Well, what do you know? After the mainstream press rushed lemming-like to the collective decision without proof that manure spreading was responsible for the Walkerton disaster, experts are now suggesting that human waste leaching from septic tanks may more likely be at fault.
Since that theory hasn’t been proven either, we won’t make the mistake of our big city journalistic brethren and jump to any conclusions of our own. Suffice it to say, the cause of the fecal contamination remains open to exploration.
The septic system theory comes from the George Morris Centre at Guelph, an agriculture and food policy think-tank. The co-authors of a report expounding the theory are Larry Martin and Al Mussel who say very little is known about the potential health side-effects of manure; however, considerable national evidence exists that septic systems often pollute rural wells.
The duo determined that factory farms are unlikely culprits for a simple reason: The bigger the farm, the more resources available for correctly managing manure. They also pointed out the obvious, that farmers are good environmental citizens who don’t want to poison themselves or their customers. Often, their own wells are closest to their operations and most at risk.
Now, we haven’t seen it yet, but we won’t be surprised if a daily press comment pops up somewhere suggesting the Martin-Mussel report is a conspiracy on the part of agri-business to protect its interests.
But the fact is that farmers are more conscious than anybody of man’s impact on the environment and take measures every day - soil and manure testing, timing, restricted and rotating application, avoiding wet application - to remain environmentally friendly.
Just for the record, we know that farmers can make mistakes. We don’t blindly defend all manure spreading practices despite what one caller to The AgriNews suggested.
Our main objective on this page last edition was to condemn unsubstantiated pack reporting which has fingered farming at Walkerton, rather than to condone all practices be they good or bad.
From the Archives:
Op / Ed, July 2000
