June 15, 2008

I'm excited!  Vegan farming is in the news!  You can read more about vegan farming in the article and also by checking out:

Veganic Agriculture Network http://www.goveganic.net

Vegan Organic Network http://www.veganorganic.net

Here's a teaser from the article written by Melanie Dabovich published June 15, 2008 in the Las Cruces Sun News - you can read the rest at http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9579863 or reproduced on http://www.reverencegardens.com/content/917  (in case the newspaper link doesn't work for you).

Veganic farmers work without animal fertilizers, byproducts

"...But when he realized the traditional farming techniques he was using could harm his children's health, he went organic 15 years ago. Now, Bustos said he has found an even safer method—vegan organic farming without any animal fertilizers or byproducts.

Bustos was inspired to pursue vegan farming four years ago after hearing an address by then U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns.

"He was talking about ways to protect the safety of our food system, but to me you still have things like e-coli and salmonella from manure (fertilizer). I thought to myself, 'I'm not going to be putting that crap on my crops,'" Bustos said. "Now, I use no manures, no bone meals, blood meal, no pesticides, nothing."

This farming method, also called veganic or stock-free farming, is an emerging concept here in the United States. Much like certified organic farmers, veganic farmers use no synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified ingredients. Veganic farmers take it to another level by not using any manures or slaughterhouse byproducts. They don't even use organically approved pesticides. Veganic farmers use crop rotations and composted plant matter—or "green manure"—to provide fertilizer for their crops."