This is something I have been wondering for a while. A large part of the reason why our soil is in such bad condition is because we do not replenish it. When you pasture a cow on a field, the cow eats the grass... and rummages. His own manure then in turn fertilizes the field and replenishes it... making it a small sustainable ecosystem. But say you take something out of the equation... like milking him. Now you are taking vitamins and minerals out of the cows diet, whereas before they would have been returned to the soil, or not taken up as much. This is the circle of life basically, and the natural and most logical thing to do is to complete the circle, by returning whatever you have back to the soil... after ingesting from whatever you took out (such as meat or milk) .
So... do you really think your own manure is so much worse than any other animals?
You see the thing is, when manure is composted properly, it is basically changed to something entirely different. No longer foul smelling, but like fresh dirt and anyone who knows what fresh good compost smells like would know. The thermotrophic bacteria heat the tempearture of a compost pile up to typically 150 degrees or so in the center.
Anyone familiar with probiotics is familiar with what takes place here... as the plethora of bacteria in this environment would destroy any pathogens if there were any at all.
If this was instituted on any widescale basis, the soil of our nation would be rebuilt, the food would be more nourishing which would lead to a better health over all.. and simply better tasting food.
I cant even remember the last time i had a good peach... well i can. it was once ever. and that is how i know that food can have a huge variance in taste depending on its quality. We are missing out.
By recycling our waste in this way, chemical fertilizing would simply be uneconomincal... since our waste recycled would be free. Organic produce would be the norm, and not only for wealthy people. THe destruction of our environment would be lessened to a great degree by the absence of these chemicals. The soil which is stripped year after year to the point of brinking on a barren wasteland would be stopped.
In short, the act of recycling our waste which is practiced in some parts of asia (although it is often done in a raw and not composted state) , is the way that we should fit into the circle of life....
The usda does not permit food fertilized with organic manure to be called even organic. I suppose because there are worries that contaminants could be in the manure.
However the process of composting has been shown to change the properties of certain toxins and heavy metals. Sort of how any other kind of fermenting... like sauerkraut changes the nature of the cabbage... and makes these toxins into less harmful forms.
So.... would you ?
So... do you really think your own manure is so much worse than any other animals?
You see the thing is, when manure is composted properly, it is basically changed to something entirely different. No longer foul smelling, but like fresh dirt and anyone who knows what fresh good compost smells like would know. The thermotrophic bacteria heat the tempearture of a compost pile up to typically 150 degrees or so in the center.
Anyone familiar with probiotics is familiar with what takes place here... as the plethora of bacteria in this environment would destroy any pathogens if there were any at all.
If this was instituted on any widescale basis, the soil of our nation would be rebuilt, the food would be more nourishing which would lead to a better health over all.. and simply better tasting food.
I cant even remember the last time i had a good peach... well i can. it was once ever. and that is how i know that food can have a huge variance in taste depending on its quality. We are missing out.
By recycling our waste in this way, chemical fertilizing would simply be uneconomincal... since our waste recycled would be free. Organic produce would be the norm, and not only for wealthy people. THe destruction of our environment would be lessened to a great degree by the absence of these chemicals. The soil which is stripped year after year to the point of brinking on a barren wasteland would be stopped.
In short, the act of recycling our waste which is practiced in some parts of asia (although it is often done in a raw and not composted state) , is the way that we should fit into the circle of life....
The usda does not permit food fertilized with organic manure to be called even organic. I suppose because there are worries that contaminants could be in the manure.
However the process of composting has been shown to change the properties of certain toxins and heavy metals. Sort of how any other kind of fermenting... like sauerkraut changes the nature of the cabbage... and makes these toxins into less harmful forms.
So.... would you ?
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my DH and i have talked about it in regards to permaculture gardening.
