By Dr. Mercola
We’re living in an era where the largest food producers in
the United States operate more like factories than farms,
complete with industrial farming practices that produce obscene
amounts of waste and threaten to completely deplete what was
once rich and fertile soil.
With each harvest, the land is stripped of vital nutrients
plants need to grow, and so synthetic fertilizers and other
chemicals are added back into the land out of necessity.
The Problem with Synthetic and Other Toxic Fertilizers
There are problems with trying to synthetically fertilize the
land, as restoring soil to its original grandeur – a complex
ecosystem teeming with microbes and nutrients – is not as simple
as adding back in various concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus
and potassium (NPK, a common synthetic fertilizer).
Aside from often leading to imbalances in the soil that can
harm plant growth, synthetic fertilizers contribute to
environmental contamination, and there is even concern that the
natural deposits of phosphorus and potassium – two elements
necessary for plants to grow – are being rapidly depleted.1
Sewage sludge, or “biosolids” – as they’re referred to with a
PR spin – is another type of fertilizer that began being
“recycled” into food crops when, ironically, it was realized
that dumping them into rivers, lakes and bays was an
environmental disaster. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) states that about 50 percent of all biosolids are recycled
to land.2
This sludge is what’s leftover after sewage is treated and
processed.
Your first thought may be the “yuck factor” of human waste
being used to fertilize your food, but that is only the tip of
the iceberg. Every time a paintbrush gets rinsed, an old bottle
of medications flushed, or solvents are hosed off a factory
floor, it ends up in the sewage system. So it’s not surprising
that a past analysis of sewage sludge by the Environmental
Working Group found:3
- Over 100 synthetic organic compounds including
phthalates, toluene, and chlorobenzene
- Dioxins in sludge from 179 out of 208 systems (80%)
- 42 different pesticides – at least one in almost every
sample, with an average of almost 2 pesticides per survey
sample
- Nine heavy metals, often at high concentrations
Worm Farms May Hold the Secret to Restoring Soil Health,
Naturally
A small but growing group of farmers are tending not to corn
or cattle, but to worms. These intriguing creatures’ digestive
process naturally excretes beneficial microbes into the soil,
which drastically alter the soil’s composition. These worm
farmers are creating a natural product known as “vermicompost,”
which is said to improve plant growth and make plants more
resistant to disease and insects than plants grown with other
composts and fertilizers.4,
5 As the New York Times reported, Dr. Norman
Arancon, an assistant professor of horticulture at the
University of Hawaii at Hilo, said:6
“…soil that has been heavily exposed to synthetic
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides lacks microbial
richness and diversity, qualities that can be restored
naturally by adding the microbes from worms.”
What makes vermicompost so exciting is not only its ability
to help plants thrive naturally, it’s also showing promise as a
solution for the millions of pounds of manure waste put out by
industrial concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). At
one worm farm, worms are able to transform 10 million pounds of
manure from a dairy farm into 2.5 million pounds of beneficial
vermicompost.7
In addition to helping create a valuable compost to help
plants grow, worms have also been singled out for their ability
to break down toxins like cadmium, lead and other heavy metals,
helping to detoxify soil. They do this by optimizing the
bacterial content of the soil. Worms also can even break down
cardboard waste fibers, making them a potential recycling tool.
Natural “Worm” Composts May Help Protect the Future Food Supply
Many are not aware that one of the reasons why the
conventional agribusiness food system has emerged as a major
threat to your health is because it is contributing to the
destruction of the world's topsoil. According to an article in
Time World,8
soil erosion and degradation rates suggest we have only about 60
remaining years of topsoil. Forty percent of the world's
agricultural soil is now classified as either degraded or
seriously degraded; the latter means that 70 percent of the
topsoil is gone.
Our soil is being lost at 10 to 40 times the rate it
can be replenished, and our food production systems are to
blame, which epitomizes the term "unsustainable." It takes
decades or even centuries to regenerate significant levels of
soil.
Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our fresh water use.
When the soil is unfit, water is wasted – it washes right
through the soil and past the plant's root system. We already
have a global water shortage that's projected to worsen over the
next 20 to 30 years, so this is the last thing we need. Soil
degradation is projected to cause a 30 percent loss in food
production over the next 20 to 50 years – while our global food
demands are expected to increase by 50 percent
over this span of time.
Many don't realize that soil is alive and has an incredible
diversity of microorganisms. One handful of soil contains more
microbes than the number of people who have ever lived on our
planet. Just as we are beginning to more fully appreciate the
importance of beneficial bacteria in our gut in our own health,
there is emerging evidence that beneficial bacteria in the soil
are crucial to break down nutrients and make them available to
the plants so they can be optimally healthy and resist disease
and pests.
These organisms create a powerful synergy with the plants and
recycle organic material, making the soil more resilient and
better at holding water and nutrients, and better at nurturing
plants. Microbes need carbon for food, and we're depleting our
soil of this element by using chemical fertilizers, overgrazing,
over-ploughing, and burning stubble in fields to accelerate crop
turnover.
Genetically Modified Crops Further Depleting the Soil
Add to this genetically modified (GM) crops, and our soil
(and future food supply) is dealt another deathblow, as the
latest science seems to suggest GM plant cultivation may
seriously disrupt soil ecology by reducing microbial diversity,
which decreases soil fertility over time – possibly
irreversibly.9 Until
the industrial farming complex reverts back to a traditional
model that works with the laws of nature instead of
against them, more natural solutions for soil restoration, like
vermicompost, are urgently needed.
Yet Another Reason for Buying Organic…
Organic agricultural practices promote ideal soil conditions,
while conventional farming methods threaten to completely
deplete our soils worldwide, which will only worsen nutrition as
time goes on. This is vital, since the continued destruction of
our soils will ultimately lead to the demise of the entire food
system.
In order to qualify as certified organic, a product must be
grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle
resources and promote biodiversity. Crops must be grown without
synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based
fertilizers, or sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Eating
organically and supporting farms whose practices are sustainable
is currently one of the best ways to protect your health, the
environment and the very future of our food supply.
As an aside, if you do decide to give vermicompost a try,
either in your own garden or by purchasing products grown with
it, be sure it is from a reputable company. The market is
currently unregulated and no industry standards exist, so
product quality varies widely.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.