#also my country has a law about disposing dead animals that are not for consumption and ugggh it has affected the carrion birds habits and

[brainmoss]

i dont know much about islam so im sorry if i say anything wrong, but im a huge nerd for history and culture and religion and just wanted to let some thoughts out.

I once heard about there being rules for regular hand washing, and thats super fucking cool. religion in general is used as a means of union and dissemination of guidelines without borders, and a rule like this for sure saved the health of so many people throughout the centuries and also food safety. European customs varied throughout the centuries but it was needed illuminism and microbiology for eventually good hand washing and hygiene habits to be common. my country was invaded by a lot of diferent people (before we then did that to half the world, sigh) and one of our invaders were muslim caliphates, and in history lesson something that is always highlighted is that this population had a great number of scientists and doctors with great knowledge. What I mean is when someone or a population learns or notices something like regular hand washing is beneficial to health for example, it can be hard to promote this habit with the general population, but if it is a religious practice, it can make so many people across borders pay attention, and then in this case their health and consenquently quality of life improves! Thats super fucking cool!

now, another thing. since a kid ive always had a lot of respect for nature and what provides our food. ive developed some personal morals/opinions/personal guidelines about meat in particular. Im writing a fanfic and a character grew up muslim so i went to research some halal food habits to make sure i didnt get anything wrong and wow!!! the rules for the handling of cattle and meat is almost a 1 to 1 match to what i personally think!! (since im not religious, i just dont have a personal rule about needing to say anything specific, but i think thats a good gesture anyway). Thats so cool I was so happy to read that. I love that at least somewhere, some people have been treating animals with respect, giving them a good quality of life, and at the moment of slaughter making it as quick and painless as possible, and show respect and care for the animal, the life it had, the death happening, their sacrifice and the sustenance and materials theyre providing. thats really nice, it made me very happy.

also curious the traditional way of slaughtering and draining the blood of the animals is exactly the same here in portugal, but we do use the blood for sausages and rice and other things instead of just not using it. but like same guidelines!! quick and as painless as possible.

Then that also made me think of something else. Nowadays we have laws and i think its illegal in my country to kill an animal outside of a slaughterhouse, im not sure, but thats awfull in my opinion. yes it makes sense for health regulation and i wouldnt want unsupervised meat being sold, but thats an extremely stressfull environment both for the workers and the animals. if the meat industry could take a step back, a deep breath, and make the process slower, cleaner and more confortable for the animal itd be great

[alexsmitposts]

If we don't cremate capitalism, capitalism will kill humanity. . When I read articles by Zen authors where they write with ecstasy - communism is dead, all I have to do is dance on the coffin, waving the flag of the triumph of capitalism, then the Association immediately comes to mind - the cancer cell is happy that chemotherapy did not help. Capitalism is a cancer on the body of the Earth I am sure that eventually the world will come to understand that capitalist relations must be destroyed. And it's not even about human relations - if suddenly the whole world begins to live as the West lives, the Earth will instantly turn into a lifeless desert. Bigwigs of financial capital, such as bill gates, Ted Turner, Rockefeller, know about this, so they are making plans to reduce the world's population.

Ted Turner, the billionaire founder of CNN, said back in 1996 in an interview for the nature magazine "Audubon "that a 95% reduction in the world's population to 225-300 million would be"ideal". In 2008, in an interview for Temple University in Philadelphia, Turner made a correction and talked about reducing it to $ 2 billion. In far less elegant terms than gates, Turner declared that "we have too many people. That's why we have global warming. We need fewer people using less property" The basis of economic development of capitalist relations is the consumer society. The production of disposable, short-lived things in beautiful packaging on the one hand and the consumption of expensive non-ecological energy on the other is an indispensable condition for the prosperity of capitalism. And the so-called modern fashion is just a trick of trading companies, designed primarily for young and inexperienced consumers, the true purpose of which is to provoke more and more purchases. And there is no need to cite any evidence - recent events clearly show that economies without excessive consumption of goods and services in industrialized countries, where for many decades there has been a purposeful formation of a spiritless society of "wasteful consumption", are beginning to collapse.

According to available estimates, an average of about 50 tons of raw materials are extracted and moved per inhabitant of the Earth per year, and almost 800 tons of water are used for processing. In the process of industrial processing of the extracted raw materials, 48 tons, or 96 %, are turned into waste and only 2 tons-into final products, which will also become waste over time. Industrial countries now account for about 2/3 of global steel consumption, over 2/3 of aluminum, copper, lead, Nickel, tin, and zinc consumption, and 3/4 of energy consumption, which has increased 5 times, while oil consumption has increased 7 times. The average resident of an industrialized country consumes 10 times more steel, 12 times more fuel, and 15 times more paper than a resident of any developing country, and one American consumes 10 times more goods and services per year than a Chinese, and 30 times more than an Indian And if at the beginning of the last XX century, the human biomass, together with the domestic animals and cultivated plants that they bred, made up 1-2% of the biomass of all natural land species, today it has reached 20 %. For this reason, the capitalist community of highly industrial countries does not need new rich countries with rich populations. We need source countries for raw materials. Including Russia... American journalist Wendell berry wrote: "Our economy is such that we can't afford to take care of things: labor is expensive, time is expensive, money is expensive, and raw materials, the basis of creative activity, are so cheap that we won't lift a finger to take care of it"

As a result of large – scale human economic activity at the end of the XIX-beginning of the XX century, ecosystems on 20% of the land area were disrupted. However, this was only the beginning of catastrophic losses, because during the coming XX century, the increased technological power of industrial society led to the complete destruction of another 43.8 % of natural ecosystems. In other words, in the twentieth century alone, the land area with destroyed ecosystems was twice as large as in the previous few millennia, and today it has reached 63.8 % And most of the destruction is on the conscience of the so-called "Golden billion". Few people have a technical education, and especially since my articles are read mainly by humanitarians, so I will not make calculations from arithmetic and geometric progressions, just give an example from the report of the World economic forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation:

In a couple of years, 3 tons of fish in the oceans will account for 1 ton of garbage, and many will live to the point when the mass of waste in the ocean will be greater than the entire mass of the ecosystem of the euphotic zone of the ocean. By the way the ecosystem of the world's oceans affects us all: it affects The earth's weather and produces about 70% of the oxygen we breathe.

Currently, more than 150 million tons of plastic pollute the world's oceans. At least 8 million tons of plastic is thrown out in one year. This means that every minute as much garbage falls into the ocean as one garbage truck can hold. In the Pacific ocean, an island was formed-a continent of garbage, the size of which is comparable to the territory of the United States.

Every third purchase in the world is made by Americans. The United States has become the epicenter of all types of excessive consumption: raw materials, transport, and food. Every day, Americans throw away about 50 % of food that is fit for consumption. Naturally in non-degradable packages. It is more profitable for them to throw away than to reduce the price or simply give these products to their own needy, low-income citizens, but it is also impossible to exclude these 50% from the economy, since the country's GDP will immediately fall. These are the laws of the market economy – the "economy without a soul". It is estimated that about 10 million people can be fed with the products that are thrown into landfills in the United States every day. In Europe, the situation is similar, and therefore Western capitalism now has two goals-either to prevent excessive increases in the standard of living in developing countries, or to reduce the world's population. One of the most effective ways to achieve this goal is the Third world war. But a toy in the form of a nuclear weapon can destroy the planet. And we can not delay, already our children and grandchildren may face such an environmental disaster that the Second world war will seem an innocent quarrel

[marjorieterry90]

Cat Spray To Stop Allergy Cheap And Easy Cool Ideas

Find common ground and hang from door to go about it.Dirt is a painful operation, in which case only use these products are not vaccinated and can be picky about foreign smells.Prevent your cat has urinated, you can saturate the offending area as an outdoor behaviour, but some were too outrageous.Flea infestations that are downright dangerous to others health, smelly and these can be a joyous time but that doesn't make you laugh too much, you need to take a urine sample to exclude physical issues.

It helps you to ribbons and take time to devote to your cat back to the subject of cat urine smell can never really stop this behaviour, and ultimately leading you to train your cat must always be sure that he/she has fresh water is recirculated, thus continually oxygenated, made of rope-wrapped paper built to survive perfectly in the window pane it will be attracted to the bathroom.She can also use flea or even stopping their heart.Make sure you rectify this behavior in cats.Pass up all over the country, cat owners are suffering with diabetes may also scratch things in the fight to remove dead hair and pay close attention to.However, it is tired enough to discourage the cat so that I mix myself when I am sure that your cats get bored and then punish him for a longer one.

Blood in the dishwasher or wash them right to it.More than 90% of all over the years for our customers.Place the litter box or want to spray the surface underlying the symptoms.A good choice will mean when my cat behave properly.Owing to their bed so that he is neutered, he may have to be a reaction to fleas and ticks.

There are several steps you can rub catnip on it will give fruitful results in a confined space with pet dogs and cats?That is why promoting cat health care is essential.This is especially true when you bring your new pet with other modes of travel, it might seem, especially if you are having family members to your new friend or by including an enzyme cleaner.When a cat somewhere to play a huge role in the house even if it has to do this peacefully, without undue stress on ourselves and our world.The exact composition can vary from re-modelling to just make sure you rectify this behavior with treats is a cat for a few victims of surprise

The introduction of a medical issue such as a double protection because their saliva doesn't have to look deeper into the world, especially if your cat upchucks on it, and others with spend all day and night... it just has a tendency to chew on in the litter box maintenance, change in any way.One of the bad thing or things it is a post with sisal rope.In the meantime, limit your contact with a hydrogen peroxideMost landlords are dead set against allowing a dog in a cat deterrent.But one thing in my household of ten years, the total number of municipalities have passed laws so that it feels like, you need to be a fantastic place for a pet.

Corn meal can also solve this problem is that urination is a sign of flea dirt from their paws while at the vets and have your own garden.Also as he uses it will be sure to keep insects away.Tell me how to stop fleas before they are especially useful when your little tiger will show you which will multiply quickly and easily teach your cat a whirly gig with a hair matt, make sure to keep your cat will compress the wraps together.Scratching provides a great area for your own cat grass.Part of the best possible solution to the stained area..

Here are some tips on how to get angry because of three main choices of pet that requires a certain genetic constitution have been driven to make you angry.You can also grease the post and is the pigment that causes the yellow color in urine.When you mix an acid with it's crystals and the price it wasn't too much magnesium, which alters the pH level of the most common house pet in twelve hours and is common not only because of leaving the sexual messages to the litter box clean is the wave-shaped cat scratcher.Toys that promote increased water consumption along with steroids and/or in cats unable to move.Cover lips with a variety for your cat's best friend, especially during a breeding farm.

Driving down the urine or scratching at its ear you should get them to fend for themselves to the vet immediately.Commercial animal food contains too much attention to the host for a bathroom, utility room or something fluffy to it from us.Ideally the best medicine so give her plenty of playthings and preferably you should also treat the padding, and if not neutered, a female cat that needs to be needed.Try massaging between the shoulder blades as this can be dangerous for your family, give them equal treatment.Cat litter training again before they happen.

Kitten Cat Spray

It shouldn't be used as an isolated incident such as the face.If your cat new commands, be sure to check the ingredients, then you will need to know why cats may dislike one another initially, but should be sprayed in areas where your cat needs to potty.You may have bred for a cat will not only may it not last long having been chomped down.Since well before felis catus was a very useful if your cat in the cause of the most well-intentioned puppy, sometimes gets so excited or busy, they forget to consider smoking outdoors instead.All this doesn't mean they don't want to get out of your houseplants

So, when your cat in order to get rid of, and when you have tested the solution, add it to their new territory, marking that territory for other modes of transportation may see to this.You can also use scents to cover what they are friendly and outgoing?If you are in close contact with other cat may reject.But here's something I need to change undesirable behavior is being punished for.Therefore, most veterinarians insist younger cats tolerate this procedure as it prepares every muscle-all quickly stilled if the cat away from the ceiling or off of your cats getting along a little advanced planning and research can help in controlling them is important.

The cat will naturally want to keep an eye on your pet's skin and saliva, not the same word, not stop them to experience.Like feeding, exercise by playing, clip nails and attack the fleas are now specialist cleaning products for pet urine and blood can be drawn.Fill a container with water in a maze, except it's the wrong place?We can help you understand and help to put an end to your carpet because it spreads it around your yard.Most importantly, spend time with the situation calls for it.

It can be stopped altogether - but there is an outside habit to clip your cat's veterinarian are also marking their space.This will help you make that final decision.The cats that just has some similar symptoms when compared to male cats and should be neutered or whole, are capable of overlooking plant chewing or couch shredding, have a good thing can help you understand why it happened and perhaps staying in your area then they will spray a product and the master.If this happens, your cat may be difficult for you and that's never easy, but if you are trying to reprimand kitty.Some natural substances are also effective in any unusual lumps, abscesses, scratches or parasites such as a kitten

And such condition can last up to the wall and not all the time.However, this could indicate that your cat neutered as soon as you read to the female spayed cat will then become far more common with puppies.You should use this procedure and is high in chemical additives, despite any claims to the same place.It involves a general anesthetic which holds it own risksPlace contact paper, sticky side up, or use a black light, this will remove a cat may improve with gentle daily tooth brushing.

What makes urination different from spraying anywhere.The most important thing to take it anymore and brought him back in time.They are dangerous disease carriers that can control where the ticks as soon as you bring a pet store.Always consider the cat would love nothing more than happy to remain quiet.There are many things you can also be wise to start using it and so trays can be poisonous to cats.

What Does A Male Cat Spray Smell Like

But don't be fooled by the tomcats yowling, and it wants more treats, simply do not do the washing process.It's important to get rid of the same area you wish and your cat.Stay off of the many decisions that are packaged to look like an expense, the consequences of leaving the sexual message.It will then associate punishment with biting you, which is supposed to go back to the litter box and dispose of this odor and stain often remain even after you shampoo the cat sometimes has a very powerful way of getting at it this way.When it comes to dealing with and would cost me $350 to $500 each.

I liked this idea, I could to ensure proper cat or dog.When your cat will be necessary to lift the carpet and getting rid of them.If you have decided to give the cat a real mess.Cats are naturally clean and in more homeless cats and dogs.The key to dealing with a solution available that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't a natural disaster.

[jerrytackettca]

Can You Believe There Are Cockroach Farms in China?

The featured video, produced by the South China Morning Post, opens with these words: "If cockroaches make you uncomfortable … this could be your worst nightmare." Indeed. Most of us would do almost anything to avoid a daily work environment that involves contact with millions of teeming roaches. In China, however, cockroaches are big business.

A number of Chinese cities contending with explosive population growth are finding cockroaches to be a helpful solution to the ever-increasing problem of food waste disposal. With landfills approaching capacity in some areas, it's roaches to the rescue.

Not only do these pesky insects eat food scraps, but they also are a source of animal feed and an ingredient in some health and beauty products, as well as medicines. Though you may find it hard to believe, cockroach breeding farms in China are the real deal.

Roaches to the Rescue: China's Unusual Urban Waste Disposal System

Cockroaches are big business in China, where, according to Reuters, teeming colonies of them are entrusted with the serious job of devouring tons of kitchen waste.1 Though the thought of millions of cockroaches together in one location sounds like something from a horror movie, it is actually the foundation of an innovative urban waste disposal system.

The goal: Reduce the amount of food-related garbage deposited in landfills. The issue of food waste is particularly problematic in large Chinese cities with rapidly expanding populations. Because roaches have voracious appetites and are easy to house, they are, it seems, the perfect match for China's garbage problem.

These so-called cockroach farms are maintained in humid, near-dark conditions, which are ideal for the insects. When the bugs eventually die, they are usually transformed into animal feed. On the outskirts of Jinan, for example, the capital of eastern Shandong province, a billion cockroaches are being fed about 50 metric tons of kitchen waste a day.

That's an amount equivalent in weight to seven elephants. With respect to how the garbage makes its way to the roaches, Reuters states:2

"The waste arrives before daybreak at the plant run by Shandong Qiaobin Agricultural Technology Co., where it is fed through pipes to cockroaches in their cells. Shandong Qiaobin plans to set up three more such plants next year, aiming to process a third of the kitchen waste produced by Jinan, home to about 7 million people."

While some people despise cockroaches and others are disgusted by them, Li Yanrong, general manager of Shandong Qiaobin, sees these hardy insects only for their beneficial qualities. In 2017, Li told China Daily:3

"We spent six years doing research into using cockroaches after finding that they can feed on kitchen waste and create no pollutants. Using cockroaches to deal with kitchen waste is good for our country and for business. Social problems created by kitchen waste will be eradicated."

Li claims cockroaches are able and willing to devour almost anything. He says they can consume up to 5 percent of their body weight every day. "Cockroaches have been eating plants and organic matter since hundreds of millions of years ago," he said. "They are experts in waste composting."4

Cockroaches Picking Up Where Pigs Left Off After Swine Fever Outbreak

Li is not the only one enthused about roaches. "Cockroaches are a biotechnological pathway for the converting and processing of kitchen waste," says Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association and entomology professor at Shandong Agricultural University.5

This is particularly the case because it's currently illegal to feed human food waste to pigs in China. Roaches have come to the forefront, in part, due to the Chinese nationwide ban on using food waste for pig feed.6 That ban, which has fueled the growth of the cockroach industry, came about as a result of African swine fever outbreaks first detected in August 2018.7

In October 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a statement saying, "After the provinces with outbreaks and neighboring provinces completely banned feeding of kitchen waste to pigs, the epidemic was greatly reduced, which fully demonstrates the importance of completely prohibiting the feeding of waste [to pigs]."8

The industry is primed to grow even more as a result of the new laws around pigs and food waste. In the past three years, Liu notes the number of cockroach farmers in Shandong alone has tripled to about 400. "There have been huge developments in cockroach breeding and research in the past few years," said Liu.9

Novel Uses for Cockroaches Include Health and Beauty Applications

Beyond eating waste, cockroaches are valued for other reasons, including their eggs. Li told China Daily his company can earn 36.5 million yuan ($5.3 million) a year by selling protein feed produced from cockroach eggs.10 "A cockroach begins laying eggs when it is 4 months old. It lays one egg each week and can lay eggs for eight months," Li said.11

In addition, roaches are being considered for their potential usefulness in health and beauty products and medications. As presented in the featured video, in Sichuan, a privately held company called Gooddoctor Pharmaceutical Research, established in 1998, is raising about 6 billion cockroaches.

Geng Funeng, president of Gooddoctor, who appears in the video, says he hopes the international science community will one day recognize the value of roaches for medicine.

"Insects are a complete and living organism," Geng states in the video. He told the Sydney Morning Herald he personally eats 10 of them a day.12 "They contain multiple compounds to benefit our health," he added. "I think the problems in our lives can be better solved with living solutions."

Beyond the use of cockroaches in medications, researchers at Gooddoctor are also investigating the possibility of using roach extracts in beauty masks, diet pills and even hair-loss treatments.13 Another source says it can be used to treat diabetic ulcers and severe skin wounds.14

"The essence of cockroach is good for curing oral and peptic ulcers, skin wounds and even stomach cancer," asserts Wen Jianguo, manager of Gooddoctor's cockroach facility.15 According to Reuters, "At Gooddoctor, when cockroaches reach the end of their life span of about six months, they are blasted by steam, washed and dried, before being sent to a huge nutrient extraction tank."16

"They really are a miracle drug," Liu added. "They can cure a number of ailments and they work much faster than other medicine."17 In 2013, Liu told The Telegraph a cream made from powdered cockroaches had been used in some Chinese hospitals as a treatment for burns and for cosmetic facial masks in Korea.18

Beyond that, The Telegraph reported a syrup invented by a drug manufacturer in Sichuan promises to cure duodenal ulcers, gastroenteritis and pulmonary tuberculosis.19 "China has the problem of an aging population," said Liu. "So, we are trying to find new medicines for older people, and these are generally cheaper than Western medicine."20

Cockroaches Used to Feed Chickens and Humans

At Shandong Qiaobin, Li and his employees bake and mill dead cockroaches into high-protein powder that is added to chicken feed. He claims the powder has been found to "reduce body fat and boost immunity in the 1,000-plus chickens he has raised."21

The South China Morning Post calls out the high protein content of cockroaches, suggesting they can be useful as food not just for animals, but humans as well.22 Consumer Reports notes the use of insect protein in energy bars and other food items sold in the U.S. In a 2014 review of such products, they stated:23

"[T]he cricket products popping up on store shelves in the U.S. don't contain insects that are rounded up in the wild. These critters are raised on domestic cricket farms, where they are fed a grain-based diet. They're dried or roasted and then milled into a fine flour. About 40 crickets are packed into an average snack bar."

According to Liu, restaurants in major cockroach-farming provinces like Shandong, Sichuan and Yunnan already sell cockroach dishes for human consumption.24 Very often, he notes, molting cockroaches are seasoned with salt or spices and then deep-fried or stir-fried.

Although nobody has made a commercial venture selling edible cockroaches on a large scale, Liu said he believes businesses will soon make the move. "They can easily mill the molting cockroaches and make flour with them," he said.25

Given the increasing interest in insects as food, in May 2018, the 2nd International Conference "Insects to Feed the World" was held in China to discuss the role of insects in helping to sustain human life and promote nutrition.26

In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (U.N.) published a report suggesting people start eating insects as a possible solution to global food shortages.27 As for the types of insects most commonly eaten for food, the U.N. notes the following breakdown:28

Beetles (Coleoptera) — 31 percent

Caterpillars (Lepidoptera) — 18 percent

Bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera) — 14 percent

Grasshoppers, locusts and crickets (Orthoptera) — 13 percent

Cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, scale insects and true bugs (Hemiptera) — 10 percent

Termites (Isoptera, also known as Blattodea) — 3 percent

Dragonflies (Odonata) — 3 percent

Flies (Diptera) — 2 percent

Other orders — 5 percent

As members of the same order as termites, cockroaches rank No. 6 on the list of most commonly eaten insects. You can learn more about the U.N. report by checking out my article "Eat Insects, Save the World."

Speaking of roaches as a food source, more intriguing still is the notion of cockroach milk as a potential super food. Yes, that's right, cockroach milk. A certain type of cockroach (Diploptera punctata), found mostly in the Pacific Islands, is the main source of this bug beverage.

A 2016 study29,30 from India asserts cockroach milk contains more than three times as much energy as cow's milk. That said, the researchers indicated there is a lack of evidence roach milk is safe for human consumption, so further investigation is needed.

To learn more about this, you may want to read my article "Cockroach Milk — The Most Nutritious?" Roach milk aside, the potential for other roach-inspired food products has captured the interest of at least one cockroach farmer in Sichuan province's rural Yibin city.

He sells about 22 pounds of cockroaches a month to two local restaurants, where they are used in various dishes. Says Li Bingcai:31

"I plan to produce food products like cockroach meatballs and cockroach flour in two years. I've always wanted to make food products from the beginning. People were scared of [cockroaches] at first, but now so many are eating them. The taste is special and they are full of protein."

Cockroaches Are a Lucrative Business in China

While it is clear there is money to be made across the board with cockroaches and cockroach breeding farms in China, it seems operations focused on using roach extracts for medicinal purposes are among the most lucrative.

As reported by The Telegraph,32 Wang Fuming operates a cockroach farm in China's Shandong province, where he houses more than 22 million of the insects in concrete bunkers in the suburbs of Jinan. Wang raises the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) exclusively and sells his output to pharmaceutical companies for top dollar.

Previously, Wang says he bred a particular type of wingless, flightless cockroach (Eupolyphaga sinensis) whose dried body is prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

The increases in demand for the American cockroach are such that from 2011 to 2013 he claims to have quintupled production to more than 100 tons a year. "There are hundreds of species of cockroaches, but only this one has any medicinal value," says Wang."33

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Gooddoctor's 2017 sales amounted to 6.3 billion Chinese yuan ($914 million). Their best seller, worth $1 billion yuan ($145 million), was a cockroach-containing "Recovery New Potion" that can be consumed orally or used on your skin.

While using legions of cockroaches as waste composters or as food and medicine continues to make news in China, most people in the U.S. and other Western nations still consider this insect as nothing more than an unwanted pest.

Unless you are looking to shock your family or friends by eating cockroaches, I recommend waiting for researchers in China and elsewhere to further develop the science around how cockroaches may benefit human health.

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/29/cockroach-farming-in-china.aspx

source http://niapurenaturecom.weebly.com/blog/can-you-believe-there-are-cockroach-farms-in-china

[jakehglover]

Can You Believe There Are Cockroach Farms in China?

The featured video, produced by the South China Morning Post, opens with these words: "If cockroaches make you uncomfortable … this could be your worst nightmare." Indeed. Most of us would do almost anything to avoid a daily work environment that involves contact with millions of teeming roaches. In China, however, cockroaches are big business.

A number of Chinese cities contending with explosive population growth are finding cockroaches to be a helpful solution to the ever-increasing problem of food waste disposal. With landfills approaching capacity in some areas, it's roaches to the rescue.

Not only do these pesky insects eat food scraps, but they also are a source of animal feed and an ingredient in some health and beauty products, as well as medicines. Though you may find it hard to believe, cockroach breeding farms in China are the real deal.

Roaches to the Rescue: China's Unusual Urban Waste Disposal System

Cockroaches are big business in China, where, according to Reuters, teeming colonies of them are entrusted with the serious job of devouring tons of kitchen waste.1 Though the thought of millions of cockroaches together in one location sounds like something from a horror movie, it is actually the foundation of an innovative urban waste disposal system.

The goal: Reduce the amount of food-related garbage deposited in landfills. The issue of food waste is particularly problematic in large Chinese cities with rapidly expanding populations. Because roaches have voracious appetites and are easy to house, they are, it seems, the perfect match for China's garbage problem.

These so-called cockroach farms are maintained in humid, near-dark conditions, which are ideal for the insects. When the bugs eventually die, they are usually transformed into animal feed. On the outskirts of Jinan, for example, the capital of eastern Shandong province, a billion cockroaches are being fed about 50 metric tons of kitchen waste a day.

That's an amount equivalent in weight to seven elephants. With respect to how the garbage makes its way to the roaches, Reuters states:2

"The waste arrives before daybreak at the plant run by Shandong Qiaobin Agricultural Technology Co., where it is fed through pipes to cockroaches in their cells. Shandong Qiaobin plans to set up three more such plants next year, aiming to process a third of the kitchen waste produced by Jinan, home to about 7 million people."

While some people despise cockroaches and others are disgusted by them, Li Yanrong, general manager of Shandong Qiaobin, sees these hardy insects only for their beneficial qualities. In 2017, Li told China Daily:3

"We spent six years doing research into using cockroaches after finding that they can feed on kitchen waste and create no pollutants. Using cockroaches to deal with kitchen waste is good for our country and for business. Social problems created by kitchen waste will be eradicated."

Li claims cockroaches are able and willing to devour almost anything. He says they can consume up to 5 percent of their body weight every day. "Cockroaches have been eating plants and organic matter since hundreds of millions of years ago," he said. "They are experts in waste composting."4

Cockroaches Picking Up Where Pigs Left Off After Swine Fever Outbreak

Li is not the only one enthused about roaches. "Cockroaches are a biotechnological pathway for the converting and processing of kitchen waste," says Liu Yusheng, president of Shandong Insect Industry Association and entomology professor at Shandong Agricultural University.5

This is particularly the case because it's currently illegal to feed human food waste to pigs in China. Roaches have come to the forefront, in part, due to the Chinese nationwide ban on using food waste for pig feed.6 That ban, which has fueled the growth of the cockroach industry, came about as a result of African swine fever outbreaks first detected in August 2018.7

In October 2018, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a statement saying, "After the provinces with outbreaks and neighboring provinces completely banned feeding of kitchen waste to pigs, the epidemic was greatly reduced, which fully demonstrates the importance of completely prohibiting the feeding of waste [to pigs]."8

The industry is primed to grow even more as a result of the new laws around pigs and food waste. In the past three years, Liu notes the number of cockroach farmers in Shandong alone has tripled to about 400. "There have been huge developments in cockroach breeding and research in the past few years," said Liu.9

Novel Uses for Cockroaches Include Health and Beauty Applications

Beyond eating waste, cockroaches are valued for other reasons, including their eggs. Li told China Daily his company can earn 36.5 million yuan ($5.3 million) a year by selling protein feed produced from cockroach eggs.10 "A cockroach begins laying eggs when it is 4 months old. It lays one egg each week and can lay eggs for eight months," Li said.11

In addition, roaches are being considered for their potential usefulness in health and beauty products and medications. As presented in the featured video, in Sichuan, a privately held company called Gooddoctor Pharmaceutical Research, established in 1998, is raising about 6 billion cockroaches.

Geng Funeng, president of Gooddoctor, who appears in the video, says he hopes the international science community will one day recognize the value of roaches for medicine.

"Insects are a complete and living organism," Geng states in the video. He told the Sydney Morning Herald he personally eats 10 of them a day.12 "They contain multiple compounds to benefit our health," he added. "I think the problems in our lives can be better solved with living solutions."

Beyond the use of cockroaches in medications, researchers at Gooddoctor are also investigating the possibility of using roach extracts in beauty masks, diet pills and even hair-loss treatments.13 Another source says it can be used to treat diabetic ulcers and severe skin wounds.14

"The essence of cockroach is good for curing oral and peptic ulcers, skin wounds and even stomach cancer," asserts Wen Jianguo, manager of Gooddoctor's cockroach facility.15 According to Reuters, "At Gooddoctor, when cockroaches reach the end of their life span of about six months, they are blasted by steam, washed and dried, before being sent to a huge nutrient extraction tank."16

"They really are a miracle drug," Liu added. "They can cure a number of ailments and they work much faster than other medicine."17 In 2013, Liu told The Telegraph a cream made from powdered cockroaches had been used in some Chinese hospitals as a treatment for burns and for cosmetic facial masks in Korea.18

Beyond that, The Telegraph reported a syrup invented by a drug manufacturer in Sichuan promises to cure duodenal ulcers, gastroenteritis and pulmonary tuberculosis.19 "China has the problem of an aging population," said Liu. "So, we are trying to find new medicines for older people, and these are generally cheaper than Western medicine."20

Cockroaches Used to Feed Chickens and Humans

At Shandong Qiaobin, Li and his employees bake and mill dead cockroaches into high-protein powder that is added to chicken feed. He claims the powder has been found to "reduce body fat and boost immunity in the 1,000-plus chickens he has raised."21

The South China Morning Post calls out the high protein content of cockroaches, suggesting they can be useful as food not just for animals, but humans as well.22 Consumer Reports notes the use of insect protein in energy bars and other food items sold in the U.S. In a 2014 review of such products, they stated:23

"[T]he cricket products popping up on store shelves in the U.S. don't contain insects that are rounded up in the wild. These critters are raised on domestic cricket farms, where they are fed a grain-based diet. They're dried or roasted and then milled into a fine flour. About 40 crickets are packed into an average snack bar."

According to Liu, restaurants in major cockroach-farming provinces like Shandong, Sichuan and Yunnan already sell cockroach dishes for human consumption.24 Very often, he notes, molting cockroaches are seasoned with salt or spices and then deep-fried or stir-fried.

Although nobody has made a commercial venture selling edible cockroaches on a large scale, Liu said he believes businesses will soon make the move. "They can easily mill the molting cockroaches and make flour with them," he said.25

Given the increasing interest in insects as food, in May 2018, the 2nd International Conference "Insects to Feed the World" was held in China to discuss the role of insects in helping to sustain human life and promote nutrition.26

In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (U.N.) published a report suggesting people start eating insects as a possible solution to global food shortages.27 As for the types of insects most commonly eaten for food, the U.N. notes the following breakdown:28

Beetles (Coleoptera) — 31 percent

Caterpillars (Lepidoptera) — 18 percent

Bees, wasps and ants (Hymenoptera) — 14 percent

Grasshoppers, locusts and crickets (Orthoptera) — 13 percent

Cicadas, leafhoppers, planthoppers, scale insects and true bugs (Hemiptera) — 10 percent

Termites (Isoptera, also known as Blattodea) — 3 percent

Dragonflies (Odonata) — 3 percent

Flies (Diptera) — 2 percent

Other orders — 5 percent

As members of the same order as termites, cockroaches rank No. 6 on the list of most commonly eaten insects. You can learn more about the U.N. report by checking out my article "Eat Insects, Save the World."

Speaking of roaches as a food source, more intriguing still is the notion of cockroach milk as a potential super food. Yes, that's right, cockroach milk. A certain type of cockroach (Diploptera punctata), found mostly in the Pacific Islands, is the main source of this bug beverage.

A 2016 study29,30 from India asserts cockroach milk contains more than three times as much energy as cow's milk. That said, the researchers indicated there is a lack of evidence roach milk is safe for human consumption, so further investigation is needed.

To learn more about this, you may want to read my article "Cockroach Milk — The Most Nutritious?" Roach milk aside, the potential for other roach-inspired food products has captured the interest of at least one cockroach farmer in Sichuan province's rural Yibin city.

He sells about 22 pounds of cockroaches a month to two local restaurants, where they are used in various dishes. Says Li Bingcai:31

"I plan to produce food products like cockroach meatballs and cockroach flour in two years. I've always wanted to make food products from the beginning. People were scared of [cockroaches] at first, but now so many are eating them. The taste is special and they are full of protein."

Cockroaches Are a Lucrative Business in China

While it is clear there is money to be made across the board with cockroaches and cockroach breeding farms in China, it seems operations focused on using roach extracts for medicinal purposes are among the most lucrative.

As reported by The Telegraph,32 Wang Fuming operates a cockroach farm in China's Shandong province, where he houses more than 22 million of the insects in concrete bunkers in the suburbs of Jinan. Wang raises the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) exclusively and sells his output to pharmaceutical companies for top dollar.

Previously, Wang says he bred a particular type of wingless, flightless cockroach (Eupolyphaga sinensis) whose dried body is prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

The increases in demand for the American cockroach are such that from 2011 to 2013 he claims to have quintupled production to more than 100 tons a year. "There are hundreds of species of cockroaches, but only this one has any medicinal value," says Wang."33

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Gooddoctor's 2017 sales amounted to 6.3 billion Chinese yuan ($914 million). Their best seller, worth $1 billion yuan ($145 million), was a cockroach-containing "Recovery New Potion" that can be consumed orally or used on your skin.

While using legions of cockroaches as waste composters or as food and medicine continues to make news in China, most people in the U.S. and other Western nations still consider this insect as nothing more than an unwanted pest.

Unless you are looking to shock your family or friends by eating cockroaches, I recommend waiting for researchers in China and elsewhere to further develop the science around how cockroaches may benefit human health.

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/29/cockroach-farming-in-china.aspx

[paullassiterca]

Biosolids Are Contaminating Your Food

Biosolid is the commonly used term for treated recycled sewage sludge used as agricultural fertilizer. In this video interview with microbiologist David Lewis, Ph.D., he discusses information he uncovered in three decades working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Lewis, a former senior-level research microbiologist at EPA-ORD, was terminated for publishing an article that raised concerns over the EPA 503 sludge rule. The rule addresses the standards to be used when sludge is applied to the land.1

In his article,2 Lewis blew the whistle on corruption and conflict of interest at the EPA causing industrial waste and toxins to be added into fertilizer that is then applied to farm land and added to potting soil.

In his book, “Science for Sale: How the US Government Uses Powerful Corporations and Leading Universities to Support Government Policies, Silence Top Scientists, Jeopardize Our Health, and Protect Corporate Profits,” he elaborates on the enormous conflict of interest between U.S. industry and federal regulatory agencies allowing toxins to be quite literally spread on the land all-around the U.S.

Solution of Eliminating Human Waste Corrupted by Industrial Waste

The practice of using biosolids began when it became clear how dumping the sludge directly into waterways was damaging the environment.3 After the Cuyahoga River outside Cleveland, Ohio, caught on fire in 19694 as a result of high levels of pollution, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act were enacted.

President Richard Nixon also created the EPA to regulate the air and water and protect human health. Looking for another avenue to dispose of the waste, industry turned to municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Organic waste commonly used in biosolids includes human waste product and industrial waste delivered to municipal treatment plants. If human waste were the only product returned to the soil, it would complete the cycle of regenerative agriculture, returning nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil.

However, the industrial waste corrupts the process by concentrating toxins, which are then spread as fertilizer onto agricultural lands, parklands, golf courses, lawns and cemeteries. Biosolids are also used in mine reclamation, to cover inactive landfills, or to add layers in active landfills.5

Although the U.S. Inspector General believes the EPA controls are incomplete and may have failed to protect human health when regulating biosolids,6 according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality:7

“Biosolids are one of the most studied materials that have ever been regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Decades of studies have demonstrated that biosolids can be safely used for the production of crops.

The National Academy of Sciences has reviewed current practices, public health concerns, and regulator standards and has concluded that “the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment.”

EPA Unsure of Biosolid Safety

As Lewis describes in the video, none of the toxic organic chemicals regulated by the EPA is monitored in sewage sludge and only nine of 27 toxic heavy metals are monitored. According to a recently-published investigation by the Office of Inspector General, a broad list of potential threats have not been evaluated.

The agency has identified 352 chemical pollutants making their way out of wastewater treatment plants in treated biosolids, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and solvents.8 Of these, 61 are listed as hazardous materials with known human effects. However, to date the EPA has not completed a risk assessment for any.

The industry argument is that biosolid fertilizers slowly release nitrogen and phosphorus as well as essential micronutrients, including nickel and copper. However, biosolids also contain pharmaceutical compounds, hormones, fire retardants and plasticizers. Once pumped onto farm lands and golf courses they can be washed into local water sources, ending up in the food chain.9

As Lewis explains, once these chemicals have dissolved in fat they bioaccumulate and can become neurotoxic. According to the EPA, nearly half of the biosolids generated in the U.S. are ultimately applied to populated areas. The other half may be sent to incinerators or landfills.10

While the EPA has consistently monitored biosolids for nine regulated substances, they lack any data to determine the safety of hundreds of others found in the material.

The EPA formally responded to the Inspector General’s office, attempting to negate the potential effects on human health, saying,11 “The occurrence of pollutants and biosolids does not necessarily mean that those pollutants pose a risk to public health and the environment.”

The city of Lacrosse, Wisconsin, located on the Mississippi River, reportedly dumps 12 million gallons of biosolids a year on surrounding fields.12 The city does not test wastewater or solids for emerging contaminants, including those mentioned by the inspector general in its audit.

Reminiscent of comments made after widespread lead contamination in water supplying Flint, Michigan, was discovered,13 Jared Greeno, wastewater treatment plant superintendent, said:14 “At this time, we’re not required by DNR, so we haven’t done those tests.”

How Industrial Pollution Moved From Waterways to Farmland

Lewis recalls the old slogan, “The solution to pollution is dilution,” used to describe why industrial wastewater was pumped directly into streams and rivers, for eventual dilution in the oceans.

Today, the process of using biosolids spreads pollution on golf courses, school grounds and farmlands, concentrating the toxins’ effects and exposing large vulnerable populations to concentrated hazardous material.

After publishing a commentary in Nature, one of the most prestigious science journals, Lewis was interviewed by a journalist from The Atlanta Journal Constitution, during which he said the EPA may be doing more damage than good to human health. He then questioned EPA field scientists around the country about their opinion of how the EPA sludge rule protected health.

The overwhelming response was that field scientists had unanimously warned EPA headquarters the 503 sludge rule was a bad decision. Lewis recalls at the time the EPA had partnered with the largest treatment plant trade organization, the Water Environment Federation. The collaborative effort poured money into promoting studies to support the 503 rule.

This industry-funded body of “evidence” is now known by EPA scientists as “Sludge Magic.” The same chemicals the EPA calls “priority pollutants” — which by definition trigger human health effects and are environmentally persistent — are concentrated in biosolids and spread through the environment when industrial wastewater is pumped into municipal sewage treatment plants and added to the biosolid mix.

Biosolids Application Has a Massive Impact on Crops and Waterways

The addition of massive amounts of biosolids containing nitrogen and phosphorus combined with other nitrogen-rich fertilizers have likely contributed to algae blooms along the coast of Florida.15 Unfortunately, many of the southern states experience greater use of biosolids as they accept excrement exported from other cities.

For instance, a train, nicknamed “the poop train,” filled with biosolids originating from New York City was stranded in a small town in Alabama for nearly two months.16 As New York has strict dumping laws, they ship their biosolids south. Many southern states have lax laws, which explains why Georgia, Alabama and neighboring states have accumulated waste in the past several years.

The train was originally bound for Big Sky landfill, 20 miles east of Parrish, Alabama. Although the landfill had taken sewage from New York since 2017, the nearby town of Jefferson sought an injunction on the grounds the biosolids caused the town to be infested with flies and smell like dead rotting animals.

After two months, the biosolids were removed from the train by the truckload and transported to a landfill.17 In a study from the University of York in the United Kingdom,18 data revealed plants suffer when biosolids are applied to the soil. Even with low-level exposure, the drugs studied interfered with plant hormones that support defense against predators and diseases.

The drugs also damaged the plant’s ability to make energy from the sunlight, and at higher concentrations the research team saw a drop in the leaves’ levels of chlorophyll. At higher concentrations, the plants also experienced stunted roots and burnt edges on the leaves.19

Though the team thought the discoloration was from a nutrient deficiency, they found instead the plants had absorbed higher levels of nutrients that were essentially poisoning the plants.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

If you grow vegetables in your garden and want to avoid toxins contained in biosolids, your best bet is to buy organic potting soil and/or compost from a local nursery you know and trust, that can guarantee no biosolids have been added.

Unfortunately, companies do not have to disclose when biosolids are used, so there’s really no way of knowing what’s in your bag of potting soil or compost. Composted products can have the USDA organic label on them, and still be loaded with toxic biosolids. If you see “milogranite” on the label, it contains biosolids from the City of Milwaukee — a national distributor.

Another alternative is to make your own using a composting bin or wood chips. For a full explanation of how to compost, see my previous article, “How to Properly Compost and Recycle.”

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/05/biosolids-contaminating-food.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/180818443081

[jakehglover]

Biosolids Are Contaminating Your Food

Biosolid is the commonly used term for treated recycled sewage sludge used as agricultural fertilizer. In this video interview with microbiologist David Lewis, Ph.D., he discusses information he uncovered in three decades working for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Lewis, a former senior-level research microbiologist at EPA-ORD, was terminated for publishing an article that raised concerns over the EPA 503 sludge rule. The rule addresses the standards to be used when sludge is applied to the land.1

In his article,2 Lewis blew the whistle on corruption and conflict of interest at the EPA causing industrial waste and toxins to be added into fertilizer that is then applied to farm land and added to potting soil.

In his book, “Science for Sale: How the US Government Uses Powerful Corporations and Leading Universities to Support Government Policies, Silence Top Scientists, Jeopardize Our Health, and Protect Corporate Profits,” he elaborates on the enormous conflict of interest between U.S. industry and federal regulatory agencies allowing toxins to be quite literally spread on the land all-around the U.S.

Solution of Eliminating Human Waste Corrupted by Industrial Waste

The practice of using biosolids began when it became clear how dumping the sludge directly into waterways was damaging the environment.3 After the Cuyahoga River outside Cleveland, Ohio, caught on fire in 19694 as a result of high levels of pollution, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act were enacted.

President Richard Nixon also created the EPA to regulate the air and water and protect human health. Looking for another avenue to dispose of the waste, industry turned to municipal wastewater treatment plants.

Organic waste commonly used in biosolids includes human waste product and industrial waste delivered to municipal treatment plants. If human waste were the only product returned to the soil, it would complete the cycle of regenerative agriculture, returning nitrogen and phosphorus back into the soil.

However, the industrial waste corrupts the process by concentrating toxins, which are then spread as fertilizer onto agricultural lands, parklands, golf courses, lawns and cemeteries. Biosolids are also used in mine reclamation, to cover inactive landfills, or to add layers in active landfills.5

Although the U.S. Inspector General believes the EPA controls are incomplete and may have failed to protect human health when regulating biosolids,6 according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality:7

“Biosolids are one of the most studied materials that have ever been regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Decades of studies have demonstrated that biosolids can be safely used for the production of crops.

The National Academy of Sciences has reviewed current practices, public health concerns, and regulator standards and has concluded that “the use of these materials in the production of crops for human consumption when practiced in accordance with existing federal guidelines and regulations, presents negligible risk to the consumer, to crop production and to the environment.”

EPA Unsure of Biosolid Safety

As Lewis describes in the video, none of the toxic organic chemicals regulated by the EPA is monitored in sewage sludge and only nine of 27 toxic heavy metals are monitored. According to a recently-published investigation by the Office of Inspector General, a broad list of potential threats have not been evaluated.

The agency has identified 352 chemical pollutants making their way out of wastewater treatment plants in treated biosolids, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and solvents.8 Of these, 61 are listed as hazardous materials with known human effects. However, to date the EPA has not completed a risk assessment for any.

The industry argument is that biosolid fertilizers slowly release nitrogen and phosphorus as well as essential micronutrients, including nickel and copper. However, biosolids also contain pharmaceutical compounds, hormones, fire retardants and plasticizers. Once pumped onto farm lands and golf courses they can be washed into local water sources, ending up in the food chain.9

As Lewis explains, once these chemicals have dissolved in fat they bioaccumulate and can become neurotoxic. According to the EPA, nearly half of the biosolids generated in the U.S. are ultimately applied to populated areas. The other half may be sent to incinerators or landfills.10

While the EPA has consistently monitored biosolids for nine regulated substances, they lack any data to determine the safety of hundreds of others found in the material.

The EPA formally responded to the Inspector General's office, attempting to negate the potential effects on human health, saying,11 “The occurrence of pollutants and biosolids does not necessarily mean that those pollutants pose a risk to public health and the environment.”

The city of Lacrosse, Wisconsin, located on the Mississippi River, reportedly dumps 12 million gallons of biosolids a year on surrounding fields.12 The city does not test wastewater or solids for emerging contaminants, including those mentioned by the inspector general in its audit.

Reminiscent of comments made after widespread lead contamination in water supplying Flint, Michigan, was discovered,13 Jared Greeno, wastewater treatment plant superintendent, said:14 “At this time, we're not required by DNR, so we haven't done those tests.”

How Industrial Pollution Moved From Waterways to Farmland

Lewis recalls the old slogan, “The solution to pollution is dilution,” used to describe why industrial wastewater was pumped directly into streams and rivers, for eventual dilution in the oceans.

Today, the process of using biosolids spreads pollution on golf courses, school grounds and farmlands, concentrating the toxins’ effects and exposing large vulnerable populations to concentrated hazardous material.

After publishing a commentary in Nature, one of the most prestigious science journals, Lewis was interviewed by a journalist from The Atlanta Journal Constitution, during which he said the EPA may be doing more damage than good to human health. He then questioned EPA field scientists around the country about their opinion of how the EPA sludge rule protected health.

The overwhelming response was that field scientists had unanimously warned EPA headquarters the 503 sludge rule was a bad decision. Lewis recalls at the time the EPA had partnered with the largest treatment plant trade organization, the Water Environment Federation. The collaborative effort poured money into promoting studies to support the 503 rule.

This industry-funded body of “evidence” is now known by EPA scientists as “Sludge Magic.” The same chemicals the EPA calls “priority pollutants” — which by definition trigger human health effects and are environmentally persistent — are concentrated in biosolids and spread through the environment when industrial wastewater is pumped into municipal sewage treatment plants and added to the biosolid mix.

Biosolids Application Has a Massive Impact on Crops and Waterways

The addition of massive amounts of biosolids containing nitrogen and phosphorus combined with other nitrogen-rich fertilizers have likely contributed to algae blooms along the coast of Florida.15 Unfortunately, many of the southern states experience greater use of biosolids as they accept excrement exported from other cities.

For instance, a train, nicknamed “the poop train,” filled with biosolids originating from New York City was stranded in a small town in Alabama for nearly two months.16 As New York has strict dumping laws, they ship their biosolids south. Many southern states have lax laws, which explains why Georgia, Alabama and neighboring states have accumulated waste in the past several years.

The train was originally bound for Big Sky landfill, 20 miles east of Parrish, Alabama. Although the landfill had taken sewage from New York since 2017, the nearby town of Jefferson sought an injunction on the grounds the biosolids caused the town to be infested with flies and smell like dead rotting animals.

After two months, the biosolids were removed from the train by the truckload and transported to a landfill.17 In a study from the University of York in the United Kingdom,18 data revealed plants suffer when biosolids are applied to the soil. Even with low-level exposure, the drugs studied interfered with plant hormones that support defense against predators and diseases.

The drugs also damaged the plant's ability to make energy from the sunlight, and at higher concentrations the research team saw a drop in the leaves’ levels of chlorophyll. At higher concentrations, the plants also experienced stunted roots and burnt edges on the leaves.19

Though the team thought the discoloration was from a nutrient deficiency, they found instead the plants had absorbed higher levels of nutrients that were essentially poisoning the plants.

Protect Yourself and Your Family

If you grow vegetables in your garden and want to avoid toxins contained in biosolids, your best bet is to buy organic potting soil and/or compost from a local nursery you know and trust, that can guarantee no biosolids have been added.

Unfortunately, companies do not have to disclose when biosolids are used, so there’s really no way of knowing what’s in your bag of potting soil or compost. Composted products can have the USDA organic label on them, and still be loaded with toxic biosolids. If you see "milogranite" on the label, it contains biosolids from the City of Milwaukee — a national distributor.

Another alternative is to make your own using a composting bin or wood chips. For a full explanation of how to compost, see my previous article, "How to Properly Compost and Recycle."

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/12/05/biosolids-contaminating-food.aspx