Veganic farmers work without animal fertilizers
June 18, 2008 3:07 AM EST
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The tradition of farming the land in northern New
Mexico's Espanola Valley had been passed down from Don Bustos' Spanish
ancestors who tilled the same soil centuries before.
But when Bustos realized the traditional farming techniques he was using
could harm his children's health, he went organic 15 years ago. Now,
Bustos said he has found an even safer method - vegan organic farming
without any animal fertilizers or byproducts.
Much like certified organic farmers, veganic farmers use no synthetic
chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified
ingredients. Veganic farmers take it to another level by not using any
manures or slaughterhouse byproducts. They don't even use organically
approved pesticides.
Salmonella and e-coli are bacteria that live in the intestines of
livestock and are present in their waste. Livestock waste, or manure,
can be used to fertilize fields, potentially contaminating crops with
the disease-causing bacteria.
Crops can also be contaminated by contact with infected animals or their
byproducts, including bone meal and blood meal, which are used as
fertilizer as well.
Veganic farmers use crop rotations and composted plant matter - or
"green manure" - to fertilize their crops.
Bustos, 51, was inspired to pursue veganic farming four years ago after
listening to then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns speak.
"He was talking about ways to protect the safety of our food system, but
to me you still have things like e-coli and salmonella from manure
(fertilizer)," Bustos said. "Now, I use no manures, no bone meals, blood
meal, no pesticides, nothing."
The method, also called stock-free farming, is an emerging concept in
the United States.
Stephane Groleau, co-founder of the Veganic Agriculture Network based in
Quebec, Canada, said he's aware of only a dozen veganic farms or
gardeners in the U.S. He said the farming method is more popular in
England and Europe because of lack of available land for raising
livestock and concerns over livestock diseases transferring to humans.
"In Europe, what we see is they import a lot of their meat and they
don't have as many animals on their land. And animals require a lot of
space, so if you have just a small holding, it's very demanding for the
farmer," Groleau said.
Veganic farmers in the U.S. are motivated by the need to protect the
environment and human health, said Ron Khosla, who operates the 77-acre
vegan organic Huguenot Street Farm in New Paltz, N.Y., with his wife.
Khosla said the primary source of nutrients on many organic farms in the
country comes from manure from confined animal operations, or what he
calls "factory farms."
"You think you are getting these clean happy vegetables, but more often
than not they're grown in waste from factory farms," he said. "The
animals ... were fed non-organic feed laced with hormones and
antibiotics. Those products bio-accumulate in the animals and it's
present in their waste as well."
Both Kholsa and Bustos said they have a strong customer base that seeks
out their produce because of the vegan growing philosophy as well as a
growing awareness about food production.
"Customers are becoming more aware about how their food is grown and the
practices by the farmer who's growing it," Bustos said. "It's the
customers that are encouraging us to find ways to become more
environmentally conscious and efficient."
Veganic growers say their methods reduce environmental impact by using
less land, conserving water and producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
The practice, they say, is also cheaper than traditional farming and
organic farming.
Experts say veganic farming has yet to be proven as the silver bullet to
better growing practices because of its obscurity on the American farm
scene.
"It's a new enough concept that benefits haven't been demonstrated one
way or the other, either economically or from a quality standpoint,"
said Charles Martin, assistant professor at New Mexico State
University's Sustainable Agriculture Science Center.
Though misapplied animal manure can cause crop contamination, it is no
more common than other possible ways for salmonella or e-coli to appear
in the food supply, said Billy Dictson, director of the Office of
Biosecurity for the Southwest Border Food Safety and Defense Center.
"Contamination can happen anywhere, from the field to transportation to
field workers to people that come in contact (with produce)," Dictson said.
Walter Goldstein, research director for the Michael Fields Agricultural
Institute in East Troy, Wis., said animal manure has proven quality
benefits when growing crops. He said ruminant manure lasts longer in the
soil and releases less carbon back into the air than green manure.
"The optimal farm is where livestock are integrated into the land, not
separated from it," Goldstein said.
Farmers can be certified as veganic by meeting standards set by the Soil
Association Certification Ltd. in England. However, Khosla is working on
veganic standards for American farmers through his organization,
Certified Naturally Grown, based in Stone Ridge, N.Y.
"Since it is not mainstream, we have to find a way for farmers and
consumers to exchange knowledge and provide information for farmers to
convert to veganic farming," Groleau said.
---
On the Net:
Veganic Agriculture Network: http://www.goveganic.net
Vegan Organic Network: http://www.veganorganic.net
Certified Naturally Grown: http://www.naturallygrown.org
Michael Fields Agricultural Institute: http://www.michaelfieldsaginst.org
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