A Bethlehem Request
	Contents: In Accompaniment The Divine Breath also Streams through Nature and Animals Tradition does not justify cruelty Materialism is drawing to an end Animals Need a Habitat The emergence of a modern “cultivated landscape” Peaceable Cultivation The unity of life Humans and animals again become friends The Laws of the Eternal Creator are Against the Arbitrary Hunt and Chase of Animals The Kingdom of Peace Becomes Visible How can you help?
	Further literature and links
	Download brochures and flyers
	Collecting signatures for animal protection and against hunting
	Contacts, Ordering Information
	How can you help?
	“Even $1,- helps!”
	Impressum

In order to gain unity between humans and nature again, a change in our agricultural production system is indispensable. The once simple farming practices have become an agro-industry of violence over the last 50 years. It is not only violent against billions of cows, pigs and chickens, which it fattens under barbaric conditions in the barns of factory farming, which it tortures on endless animal transports and slaughters under the victims’ ear-splitting screams of fear; it is also violent against nature and the countryside, which alone in Germany is plied with 3 million tons of artificial fertilizers and 31,000 tons of pesticides every year. Everything falls victim to the chemical mace, everything that gets in the way of the concept of an industrial, piecemeal exploitation of nature: The microorganisms in the soil as well as the luminous field flowers and the picturesque herbs of the fields, which earlier gave life to the countryside, offered protection to the animals and shaded the soil as well as the fruits on the ground.

Only a few felt that this commercial practice was against nature and could not do well in the long run. The soil of the fields was exhausted; monocultures destroyed the countryside; ammonia clouds from liquid manure poured over the fields were transformed into acid rain. As a counter movement, “organic farming” emerged, which wants to keep animals as is “just to their species” and cultivate the fruits of the fields “organically.” Until now, it comprises less than 3% of all agriculturally productive land in Germany.

For the animals, at least during their lifetime, conditions here are better: They have more space to run around in and are not allowed to be fed with the carcasses of their own species. The fields, too, can breathe a sign of relief somewhat. They are spared chemical poisons. However, solid and liquid manure also burden the farm fields here. And not only that: Until the middle of December last year, even in “organic farming” fertilizing with blood and bone meal was still practiced. Such compromises are now taking revenge: In the “Age of BSE,” liquid and solid manure fertilizer on the fields and blood meal in the fertilizers are factors of insecurity, which cannot be swept away by deception with even such wonderful labels as “organic” or “ecological.”

When the farmers who work with the Gabriele Foundation began to farm years ago without the use of animals and without solid and liquid manure, they did this first of all for the sake of the animals, which they did not want to slaughter. Only a few sensed that this should soon be for the sake of humans as well: that this peaceable cultivation of grain, vegetables and fruit would become the crucial point of a healthy food production. The words “BSE-free” and “Dioxin-free” that are so important today, would not have been understood at that time. Even the terms like “organic” or “ecological” didn’t have the significance then, that they do today.

The goals of these farmers were admittedly set quite high from the very beginning: They wanted the production of a high-quality and healthier food product that is in full harmony with the life of nature. No one should have to die through it – not the animals in the barns, or in the pastures, or even the microorganisms in the top layer of the soil. For this reason, chemical fertilizers, pesticides or solid and liquid manures are not applied. Fertilizing is done only with pure natural substances and minerals. The soil is loosened as gently as possible – principally through grubbers, and partly with flat ploughs, as well. Today, in the area surrounding the Gabriele Foundation and in agreement with it, about 1000 hectares on the southern edge of the Spessart region is already being farmed in this way for grain, vegetables, fruits and herbs.

To peaceable farming, the soil is a great, living organism. Just as a person needs a period of rest after doing his work, so does the soil need to recover after an active period of yield. This is why during previous centuries farming was done using the so-called three-year crop rotation method as the basis for their production. Grain and root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, etc.) were planted during the first two years of rotation and during the third year, the field lay fallow. Cultivation followed a regular pattern of alternation between the fields to avoid overworking the soil.

Today’s peaceable cultivation works in a similar way. The fields are farmed for two years in sequence, and during the third year they lie fallow to draw new strength. During their fallow period, grasses and herbs like clover and chamomile grow to regenerate the soil in a natural way; and billions of microorganisms are active. They “digest” wood particles, leaves and straw, turning it into a humus that is rich in nourishing substances, thus producing a healthy and fruitful soil. For the animals, too, the fallow year offers an important habitat where they can live a whole year without being disturbed, without being bothered or driven away by the planting and harvesting work.

 

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