I am developing a completely new
doctrine regarding animal husbandry. As
you are aware, this whole area is seriously controversial and has actually
worsened in the past century with the advent of factory farming. On top of that we also have extremist vegetarian
movements which can go to such extremes that we could no longer live on
Earth. This has developed into a
spectrum of mostly unacceptable protocols when it comes to animal husbandry
generally and the only thing it has produced is a growing consensus that we
have to do better.
I want to say one thing
first. We are terraforming Terra in
partnership with the animal kingdom and our domesticates in particular. Our animals are capable of been our most valuable
allies who live to solely to work with us and our lands and to also supply food
of their own substance. Yet this has to
be seen in terms of the animal’s perspective.
I had this revelation opened to
me by an individual who is evolving into a horse whisperer as her life
mission. She had been hired to work at a
stable and what she found shocked her to the core. The animals were been terribly abused. This overwhelmed her and she sat down and
wept.
Astonishingly one of the horses
came over to her and mind to mind told her to not weep for them. They themselves had chosen this path. That it was also about them and the humans
they were interacting with and that they accepted this. This obviously both relieved her grief and
startled her. I find it is continuing
confirmation of a group mind among animals.
What we owe our domesticates is a
life free from abuse as that is only a reflection on ourselves. Their partnership does include passing on and
supplying us with meat as well. Yet they
choose this path as a way forward. Thus
we must get over ourselves and accept our part in our partnership and execute
our duties gracefully and even mindfully.
Once we accept the doctrine of
the group mind and mutual service, it all works. I have come to understand that horse
husbandry needs to be part of our natural exploitation of the boreal
forest. They are key to successful moose
husbandry as well as any other animals we bring in.
We need our animals to groom our
forests and fields and even reprocess soils to strip out insects and
roots. Other methods are hopelessly
costly and damaging. Examples abound
from factory farming which all rely on maximizing a handful of factors while
employing a minimum of human input. Let
me demonstrate a single solution.
The natural human community is
150 individuals on one square mile of land.
That community can profitably handle twenty milking cows without
depending on external inputs. That is
also enough for internal consumption as well.
Thus there is a specific need to tailor equipment to do just that. It will still produce a substantial
exportable surplus while actively engaging several individuals in shared duties
without making any one individual a slave to the cows.
Better yet the animals can graze
waste areas as well as the inevitable rotating pasturage and that includes the
woodlands although that may be reserved for the steers. Such a simple operation is contained and
produces a huge dairy output for the community as well as at least a dozen
carcasses each year. At the same time it
consumes silage and low quality grains as well.
None of this works as well when
you decide to simply double that same herd.
You soon discover you have too many people and need to chase food
supplies while the manure problem becomes larger than the operation. In agriculture, it turns out that there is a
right size that can be then optimized and perfected.
Thus my doctrine rotates back to
my understanding of the natural community and advancing our own integration with
the animals to accomplish both economic success and biological success.
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