Organic Foods

[Sadsack]

PS -
I really wouldn't give a hoot - bring on the diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc - I don't care - the sooner this journey is over the better. The ONLY thing I fear is returning to the darkest days of my life, when I had a LOT of symptoms, was very sick, and was frightened out of my mind. If I knew that Domino's Pizza wouldn't reactivate my symptoms but would bring me closer to a fatal heart attack, I'd be on the phone right now ordering delivery.
SS

[2manyfibers]

I posted something in April this year about how sewage sludge is being used as fertilizer in organic farming these days. Based on a lot of what I read organic may not be as positive a development as it should be, at least the way it appears to be done in many cases. Here's a link to my original post - it also discusses drug residues found throughout the US water supply. I posted most of the section on "biosolids" (a "marketing" term for selling sewage sludge as fertilizer ) after the link:

Wastewater Treatment Plants

It’s not like there isn’t a history of problems with treated sewage sludge (or “biosolids” as the marketing pukes at the EPA and other places call it – sadly, the EPA does have a marketing department). In 1992 the EPA finally figured out that sewage sludge was causing severe problems in the oceans, which is where sewage sludge used to be dumped. Of course, what plan would a brilliant, dedicated to health and safety government agency come up with as an alternative? Why let’s just market it as fertilizer for farmers and other people that can use it (maybe landscaping companies) and claim that it is perfectly safe! (don’t let the fact that it killed fish when we dumped it in the oceans sway us from putting it directly on food crops and livestock feed crops – trust me ………… it’ll work out great!)

Now, after several years and several lawsuits, the truth is starting to come out about what a nightmare the EPA has countenanced against the American people (and other governments have followed suit as well – the same procedures are widely used across the world now). The following link has a lot of good information and a couple of excerpts from the article follow the link (strangely enough, many of the health effects sound a lot like morgellons):

http://www.beyondpesticides.org/news...4/01_13_04.htm

In the more than ten years since sewer sludge has been recycled as fertilizer, 350 health complaints related to the practice have been collected by The Cornell Waste Management Institute. Health effects include respiratory complications, abscesses, reproductive complications, cysts, asthma, weight loss, fatigue, eye irritations, gastrointestinal illnesses, headaches, lesions, nauseas, nosebleeds, rashes and immunodeficiency problems, according to the petition.

“The efficacy of treatment methods in reducing or eliminating broad classes of viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and parasitic worms needs to be documented,” writes Dr. Lewis. His research on the health threats from sewer sludge was published in two peer-reviewed journals while he was still with the EPA and has been reproduced in numerous publications.

Incidentally, I read that Dr. Lewis mentioned above was fired from the EPA for questioning the safety of their sewage sludge programs - yet another fine example of how these government agencies are "protecting" us. Here’s another link to a story on how sewage sludge that was supposed to be safe for use was used as fertilizer for hay and killed off an entire dairy farm (excerpts from the story shown below the link):

Toxic Sludge as Fertilizer on Farms--A Major Threat

The farmers outside Augusta, Ga., say the hay had a musty chemical odor and was dark and mottled. But they fed it to the cows. Then the cows started to waste away, growing so thin that their ribs could be counted through their skin, the dairy farmers say. The cows died by the hundreds. "We just couldn't save them," said Andy McElmurray, whose family has been farming here since 1946. "They wouldn't respond to antibodies. They wouldn't respond to IV fluids. They wouldn't respond to anything. They just ended up dying."


And here’s something from the same article that makes me suspicious about what are marketed today as “organic” foods. These companies that market “organic” foods charge a large premium for supposedly making sure the food they sell is grown organically. But “organic” is a relative term to them apparently – part of the sewage sludge is organic, but it also is likely to contain all kinds of heavy metals and industrial chemicals like benzene, and many other toxic chemicals (depending on where (what industrial plants) the sludge comes from and how effective or ineffective the treatment processes are – and the quality of treatment processes varies greatly between plants). Many "organic" growers if not most use these processed “biosolids” (marketing word for recycled human and industrial waste solids) for fertilizing the crops they sell as “organic”.


Since Congress banned ocean dumping starting in 1992, using processed sewer sludge as fertilizer has become the most popular way for municipalities to deal with waste. Sixty percent of the 5.6 million tons of sewer sludge disposed of in the country is processed, relabeled "biosolids" and applied to land, according to industry figures.

In fact, many farmers say processed sewer sludge is a cheap and effective fertilizer, and organic farmers prefer biosolids over chemical fertilizers. "It actually raised my protein content in my wheat that goes for milling," said Andy Domenigoni, a farmer in Winchester, Calif., who is disappointed that his county banned sludge just over a year ago because of health concerns.


The sludge may have increased protein content in his wheat, but I’m guessing that he didn’t have it tested for content of toxins and heavy metals and the like. This is one of the reasons I don't have a lot of personal trust in organic foods as a general statement – the “non-organic” chemical fertilizers used on standard crops sound more healthy than they used to now.

Here’s another link to many stories about sewage sludge and health impacts:

Links to sludge biosolids website / public health

So I guess what I’m saying is that you don’t have to live anywhere near a sewage treatment plant to be affected by their sludge and “reclaimed” water.

[carla]

Thats it I'm never going to eat again . No wonder everyone is sick .
So How can it be organic if they treat it chemically ?

[tcmgpt13]

Great post 2mf. I cannot understand how this has been allowed to happen. Do these government folks have hidden safe sources from which to buy food and protect themselves? More than 20 years ago my husband wanted me to use Milorganite to fertilize the garden, but I had read warnings about using it in the newspaper. I just looked up this product and this is what their site says about it. I do not see the company mention that Milorganite is made from sewage sludge under their FAQs. Yet the article I read long ago said that it was. Who to believe? :

Milorganite FAQs

I heard that Milorganite contains heavy metals. Is that true?

Yes, that is true. All fertilizers, both organic and synthetic, contain some heavy metals. In fact, plants need some heavy metals, such as zinc and copper and molybdenum, for normal, healthy growth. Milorganite meets the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "Exceptional Quality" criteria, which establishes the strictest concentration limits in the fertilizer industry for heavy metals. Many other common fertilizer products exceed the limits for metal concentrations established by the EPA "Exceptional Quality" standards. Milorganite, though, can be used with confidence for all your fertilizing needs, including use on all types of grass, trees, shrubs, flowers and vegetable gardens.

"Is Milorganite safe for children and pets?

Yes. Children and pets can safely go onto areas that have been fertilized with Milorganite. Milorganite meets the most stringent criteria imposed on any fertilizer product for health, safety and environmental concerns. However, use cautionary measures around open bags of Milorganite and store unused portions away from children and pets.

What if my pet eats Milorganite?

If your pet does eat Milorganite, you can rest assured that Milorganite meets the strictest health and safety regulations imposed on any fertilizer product and won't seriously harm the animal. We do recommend, however, that you store unused Milorganite away from children and pets as it may give them an upset stomach if it is ingested. For further information, please call (800) 304-6204."

The article I read back then was enough to scare me. There was a lot of discussion about cadmium. This is found in sewage sludge. If so I wonder why anyone believes that there is a safe way to recycle batteries, much less use it as an fertilizer.

It nearly broke my heart to read about those poor dairy cows in Georgia. It is callous beyond belief that this goes on. What is worse, it seems that the farmers who fed the suspect hay to these cows were unaware of the inherent danger in doing so. So sad.

I also am finding "organic" vegetable gardens listed on green websites where one group was starting their garden across the road from a local landfill. These gardens have been planted by families who probably do not know that danger in which they put their families and the public to whom they are selling their extra "organic" produce.