>If you're monitoring SANET or Elaine Inghams compost tea discussion >group, you already know that the USDA organic rules group has been >advised to restrict the use of compost teas on food crops. This >applies particularly to teas that use added sugars (mollasses, for >example). Already, however, it appears that the rule may be >generalized to 'ban' all cow manure based teas. The chances of this >impacting BD 500 and BC is very high. Of course, this only applies to >people who are interested in receiving USDA organic certification, >but the possibility of truly negative publicity is very high. I don't >have all the details on these events, and what I've said above may be >misleading. > >What I have to say most importantly is that we need to gather all the >information we can on this move by the USDA organic group and discuss >it among ourselves so we are prepared to speak out on it and more >importantly, to talk intelligently to our customers about the >difference between biodynamically grown foods and USDA organics. > >-Allan Allan,
Such is the level of science--or is it politics?--in the USDA. Clearly in a compost tea brewing schema sugars provide food for bacterial proliferation, which lies at the basis of the effectiveness of compost teas. Plus, cow manures from cows on pasture and decent grass/hay, while rich enough in coliforms, will never have the virulent HR 157 strain associated with feedlot beef. Just freaking out about coliforms is not good science. You need to understand that the kinds of coliforms that occur under healthy conditions are quite different from the kinds that occur under bad conditions. While Elaine has the science on her side, the big question is where the politics will fall. She's got some big detractors in folks who want to sell poisons and in folks who are doing large scale animal confinement from grains processessing and don't particularly want the full story of bacteria and coliforms to come out. It's pretty stupid when you get right down to it. You aren't going to get virulent coliforms in animals that don't get chronic diarrehea, such as occurs in feedlots from the feeding of grain by-product concentrates. They simply don't occur on pasture and hay, as the conditions aren't right for them. But they commonly occur in the intense confinement operations and then there are immense recalls of meats. This is costly! The big companies should change their methods! I know they have a set-up and are capitalized into it, but it is costing them bigtime. Irradiation is the next fix. Going for BandAids? Another stupid layer of the lady who swallowed the fly, then the spider, then the mouse, then the rat, then the cat, etc. Just close your mouth, stupid! Work on digesting the fly. The idea of putting poison on food--and then irridiating it?!--good ole insanity. The result would (will) be widespread death. Let's see what we can do for Elaine in getting more of the FULL truth to the fore. Best, Hugh Lovel Visit our website at: www.unionag.org
