Amish Farmers Face Government Scrutiny

link to original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/science/earth/09amish.html

The E.P.A. has declared that the Amish version of farming (that is, using manure instead of synthetic fertilizers) is causing an environmental disaster, as it runs off into waterways.

But lets look at this from an angle the E.P.A. doesn't seem to have...common sense.

Long before mankind ever started farming....back when we were hunter-gatherers....animals created dookie. Ducks, geese, and swans poo. Deer poo. Rabbits poo. Raccoons and beaver poo. Yes, even lizards and amphibians poo. Guess what....fish poo, too. And that poo was more than likely to end up in the streams, rivers, lakes, and eventually the ocean. (Remember...sharks and whales poo, too.) Its a symbiotic relationship...animals eat the plants and breath the oxygen the plants create...in return, the animals create the carbon dioxide the plants themselves breath, and their poo in turn fertilizes the ground for the next generation of plants.

When mankind actually began farming, he realized that poo was good farming. Now, originally, this was done the cheap way....semi-nomadic herders were given the right to allow their animals to graze in fields after the grains were cut down. And, naturally, as animals poo while they are grazing, the field was fertilized.

The practice continued with crop rotation....traditional farmers would switch their fields around, and a field where animals grazed (and fertilized the ground) would be included...and the next year, the field would be wonderful for planting crops.

If you did take the time to read the article, you will notice that it is ADMITTED that synthetic fertilizers run off into the waterways as well. And yet, the E.P.A. has decided that its the ancient practice of fertilizing with manure that is causing the more recent problems.

So one has to wonder....is the E.P.A. scared of big chemical agro-business? Or are they in bed with them, and are simply trying to drive the small organic farmer out of business? Or is this just a part of the recent psychotic environmentalism that wants all humans and animals (yes, even the bunny in the forest and the dolphin in the ocean) to simply roll over and die?

I don't know. You decide for yourself.