Sacredness of Life: Animal and Climate Welfare

Mangarara Station in New Zealand, owned by Greg and Rachel Hart, is a 610-hectare/1500-acre hill country farm in Elsthorpe, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand. This holistically managed farm is a mixture of rolling hills, steep hills, pasture, lakes, wetlands, and both native and exotic trees. Since purchasing the property in 1990 the Harts have added numerous enterprises to their operation, which now includes pigs, dairy, beef, sheep, chickens, and the Ecolodge, which overlooks Horseshoe Lake and was retro-fitted using local and natural materials all grown and milled on the farm. In the video titled "Restoring Paradise" Greg shares his philosophy of why they are practicing Holistic Management. That philosophy is centered on their focus of the sacredness of life. They want to provide a really good life for their animals, to honor their lives, as part of the cycle of life (which does include the death of all components of the food chain). They also see the sacredness of life in the soil they nurture through their holistic planned grazing, which in turn sequesters the carbon in the atmosphere as part of the process of increasing soil fertility for all the animals below and above ground. While Greg wonders what New Zealand looked like 1,000 years ago, he also understands his role in improving the ecosystem processes on the land he manages as he works to "restore paradise." This understanding of how humans can partner with nature is a critical part of Holistic Management. To learn more about how you can better understand Nature and make decisions to improve planetary health (whether you are a food advocate or agricultural producer), visit HMI's free download page to select your free e-book on Holistic Management today. ____________________________________________________________________________________