"I never tell anyone whether or not he should abstain from alcohol, or whether he should eat vegetables or meat. Instead, I explain how alcohol works. I simply describe how it works; then the person may decide to drink or not as he pleases. I do the same regarding vegetarian or meat diets. I simply say, this is how meat works and this is how plants work. The result is that a person can then decide for himself." (08.01.1923)

Principles

Based on the conviction that all physically perceptible material things are an expression of an (invisible) idea and that these ideas can be cognized, human nutrition is also an interplay of the visible and invisible, of nutrients and forces. It is a matter of learning to perceive what is invisible just like the visible, and of applying this to the questions about nutrition.

Human beings live on foodstuffs which are produced on the earth, because they are earthly beings and therefore have to deal with the earth. During digestion the foodstuffs are digested and broken down depending on the material and its nature: this is the prerequisite for the body's own individual creation of substance, as well as for the stimulation of the forces required for this.

Food supports the human being in developing their creative and intellectual abilities as a basis for being active.

Fundamentals

Human nutrition starts with the production of the foodstuffs, or actually with the matter of the seed. Biodynamic agriculture promotes healthy soil on healthy land in healthy countryside. This gives rise to healthy food from the soil to the plate.

The conscious creation of the value-added chain from the seed via cultivation, processing and trade to preparation, eating culture and eating together creates non-material values such as social relationships and commitment.

The transformation of the foodstuffs during processing and preparation ensures that the nutrients are retained but also takes account of the non-measurable qualities like warmth, light, ripeness and beauty.

Human beings live on the fruits of the earth but also from their sense impressions such as the flavour and smell of the food, and the feeling of well-being after the meal and also, for example, from the experience of a landscape. Human beings develop their body from the inner reaction to the sense perceptions. Just as the eye can only behold the sun because it is sunlike (Goethe).

As social beings, we are also nourished and formed by eating in company, because we grow through encounters.

Practice

Every person is an individual, which is why there are no generally applicable laws of nutrition. The conscious perception of what we eat, how it looks, tastes and is easy to digest – attentive eating – is the first step to gaining confidence in individual nutrition.

The different types of cereals form the basis for a healthy diet.  On the one hand cereals contain nutrients in balanced proportions (carbohydrate, protein, fat, minerals, etc.) and on the other hand, forces from light and warmth which they stretch towards during growth, overcoming gravity. We need these qualities for being human and for thinking.

The functional threefoldness of the human body in nerves/senses, rhythmical and metabolic/limb systems is related to the root, stem/leaf and flower/fruit of the plant and can always be used to support the corresponding realms.

Seasonal and regionally produced foods help us become aware of the season and the effect of the natural environment in which we live. Because we are also globally connected beings and want to sample the tastes of other countries, this can be done based on commitment to and collaborationwith trading partners.