A PH Lady Journalist Is Worried About The Animal Manure That Goes Into The Organic Fertilizer
Rena S Hermoso writes “Knowing the Potentials, Limitations
Of Organic Produce And Farming[1]”
(17 July 2020, BusinessDiary), and it
is not so-good-news:
(In) recent years,
organic produce has been gaining attention from the public for its nutritional
benefits and being pesticide-free. However, the public must also realize that
organic produce has its own set of potentials and limitations. While it is
important to know the benefits of consuming organic produce, it is also equally
important to learn its limitations to mitigate its negative effects and
maximize its full potential.
This is journalistic hyperbole that media serve and people
relish so they buy more print copies or surf the media websites more often.
That first paragraph makes it appear that organic farmers do not really care
about their customers except as buyers of their farm produce.
This perceived threat
to health of organic consumers is explained vaguely
by Miss Rena in these words:
Just like how
pesticide residue or contamination threatens the safety of conventionally-grown
produce, microbial contamination is the threat to the safety of
organically-grown produce. This is primarily due to the use of animal manure in
organic production. More so, microbial contamination cannot just occur during
the production stage but in every stage of the handling-distribution chain.
That is based on prejudice and not from a scientific study.
Miss Rena did not do enough background research on this one to know that
organic fertilizers are produced only when the organic materials have
decomposed completely – no plant or animal tiny or small are left alive
in that converted mass, all microorganisms killed. So, how can the animal manure infect
the farm produce growing in the field?
But prejudice is prejudice, and I am sure there are thousands, nay millions who share the same view, if inarticulated.
Well, if I were a farmer and wanted to make honest money
from organic produce, I will avoid animal manure altogether. I will grow my
food crops with organic mulch
instead. That organic mulch I will build on top of my farm like this:
Farmers hate the weeds
– I love them! I will use the rotavator to plow in the weeds and crop refuse
(if any) so that in one passing, the soil has been cut to tiny pieces and the
vegetation has been cut to tiny pieces – and mixed together in one smooth
operation. As I continue to rotavate my field, I will continue to create that
organic mulch over my field. When I am done rotavating, I already have my
organic fertilizer – man-made, natural.
My organic mulch should be the answer to the challenge,
articulated by Dormita R Del Carmen, a University Researcher of the Postharvest
Horticulture Training and Research Center, PHTRC, of UP Los Baños, as reported
by Miss Rena, for organic farmers to deliver “organically-grown fruits and
vegetables that have same safety, quality and shelf-life as their
conventionally-grown counterpart.”
Not
all organically grown farm produce are equal!@
[1]https://businessdiary.com.ph/15458/knowing-the-potentialslimitations-of-organic-produce-and-farming/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
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