Deep ecology is in some ways, like agroecology, a way in viewing biodynamics as a philosophical system. Agroecology can be used to "explain" biodynamics in terms of agricultural ecology and production systems - and deep ecology can likewise be used to explain biodynamcics in terms of philosophical context.
WHY does or should biodynamics need such "explanation?" Good question. Steiner wrote in complex prose, requiring substantial study to understand. This was also his intention. He wanted people to use their minds, sharpen their whit, be mentally active. His terminology, his sentence construction, his vast connecting of concepts and analogies - let alone the content of his many books and lectures - make it hard to sit down in an hour and "get it." In an age of quick fixes, this seems almost against all reason. However, I can assure you, dear Reader, it is not. Indulging in a deeper look at Steiner and his approach, affords new vistas and opens new horizons that are for both the practitioner and philosopher - magnificent. For example: how he explains the purpose and process of composting: re-enlivening the soil.
A poetic metaphor and scientifically speaking absolutely accurate. Using agroecology and deep ecology to explain biodynamics, as a bridge is not a one-way street. By so doing, we acquire a greater appreciation for agroecology and deep ecology - both immensely valuable developments - even if they were, at least germinally, already incorporated in large measure in Steiner's expressed ideas and suggestions.
"Deep ecology is a contemporary ecological philosophy that claims to recognize the inherent worth of other beings aside from their utility. The philosophy emphasizes the interdependent nature of human and non-human life as well as the importance of the ecosystem and natural processes. It provides a foundation for the environmental, ecology and green movements and has fostered a new system of environmental ethics.
Deep ecology's core principle is the belief that, like humanity, the living environment as a whole has the same right to live and flourish. Deep ecology describes itself as "deep" because it persists in asking deeper questions concerning "why" and "how" and thus is concerned with the fundamental philosophical questions about the impacts of human life as one part of the ecosphere, rather than with a narrow view of ecology as a branch of biological science, and aims to avoid merely anthropocentric environmentalism, which is concerned with conservation of the environment only for exploitation by and for humans purposes, which excludes the fundamental philosophy of deep ecology. Deep ecology seeks a more holistic view of the world we live in and seeks to apply to life the understanding that separate parts of the ecosystem (including humans) function as a whole."
(from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_ecology)
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