and the other is not harmed or helped, such as when barnacles use whales as transportation. Parasitism is where the host is harmed but not killed such as a flea on a dog. Predation includes the killing of another animal. However, we know that the predator-prey relationship is not only a predation relationship but a mutualistic relationship. The predator keeps the herd moving so that the grassland remains healthy for the benefit of both species as well as numerous other species. The wolf kills the old or sick deer, but the riparian area is improved as is the deer herd genetics. All the other species that rely on the health of that riparian area reap the rewards as well. In this way, predation moves toward mutualism whether the wolf and deer are conscious of this dynamic or not. It is how nature functions and balances. Actor Joaquin Phoenix used his Oscar speech to encourage the audience to “end speciesism.” He is part of a PETA PR campaign using billboards which state “We are ALL Animals.” Indeed, we are all animals, and we are part of a natural system that has certain realities in which we must engage regardless of the amount of technology we have at our disposal. I believe it is our technology that sometimes makes us think we can control nature or avoid defiling it when in reality our every action
touches the spider web of life around us and causes reverberations locally and thousands of miles away. We struggle to even begin to understand the complexity of this world while we also resist the human systems that we know are broken and offend our values. Again, the argument is that because we are humans and have a higher consciousness, we should not act like other animals and should hold ourselves to higher standards. I would agree that as a higher successional species, we have the potential to recognize the impact of our species on the planet and make decisions that will result in an increased biodiversity and healthy ecosystem processes that feed all life, rather than continue to evolve as a parasitic specie. It also requires decisions that recognize we are not the only species that need access to these resources. If we don’t change course, then nature will self-correct this progression for us (as it has done already on numerous occasions). For this reason, our choice of diet must be focused on increasing biodiversity, not trying to limit our damage to the planet. I believe integrating livestock into agriculture is a key component of that increased biodiversity effort. We can’t leave nature alone given the amount of impact we have had on the planet. We need
to be an active partner in the reclamation of the planet. If we are the predators in this mutualistic relationship, we must make conscious choices that increase community and planetary health rather than decisions that suppose us to be the most important species. I think that vegans are trying to make those kinds of decisions. As a community that cares about planetary health, the Holistic Management community must find ways to communicate across dietary lines so that we can all better understand the short-term and long-term ramifications of our dietary decisions. Together we need to better inform the much larger portion of the population in developed countries who are making dietary choices based on what is cheap and convenient, not what is good for human and planetary health. We must do this work on a market level and at a policy level to make changes to our food system so it feeds our community and our planet. Our consciousness, awareness, and ethics provide us with the opportunity to partner with nature rather than attempt to create dominion over nature. The first rule we have to truly accept is that the cycle of life is the cycle of death. All die and are eaten. The choice is how we do our killing and our living and how it serves the greater community.
Bibbaringa Station—
Developing An Earth Canvas BY ANN ADAMS
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any farmers and ranchers are aware of the incredible beauty of the landscapes they manage. For many of those producers, agri-tourism is a profitable enterprise as they invite consumers on to the land to share that beauty as well as the realities of farm and ranch life. Gillian Sanbrook has taken this concept one step further in developing the concept of the Earth Canvas at the 990-ha (2,475-acres) Bibbaringa Station in New South Wales, Australia and other surrounding Holistic Management farms.
Healing a Landscape
Gillian originally trained under Certified Educator Bruce Ward back in 1990 when she and her husband, David, were running Pooginook Merino Stud Farm in Jerilderie. After they sold that business in 2007, she invested in Bibbaringa and focused on improving ground
Gillian Taylor cover and strategically planting trees to slow the flow of water across the landscape. She also focused on rebuilding the soil fertility using mostly stocker cattle (approximately 300–500 cows and adult cattle) based on the amount of rain she thought she’d be getting as well as looking at the amount of forage she had and how well the land was recovering from the
previous season’s graze. “In 2007 Bibbaringa was run down due to the 1,500 sheep and 700 cattle grazing the property before we bought,” says Gillian. “We had to let it rest to get it going. We gave it nine months of recovery. Now there is so much grass, but we had lots of weeds at first. I buy and sell cattle CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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