What People Who Care About The Earth Should Know About How Their Food is Grown

 GMOs  pesticides  artificial/chemical fertilizers  manure  animal by-products  animal exploitation  loss of wild space and habitat Just a few of the issues…….

Monsanto to Sell Biotech Sweet Corn for U.S. Consumers By Jack Kaskey - Aug 4, :25 AM PT Monsanto Co. (MON), the world’s biggest vegetable seed maker, said it will begin selling genetically modified sweet corn in the U.S. this year, the first product it has developed for the consumer market.Monsanto Co. (MON)

Pesticides kill pollinators and beneficial insects…… Free eco-system providers

Photo Courtesy of USFWS …… and birds….

Photo Courtesy of USDA NRCS …… and amphibians, such as the Red-legged Frog - a Species in Decline,

Chemical fertilizers = ground water pollution through nitrate and phosphate leaching erosion Mississippi Delta Dead Zone Soil food web Changes in number and species

CAFO Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Dairy cow POWs on a 3000 cow operation

Fish Farm on the Snake River in ID ….. and pollution downstream

TILLAGE and CULTIVATION = LOSS Of EARTHWORMS, SOIL INSECTS AND MICROBES

Loss of habitat - wetlands and riparian areas

Photo Courtesy of USFWS Loss of wild areas, “Habitat Connectivity” and biodiversity:

Organic Agriculture The production of crops and animals without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers.

NOSB Principles of Organic Production: Healthy soils and environment Enhance biodiversity, ecosystem function Use renewable resources Plants, animals, techniques are locally adapted Manage the farm as a system Traceability

Conventional organic uses manure and animal parts (bones, blood, feathers, bodies) as fertilizer….. Manure problems: herbicide/antibiotic contamination, nitrate-N leaching into ground water, human pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella…..

“ Cattle are the primary reservoir of Escherichia coli. This has serious implications for the land-based disposal of organic wastes such as cattle manure, cattle slurry and abattoir waste.” Potential health risks associated with the persistence of Escherichia coli O157 in agricultural environments 2010 D.L. Jones “This study points out the potential human health risks associated with consumption of fresh vegetables grown in soil amended with antibiotic laden manures. The risks may be higher for people who are allergic to antibiotics and there is also the possibility of enhanced antimicrobial resistance as a result of human consumption of these vegetables. “ Antibiotic Uptake by Plants from Soil Fertilized with Animal Manure 2005 K. Kumar *a, S. C. Gupta a, S. K. Baidoo b, B. Chander a and C. J. Rosen a

Liquid fish fertilizer sprayed on crops to produce high yields on over- tilled, over-cropped soils.

Pastured, organically raised chickens lay eggs in buses that move from one fresh pasture to another.

Pastured chickens are vulnerable to predators who are eliminated by trapping and shooting

Most grocery stores who sell Organic have Zero-tolerance for insects, so Organic farms spray organic insecticides.

Spraying Organic Insecticides = Loss of lady bugs, spiders, and syrphid flies

Spraying “selective” Organic Insecticides, such as Bt, is better.

“Industry Standards” for quality: “ Barbie Broccoli” skinny stems, big heads.

“Conventional Organic” vegetable production – lots of bare soil to control weeds. Murdered soil food web

Conventional Organic Production: Monocrop Desert Conventional Organic Production: Monocrop Desert lots of tillage to manage water, nutrients, and weeds. lots of tillage to manage water, nutrients, and weeds.

HOW DO WE RECONNECT NATURE, AGRICULTURE and OURSELVES ?

Veganic Farming and Gardening

the soil microorganisms we try not to disturb with excessive tillage, the birds, butterflies, and insects we do not poison with insecticides, the weeds that are not killed with herbicides, and the animals who are not killed for food or fertilizer. Veganic farming and gardening is a willingness to balance our existence with the natural world.

Veganic Works With Nature to Mimic Natural Plant Eco-Systems: Reduced tillage – keeping soil covered, Increased plant diversity, Regular addition of plant residues.

Plant – based Fertilizer System: Using Clover Living Mulches Case Biodesign Farm

NO BARE SOIL - Soil covered spring, summer, fall, & winter.

Light tillage in the spring (lots of plant residue left) Bed making – Plant residue inside beds Bed making – Plant residue inside beds

Seed new cover between rows in spring, recruits from previous season’s living mulch already re-growing

New living mulch well-established by late spring for broccoli harvest

Mature living mulch kept mowed monthly (surface-applied residue)

Benefits of Living Mulch System: balanced nutrient supply

Improved yield and quality

Improved cold tolerance

Habitat for beneficials provided

Habitat for pollinators = increased fruit set

Long-term soil health improved with Living Mulch system N levels drop without manure

No-till Experiments

No-till Brussels sprouts

Possible on a large scale? Living mulch experiment on 10 acre field in CO. September 2011

FOREST GARDEN: Seven layers

Peaches, strawberries, and grapes in a forest garden

Releasing fruit trees from the jungle and Chop & Drop mulch on a forest farm in Panama

Farming with Nature: Fukuoka

Conventional organic – raspberries under plastic high tunnels Multi- layer, multi- species orchard

PLANT- BASED FERTILIZER IN THE CITY? TRANSFORM LAWN TO GARDEN t

Photo Courtesy of Sam Earnshaw Buy local and ask questions about farming methods. Manure? How do you manage weeds? Insects? Diseases? Veganic/stock-free?

Predator Friendly Label Salmon-Safe Label

Farm Bill 2012 – Change Policy! Conservation Security Act Environmental Quality Incentive Program Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Forest Land Enhancement Program Grasslands Reserve Program Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program Wetlands Reserve Program Organic - NOP Animal Rights

Wild Farm Alliance wildfarmalliance.org We envision community-based, ecologically managed farms, seamlessly integrated into a landscape that accommodates the full range of native species and ecological processes.

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