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Leaf-Letter from S and S Seeds

Leaf Litter
Raking in Notes From All Over

April, 2006

Think I'll Go Eat Worms
Earthworms are being used as "bio-fertilizer" in India, improving tea harvests at some plantations by nearly 300 percent. The success of this experiment as well as others currently being conducted in the farming industry lead experts to believe that soil richness can be improved not only by native worms, but by fungi, bacteria, beetles, termites and other "pests" that aerate soil and increase its ability to absorb water.

Mothman Prophecies
A "People's Inquiry" took place in March in New Zealand, giving residents a forum in which to complain about aerial spraying they say has caused illnesses including violent coughing known as "moth cough." The spraying of insecticide over heavily populated areas occurred within a 29-month period during daylight hours over West Auckland. Residents say effects include coughing, skin conditions, breathing problems, and the exacerbation of other serious health conditions. People's Inquiry representatives say hearings are necessary because the government of New Zealand has refused to conduct an official investigation.

Coal Miner's Water
Peabody Energy, a coal mining corporation, has petitioned for a 50 percent increase in its water usage at the Black Mesa mine in Kayenta, Arizona. Their request for more water has raised the ire of conservationists and Native Americans who say the drinking water supply is threatened. While the U.S. Department of the Interior says "there is no evidence the aquifer has suffered material damage," Vernon Masayesva, former chairman of the Hopi Tribe and current executive director of the Black Mesa Trust, disagrees. "The Black Mesa aquifer has been a source of pure drinking water for Native Americans for over a thousand years," said Masayesva. "Peabody's continued drawdown of this vital resource is an insult to our cultural and religious heritage."

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Cow
Spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), better known as mad cow disease, has been discovered in a "non-ambulatory" bovine on an Alabama farm, making it the third case of the fatal brain illness to be discovered in a cow in the United States. BSE spreads to animals by consumption of feed that has been contaminated by proteins found in the neurological tissues of other animals. The human form of the disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, can be transmitted to humans who eat BSE infected meat. Garden burger, anyone?

Greasy Palm
Not only is palm oil bad for you, it's bad for the rainforest, and, in turn, bad for Sumatran and Bornean orangutans. Palm oil, which is used in foods such as cereals, cookies and crackers, is harvested from oil palm plantations, which are planted after a rainforest is cleared. When rainforests are destroyed, orangutans and other species become easier to poach. Borneo's orangutan population was reduced by one-third in 1997, when nearly 8,000 simians were killed during the construction of palm oil plantations.

© 2006 Wendy Dager


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