Dangerous Vegetables- "Veganic" Solution

In New Mexico's Espanola Valley farmers that have been using animal fertilizers for generations, switched their practices years ago as a way to farm their vegetable in the safest way possible. These "veganic" farmers are certified organic farmers and avoid the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified ingredients. In addition to the normal "organic" farming, they don't use any manures or slaughterhouse byproducts. They don't even use organically approved pesticides.

These practices have been in the spotlight recently with the latest outbreak of Salmonella that has ravished the country and the vegetable market. These veganic farmers also avoid e-coli and other bacteria that live in the intestines of livestock and are present in their waste. If you remember the e-coli outbreak of spinach got millions of people sick two years ago, most of which were not recorded by the FDA.

Veganic farmers use composted plant matter as "green manure" instead of animal waste. They are motivated by the need to protect the environment and human health because their methods reduce environmental impact by using less land, conserving water and producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Veganic farmers swear by their method, and say it's even cheaper!

Because Veganic Farming is done on such a small scale in the US, there is very little information on it, and it has yet to be researched. When studied further, this may be the key to solving all of these outbreak of illnesses that our vegetables keep spreading throughout the US.

• Veganic Agriculture Network: http://www.goveganic.net
• Vegan Organic Network: http://www.veganorganic.net
• Certified Naturally Grown: http://www.naturallygrown.org
• Michael Fields Agricultural Institute: http://www.michaelfieldsaginst.org