CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS, HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES

CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS,

HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES

The production of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and certain pesticides must be outlawed. Unless we do this soon, the four horsemen of the apocalypse will lay waste. Chemical herbicides and pesticides kill bees and other pollinators. Chemical fertilizers do not put minerals into the soil. Consequently, the crops grown have very few minerals. Vegetation alone has the unique ability to convert inorganic minerals absorbed from the soil and water into organic forms that animals and humans can use. Because humans are at the top of the food chain, we are suffering the most. Chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides contaminate the air and water. Top soil is not held in place, and it blows away.

Improving the soil is the first step toward conserving it and increasing the healthfulness of food grown upon it. Genuine glacial rock dust is nature’s way of remineralizing the earth. The benefits of using glacial rock dust for the organic gardener or farmer are a broad spectrum of elements from the grand mixture of rocks collected by glacial action and no contamination with by‑products of machine grinding. Conventional machinery set to minus 200‑mesh material is so close to itself that it grinds some of its own grinding surface into the mix, including toxic chromium, lead and nickel.

In the absence of glacial rock dust, river rock dust is a good second choice. The best being found far enough from head waters to allow some distance for collecting differing parent rock, but not so far down as to enter farm or urban pollution zones. A way of accomplishing the most important benefits of a grand mixture of elements is to obtain several rock dusts from different locales that individually could constitute a narrow spectrum of minerals.

Adding rock dust is one step. Humus is the basis of true soil fertility. Organic matter, clay fraction, minerals, microbes and correct physical environment (proper moisture, temperatures and oxygen) are all necessary for this transformation to humus. Microbes, that are in the soil and the intestines of earthworms, digest the rock dust and extract the useful elements that they find. Plants then extract the mineral rich juices from those microbes, and pass them on to animals and humans.

Compost (without manure and its pathogens) applied to the top of the soil in thin layers and permitted to decompose upon, not within, the soil returns organic matter in a usable form. Organic matter in the soil improves plant growth by adding essential minerals and nutrients. It decreases water consumption and replaces humus that is eroded away when chemical fertilizers are used. Humus in the soil is necessary to support the growth of molds and funguses. Molds produce antibiotics that repel insects, and funguses feed plants by dissolving and carrying minerals into their roots. Foods grown on mineralized soils rich in humus are unbelievably sweet and delicious, and they keep for long periods without spoiling.

Compost is a dark, earthy smelling form of decomposed organic material that is rich in many minerals and nutrients. During the composting process, millions of microscopic organisms breakdown the organic material creating a dark, soil‑like substance. The microscopic organisms pasteurize the compost by generating temperatures in excess of 54 degrees Centigrade (130 degrees Fahrenheit), killing weed seeds, insects and other plant pathogens; thereby, eliminating the need for chemical herbicides and most pesticides.

Compost is ideal as a soil amendment to improve soil structure and texture. In heavy clay soils, by helping to break it into a better texture; and in sandy soils, by increasing the holding capacity for water and nutrients. Compost is most effective when blended at a ratio of one (1) part compost to three (3) parts glacial rock dust, applied to the top of the soil in thin layers and permitted to decompose upon, not within, the soil.

Farmers must be trained in the art of organic farming; i.e., composting and glacial rock dust. More research must be done into beneficial parasites and predators. If farmers were paid subsidies only when they showed that their fallow land had increased in minerals and humus, the improvement in health in the United States would be tremendous.

Nitrates in chemical fertilizers destroy vitamins A and E and cause cancer in mice. By being changed into nitrites within the gastrointestinal tract, have caused the deaths of infants by reacting with the red color in blood cells and preventing them from carrying oxygen. By being changed into nitrosamines in the body, can produce cancers in many organs of a wide variety of species. As fertilizers, nitrates destroy or decrease the vitamin C content of plants. Nitrates are water soluble and leach to the water table.

In compost, nitrogen is bound to organic matter, has a wide range of plant nutrients, and residual amounts of nitrates are very low.

Compost made from matter that has been grown and treated with chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides is just as toxic as the original chemicals.

Herbicides cause miscarriages, chromosome damage, congenital deformities and birth defects in humans. The National Cancer Institute classifies herbicides as carcinogens.

DICHLORODIPHENYLTRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) A powerful insecticide. It is continuously used in the United States on strawberries and most imported fruits and vegetables. Even more toxic are ALDRIN, DIELDRIN, ENDRIN and THIODAN.

“FARM WORKERS WHO APPLY PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES HAVE DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGH RATES OF SOME CANCERS, AND SO DO THEIR CHILDREN, ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.”

Newsweek, June 1, 1998

“THE CROP ROTATION FOR ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES INCLUDES BROCCOLI, WHICH ACTS AS A NATURAL SOIL FUMIGANT. A SUBSTANCE IN THE BROCCOLI LEAVES AND ROOTS DISCOURAGES THE VERTICILLIUM FUNGUS THAT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM FOR STRAWBERRY PLANTS. AFTER THE BROCCOLI IS HARVESTED, THE REMNANTS ARE CHOPPED AND TURNED UNDER. STRAWBERRIES ARE THEN TRANSPLANTED INTO THE NATURALLY FUMIGATED FIELDS, ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR THE TOXIC METHYL BROMIDE USED BY MOST GROWERS.” Organic Gardening, July‑August 1998

“MORE WATERS TEST POSITIVE FOR DRUGS. U. S. AND CANADIAN SCIENTISTS OFFERED PRELIMINARY CONFIRMATION THAT TRACES OF DRUGS, EXCRETED BY PEOPLE AND LIVESTOCK, POLLUTE AMERICAN WATERS.” Science News, April 1, 2000

“GROUNDWATER PROBLEMS CAUSED BY IRRIGATION WITH SEWAGE EFFLUENT. THE MAIN CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN FARM WORKERS AND CITY DWELLERS EXPOSED TO THE EFFLUENT, AS WELL AS IN PEOPLE WHO CONSUME CROPS IRRIGATED WITH EFFLUENT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THOSE CROPS ARE EATEN RAW OR BROUGHT RAW INTO THE KITCHEN.”

Journal of Environmental Health, September‑October 2000

CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS, HERBICIDES AND PESTICIDES

by Robert A. Kroboth www.citizengadfly.com

Please print and distribute copies of this publication and put this link on your web site.