Community | October 16, 2009 | 12 comments

SHOCKINGLY BEYOND ORGANIC: Veganism and Organic agriculture, allies or enemies?

source: http://www.flyingbeet.com/

lookatmypix
Read this first before watching the video.
I promote people's health and the respect for our Nature.
Organic agriculture is supposed to encompass this with principles of biodiversity, biodynamic, sustainability and the rejection of GMO.

People and nature over profit, that's how it should be.


How can the current organic agriculture be improved?
I am sure we can create better and in the meantime we can do better.
But are the actual laws permitting this transition?
Are they promoting and financing better and organic agriculture?
The answer is: very little, too little!
Greediness is the antagonist.

Keeping this in mind, I ask to myself: Where's the connection between Veganism and Organic agriculture?
Are they allies or enemies?


A good percentage of organic farmers use products such as animal blood, fish meal, bone meal, animal manures or slaughterhouse by-products to replenish the soil or using the livestock rotation system.
This is ultimately animal exploitation from an animal rights point of view and can be very unhealthy from a pragmatic aspect.
There are Organic farmers that use 100% organic and clean manure but you must make sure with them that's the case.

A study done by the Elm farm research centre in England proved that animal manure can be eliminated, no animal farming, no energy, time, food and water for them, fossil fuel to transport this manure have to be invested.
Instead green manures are used, made of mulch, grass clippings, old hay, comfrey etc.

“There is nothing mysterious or magical about manure,
“Manure is nothing more than the grass or grains that are growing on the farm, cycled through a cow’s digestive system.
By Ron Khosla, owner of the veganic farm in New York (Huguenot street farm) at the link above.

Also for more info on this veganic method visit: veganorganic.net

Excerpt from the site which is very informative and explanatory :

"There is no certification standard for Veganic Agriculture at the present time, but the basic concept couldn't be simpler. Really, we are just "cutting out the middle man." The middle man in this case is the cow, chicken, horse, pig or whatever. What is their manure made from anyway but plant materials? There is no "magic" that goes on inside the animal that makes their manure better for the soil or plants than if we used the base material. In FACT, it is quite the opposite if you are using factory-farmed wastes! Besides disease, pesticide and steroid residue, salts (most especially in chicken manures) are in high enough concentrations that they can salinate heavier soils -disturbing the delicate micro-ecology that is so essential to the long-term health of the soil -and US!

Vegetable-based amendments, called "Green Manures" on the other hand ENCOURAGE microbial activity. Their carbon-to-nitrogen ratios are much more in balance. While the process is somewhat slower... the net increase in overall Organic Matter can be several times greater when a farmer uses green manures instead of animal manures. We have the soil tests to prove it! "

They are not certified Organic because they go beyond.
Excerpt:
"As the years have gone on, and our disapproval about the safety of some approved-for-organic practices has grown, our growing practices have actually strayed farther and farther from the textbook definition of Organic and towards something that I'm not really sure how to qualify but I believe is far more sustainable and healthy for us, the soil and our customers than current organic standards".


The meat consumption is not only one of the biggest destroyer of our world as it causes deforestation, hunger, poverty, desertification, water contamination, water scarcity, species extinction and the death of the indigenous people but farmers like Khosla are showing that biodiversity and soil's health can be accomplished without animal use.
Climate change could end, all of these catastrophic consequences above could end...

Continue below in the first response
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12 comments // SHOCKINGLY BEYOND ORGANIC: Veganism and Organic agriculture, allies or enemies? // Video

  • melissacole
  • Rickharmon25
  • lookatmypix
    • 0
      lookatmypix  

    • To ras_menelik:
      I believe you are correct when you say "Top soil is the result of the cycle of all life".

      What you said reminded me of the Lion King film passage:

      "Mufasa: Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.
      Young Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?

      Mufasa: Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connnected in the great Circle of Life."

      The problem though is that: "some organic farms are using slaughterhouse by-products (chicken manure, blood, bone and fish meal) to get nutrients to their plants. The only commercial sources for these products are factory farms, where animals lead miserable lives, and are fed diets of high-pesticide, GMO food, ridden with hormones, steroids and antibiotics.
      These items bio-accumulate in the bodies of the animals and in their waste. To make matters worse, the packed and unhealthy conditions that these animals are forced to live in encourages the spread of diseases that may be transferrable to humans. For example, bone meal fed back to cows has been implicated as a possible cause for the spread of mad-cow disease in Europe."

      Again, using clean and organic manure creates quality soil but green manure has been proven to increase organic matter and do better.

      The best example is the forest, one of the most fertile soils on our planet, thanks mainly to the accumulation of plants on the surface.

      Also, let's not forget all these enormous disadvantages: time, money, land, water and food invested in livestock.

      One more excerpt:
      "It doesn't end there! This "safe" manure collected until an organic farmer bought it, brought it home, and started composting it over many months. Temperatures up to 180 degrees cooked the pathogens in the manure... but didn't touch the herbcide! Months later when he applied the "black gold" to his fields, some very sensitive broad leaf crops that he happened to be growing died of herbicide damage which started the whole investigation, which has now been replicated."

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
  • ras_menelik
    • 0
      ras_menelik  

    • Top soil is the result of the cycle of all life we run out of it in the 50's

      If you only eat vegan and your food was raised with out anything animal then you are outside of the cycle of life.

      I can't see how that can be good for you

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
  • larrysnotes
  • pakazak
    • 0
      pakazak  

    • we've been using our own composted matter for years without the addition of any animal manures. our results have always been more than satisfactory.
      this year, when other growers were complaining about meager tomato crops, ours were prospering; when others were pouring water onto their crops, we made sure ours were well mulched with chopped leaves and straw.
      if you can manage the soil and keep it healthy, organic, without the addition of animal by-products, will provide excellent results.

      one thing...... aren't the little critters that do all the composting and processing waste actually 'animals'?
      i'm just sayin' ;)

    • 2 years ago
  • lookatmypix
    • 0
      lookatmypix  

    • One thing that struck me about this method is that they will rather lose a crop than spray it and they use spring water for the irrigation not the river one.
      Their solar powered tractor is amazing too!

      Demonstrating how much oil has subjugated this world bringing destruction, illnesses and poverty.

    • 2 years ago
  • CarolynGillis
  • lookatmypix
  • lookatmypix
    • 0
      lookatmypix  

    • Cont.

      I am not sure if an Organic cattle farming would be possible either, once it reaches a mass production level it might cause negative environmental effects and become non sustainable just like the current conventional system.
      My reasons for being vegetarian stem from environmental and animal rights concerns and now from an organic aspect as well.
      I am still guilty as I struggle to become a vegan again.
      As a firm believer in the Organic cause I do not want to forget its values, the truth and moving forward is what we want to pursue.
      I will struggle and challenge my self every day to achieve this and bring that to people's attention.

      Join Organic:
      http://current.com/groups/organicgreen/

      P.S.: The article was written by me, the link is for inspiring and informative purposes. The video is supposed to be funny and a bit sarcastic.

    • 2 years ago
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