The Surprising Healing Qualities ... of Dirt

[appal_jack]

3. A thousand rec's (if I only could).

I work in the agricultural field, and the pressure on all farmers to treat all dirt like it was toxic waste is insidious yet widespread. This is a particular pernicious pressure on small-scale organic farmers, many of whom have spent decades composting, cover-cropping, rotating their crops, and otherwise nourishing their land toward a diverse, healthy microbial ecology. Yet present "Good Agricultural Practices" (aka GAP standards) force these farmers to dump their produce into vats of chlorinated water before it can be sold.

About five years ago, I noticed that even organic carrots began tasting like chlorine to me. I never used to peel them before that - just a quick rinse and I'd happily crunch away (and of course I never got sick from doing so). Now I have to peel them just to be able to taste carrot instead of swimming pool.

-app