A Noble Science

My dear wife Shahla and I spent last weekend celebrating our three year wedding anniversary in the Point Reyes area of Marin County, just north of San Francisco. Among the highlights of the trip was spending time together in a beautiful natural setting, surrounded by rolling green hills sparsely populated with farms and ranches. We learned that much of the credit for the preservation of the natural beauty of that region of Marin is attributable to the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, or "MALT," an organization seeking to preserve agricultural land in Marin County. According to its website, MALT's mission is the following:

Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) was the first land trust in the United States to focus on farmland preservation. Founded in 1980 by a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists to preserve farmland in Marin County, California, MALT acquires agricultural conservation easements on farmland in voluntary transactions with landowners. MALT also encourages public policies that support and enhance agriculture. It is a model for agricultural land preservation efforts across the nation. MALT has so far permanently protected over 38,000 acres of land on 58 family farms and ranches.

I can't say that I had previously spent a whole lot of time thinking deeply about agriculture, but spending time in this setting produced such a strong sense of our connection and close relationship with the land. It was a total sensory experience--our eyes feasted on the beautiful vistas, our ears experienced sometimes silence, sometimes the rustling of the wind, sometimes the calls of various birds, and every evening, a symphony of frogs in a nearby pond. And, of course, our stomachs thoroughly enjoyed the organic local cuisine! One restaurant we visited had a map on its wall showing where all of the ingredients of its food came from--dairy products (including the award winning Point Reyes Blue Cheese), produce, seafood, etc., all came from within a few mile radius! It was amazing to observe the balance that had been struck between encouraging the productivity of the land and maintaining it's natural beauty.

A document we picked up in the town of Point Reyes Station contained part of a speech given by Warren Weber, one of the MALT Board Members, in which he said:

Now we are focusing less on development, more on agricultural productivity; less on outside forces and more on locally produced food and the regional consumer; and less on landscape as open-space and more on its biodiversity, its productivity, its community-strengthening attributes. We are figuring out, step by step, case by case, how our, at times, sadly mechanistic and confrontational culture fine tunes the balance between people and the rest of nature, between feeding ourselves and protecting biodiversity, between using natural resources and cherishing them.

Reading this really spurred me to want to learn more about what the teachings of the Baha'i Faith have to say about agriculture and the relationship between humanity and the earth. Interestingly, I came across the following passage, from the aptly-named "Compilation of Compilations," detailing some of the references to agriculture in the Baha'i Writings:

Bahá'u'lláh states that "Special regard must be paid to agriculture." He characterizes it as an activity which is "conducive to the advancement of mankind and to the reconstruction of the world". 'Abdu'l-Bahá asserts that "The fundamental basis of the community is agriculture, tillage of the soil...."

He describes agriculture as "a noble science" whose practice is an "act of worship", and He encourages both women and men to engage in "agricultural sciences". He indicates that should an individual "become proficient in this field, he will become a means of providing for the comfort of untold numbers of people".

In relation to the economic and social development of the nations, the Universal House of Justice underlines the importance of "agriculture and the preservation of the ecological balance of the world".

In terms of the more general question of humanity's relationship with the natural world, a document from The Baha'i International Community entitled, "Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Baha'i Faith," provides the following insight:

Bahá'í Scriptures teach that, as trustees of the planet's vast resources and biological diversity, humanity must seek to protect the "heritage [of] future generations;"see in nature a reflection of the divine; approach the earth, the source of material bounties, with humility; temper its actions with moderation; and be guided by the fundamental spiritual truth of our age, the oneness of humanity.

In this light, it is interesting to consider how foundational agriculture is to the life of every community, and how important our approach to agriculture is to the relationship of humanity to nature. It would seem that the spirit of our relationship with the earth, and the goods that it produces, has profound consequences for our well-being and happiness, and the progress of humanity. It is encouraging to learn of organizations like the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, who are seeking to promote an "agrarian renaissance," and a harmonious relationship between humanity and the earth. This certainly seems a step in the direction of "the preservation of the ecological balance of the world."

It would be great to learn of similar efforts in other parts of the world. Any insights would be greatly appreciated!