming