Veganic Gardening

By Alice Christianson
Staff Writer

Spring arrived early and excitement is stirring, of planting flowers and vegetable gardens or putting in orders for shares of Consumer-supported Agriculture, or waiting with anticipation for the farmers’ markets to open. There is growing discussion and print regarding organic produce and a growing following in the $25 billion organic marketplace. Problems exist in that marketplace with the quality, consistency and accuracy of the labels “natural” or “organic.” When it comes to food products, consider veganic gardening.

Most produce in the U.S. is raised by large corporate agribusiness which uses monoculture (growing of one crop on a large farm), chemical fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and rodenticides. These practices deplete top soil, contaminate ground water and rivers, and kill beneficial insects and part of the soil food chain as well. Organic produce sounds so much healthier.

But that may not be the case. Check out Organic Consumers Association, a watchdog group that alerts citizens to the problems of the organic industry, especially false labeling; I discovered that the “organic” products of some personal care products, such as shampoo that I purchased, are, in fact, not organic.

There are also serious problems that can exist in organically raised food. Organic farmers typically use manure (poultry, cattle, pig) that comes from the huge factory farms. They use bone meal, blood meal, feather meal, fish and shrimp meal and emulsions, all byproducts of slaughter houses and fish farms. Factory-farmed animals are fed large amounts of antibiotics. 70% of antibiotics used in the US are fed to cattle, chickens, turkeys and pigs to promote growth and to reduce disease.

Farmed animals are also fed growth hormones, and fish farms use antibiotics. Those antibiotics are eliminated through the animals’ urine and feces into large lagoons. Carcasses of dead animals are dumped into the lagoons. What cannot be sprayed onto fields as manure (there is simply too much of it) is used to make commercial organic soil and commercial manure. You can check this out by looking at the fine print on the bag.

The University of Minnesota has been experimenting with corn, green onions, cabbage, lettuce and potatoes grown in manure-treated soils from livestock or liquid hog manure. They found that the plants had absorbed antibiotics. They are now experimenting to see how long it will take for the manure to be composted before it will no longer contain antibiotics.

That is why “veganic gardening” or “certified stock free organic” is appealing. There are no chemicals, pesticides, livestock manure, animal remains, fish meal, or GMOs. Veganic gardening uses polyculture (many crops), crop rotation, vegetable compost, chipped branched wood, green manure (cover crops such as alfalfa that are turned under), and flowers and plants that bring in beneficial insects. The practice adds organic matter back into the soil, that will grow plants and produce topsoil; and cares for the ecology of the surrounding area. Organic matter is transformed into humus, which helps improve water retention and compacted soil. Earthworms, fungus and beneficial bacteria make nutrients available for plants and aerate the soil.

There are small backyard veganic gardeners in our area, but I’m not aware of any commercial gardens that are veganic. It is a movement that is slowly growing in the US, which is far behind the UK.

Consumers can become more knowledgeable about farming practices, discuss farming methods with CSAs and commercial growers, and encourage them to consider veganic practices. Commercial veganic growers should have an extra pricing benefit for their efforts.

If you want to visit a commercial veganic center and learn more about health and veganic gardening, consider Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center in Arizona. Or go to http://www.goveganic.net or http://www.veganorganic.net for more resources and books.

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