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La Vida Locavore is the blog for anyone whose crazy life includes planting, growing, weeding, fertilizing, raising, picking, harvesting, processing, cooking, baking, making, serving, buying, selling, distributing, transporting, composting, organizing around, lobbying about, writing about, thinking about, talking about, playing with, and eating food!

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USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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Gordon Smith, E. Coli Conservative

by: Jill Richardson

Wed Oct 22, 2008 at 22:10:17 PM PDT

Cheers to Matt Stoller for an excellent post on OpenLeft: E. Coli Conservative Gordon Smith Irrigates Crops with Sewage. Oregon Senator Gordon Smith has a company. Smith's Frozen Foods. The company stored partially treated sewage in their waste water pond. Then they used that water to irrigate crops. Oh, and the water was contaminated with E. coli. Yum.

I wrote a diary yesterday explaining a little bit the Oregon Senate race between Smith and Democrat Jeff Merkley. I guess I forgot to include a little bit of background about sewage sludge in that diary. Oops.

On this topic, I refer to the book Toxic Sludge is Good For You, which explains the problem we have with our own waste. The root of the problem is that we mix industrial waste with poop and pee. Whatever goes down the drain - any drain - mixes together.

The idea of composting human waste and spreading it on farm fields is an ancient one. The Chinese did it rather famously. Instead of treating poop as a burdensome, toxic waste product, it was valued fertilizer. But the nightsoil the Chinese used didn't have heavy metals like lead and cadmium in it. Because we mix all waste from all sources together, ours does. What happens to human waste now is that they do what they can to clean it up and whatever's left, well... there's no real good solution. It's toxic, and no one [in their right mind] wants it.

That doesn't stop them from trying. The sewage sludge industry has tried to rebrand itself as "biosolids" and advertise its product as a fertilizer. Often when a farmer decides to apply sewage sludge to farm fields, it generates outrage and resistance from those in the community. To avoid this, they've tried to have willing farmers put sewage sludge on fields on the sly. Some communities even try to sell their own "brand" of sewage sludge. They come up with some rather interesting brand names for the stuff actually.

Here's a bit from the Sourcewatch site on sludge:

If the "Water Environment Federation" has its way, you'll be routinely eating fruits and vegetables fertilized with sewage sludge containing heavy metals, dangerous viruses, dioxins, PCBs, pesticides and hundreds of other toxic chemicals.
The WEF, whose pleasant-sounding name conceals its true identity as the main lobby association for U.S. sewage treatment plants, is working closely with the Environmental Protection Agency to persuade farmers and food processors that sewage sludge is a "beneficial fertilizer."

When they've been successful in spreading sewage sludge on fields, the result has been deadly. Literally. Farmers will notice all of their cows dying and only later find out it's because there were heavy metals applied to the farmfield next door via sewage sludge. This is NOT that natural stuff that ancient cultures successfully used as fertilizer. Thanks Gordon Smith.

Jill Richardson :: Gordon Smith, E. Coli Conservative

Tags: Gordon Smith, OR-Sen, Oregon, (All Tags)

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Gordon Smith, E. Coli Conservative | 4 comments

Nightsoil and Composting (4.00 / 1)

Since you reference Toxic Sludge is Good for you, you might remember my name.

Just a brief note to clarify a couple of points. It is true Asian countries did use nightsoil as fertilizer. However, their use was in a closed culture, that is, they only spread the pathogens on food crops of that closed culture for which they had developed immunity. The military experienced that problem in Korea the 1950s. Been there, done that. The same problem can be experienced in the North East with contaminated ground water. It doesn't hurt those people who live there. Of course the best example is when our ancestors wiped out most of the Indians with our diseases.

Most importantly, you said, "Composting, by the way, kills off any harmful bacteria. If this stuff was composted properly, there wouldn't be E. coli floating around in it."

The truth is and EPA states: "Composting is not a sterilization process and a properly composted product maintains an active population of beneficial microorganisms that compete against the pathogenic members."

COMPOSTING DOESN'T WORK, THAT COULD BE A CRIME.
http://www.deadlydeceit.com/CO...

THE MYSTERY OF SOMATIC DISEASES THAT AFFECT SEWAGE SLUDGE VICTIMS Public Relations B. S. and the Sludge Experts
What the wastewater treatment industry doesn't want you to know could kill you!
http://thewatchers.us/somatic-...

I still like what you are doing.
Jim Bynum, VP
Help for Sewage Victims
www.thewatchers.us
www.deadlydeceit.com

by: JimBynum @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 13:48:16 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Thanks Jim. (0.00 / 0)

I'll take the inaccurate statement out of the diary.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 18:49:50 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

another thought (0.00 / 0)

there's a reason that the Chinese don't eat salad or other uncooked food that much. Bc of the nightsoil, they cook everything :)

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

by: Jill Richardson @ Fri Oct 24, 2008 at 04:18:43 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

spreading sewage sludge "biosolids" and sewage effluent on crops (4.00 / 1)

Somehow the nostalgia for "fertilizing" crops with "night soil" (human urine and feces) has overlooked the reality of sickness and death from hepatitis, cholera, typhoid, intestinal parasites and dysentery/diarrhea, to name just a few of the sewage diseases.

Around the country, people and animals have suffered illness and death. and surface and groundwater resources have been contaminated by land applied sewage sludge "biosolids".

Please check out the reports, state by state:

http://www.sludgevictims.com and http://www.sludgevictims.net

Helane Shields, Alton, NH, sludge researcher since 1996

by: hshields @ Thu Oct 23, 2008 at 18:22:31 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

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Gordon Smith, E. Coli Conservative | 4 comments