Organic Is Not Enough

Need for More Profound Principles in Organic Agriculture

Worldwide, there is a growing recognition of the need for a new paradigm in agriculture. There is a concern from both farmers and consumers over the health hazards resulting from chemically intensive agriculture. Fortunately, the natural, organic farming movement has begun to address this concern.

Organic agriculture is a term used to include systems of agriculture that support the healthy and life supporting production of food through environmentally and socially sound production methods. Organic farmers adhere to globally accepted life supporting principles, which are implemented in local economic, climatic, and cultural settings. Organic farming generally promotes health in the farmer, the food, and the environment. It uses methods that respect and uphold the natural capacity of plants, animals, and the landscape. (See Appendix 7 for the main principles of organic farming and the growth of its popularity world-wide.)

Organic farming produces food of a higher quality with more nutrients than conventional farming. (See Appendix 3 for an analysis of the increased nourishing value of organic food.) However unless the food is Vedic, it can never by fully natural, because it will not be completely enlivened with the nourishing and evolutionary power of Natural Law. In Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture we want the totality of Natural Law, from point to infinity, to be enlivened in agriculture.

Although the increased awareness of the principles and practice of organic farming is encouraging, there are deeper and more comprehensive principles that must be introduced into agriculture to ensure that our food supply is reliable, sustainable, and of the highest quality. These new principles produce the best quality food while maintaining a high quality of life for the farmer.

While the underlying ideals governing organic farming are laudable, they generally fail to take into account the quality of consciousness of the farmer and his subtle relationship to his crops. The Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture program goes beyond the current practices of organic farming to encompass the full range of life, including the consciousness of the farmer and his effect on the whole life of the farm. Maharishi Vedic Organic brings the nourishing power of Natural Law in agriculture, bringing new life and its natural, evolutionary progression into farming.

Without the development of higher consciousness in the farmer, without the application of all the Vedic technologies of farming, Natural Law will never be fully enlivened to support the farmer and the crops. Farming will never be complete and fulfilling, and the food thus produced will not be completely nourishing, revitalizing, and well metabolized.

Importance of Food Ripening Before Being Harvested

In the practice of Maharishi Vedic Organic Agriculture food must be allowed to fully ripen on the plants or trees for the complete nutritive value to be present, and for the full intelligence of Natural Law to be enlivened. The food must have been allowed to go through all the transformations natural to its life cycle, and harvest must also be at a time when plant vitality is maximum.

It is well documented that nutrition comes out most profoundly in the last days of the ripening process. Since proper nutrition is the purpose of eating in the first place, food without its full nutritive value defeats the very purpose of our efforts to maintain a vital, healthy diet.

Even though organically grown, juices from unripe fruits, vegetables that are not vine ripened, or foods that are old or frozen are simply lacking in vitality and/or incomplete in their nutrient value. Maharishi Vedic Organic food is like nectar, with all the necessary nutrients. The pricing of this quality of food may be higher to meet these freshness requirements, but the quality and nutritive value will also be proportionally higher, making the investment highly worthwhile. (See Appendix 3, Scientific Research on Organic Agriculture and Nutrition.)