[compost_tea] Re: NOP pr....

From: Steve Diver <steved_at_ncat.org>
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 13:43:19 -0000
Kirk -

It is difficult to respond to your posts, since
you include so much innuendo, then on top of
that you "challenge" people to respond after you
have heaped your personal baggage onto their situation.

The piece that was presented was a press release
for a scientific society meeting. 

You should be happy that American Phytopathological
Society is dedicating portions of its meeting on
sustainable agriculture, including compost teas.

Yet, you make it sound like it is part of another
USDA scheme to bash compost teas.  This comes across
very strange and disconnected.

Dr. Steve Scheuerell published the most significant
literature review on compost teas in a scientific
journal.  He helped the CTTF achieve its goals, and
I'm sure he will do further compost tea reasearch.

Normally, I avoid chit chat on email lists and let
the cards fall as they may.  I prefer to post resources
that are useful, and point people to materials of
interest.

But I felt like standing up on this issue and suggesting
that you can be more careful in your approach. Manners
and two-way dialogue go a long way toward building bridges
and working with people and organizations.

By the way, I have already answered one of your questions.

I volunteered, completely ad-hoc, plenty of helpful
insight on the CTTF to this list. 

Steve Diver



--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Kirk Leonard" <kirk@o...> wrote:
> Hoo yah!  Looks like an advance piece for another USNOP run on bashing
> compost tea... Conveniently, Scheuerell associates an "increase" in food
> contamination with manure and compost tea.  Huh?  Any increase I've
heard
> about was from contaminated ditch water or piss-poor handling/processing
> practices.  Compost tea has never been reported to cause food
contamination,
> and to my knowledge, neither has manure (except in ditch water used by
> stupid growers).
>
> I hope someone here can attend this event and give us a take on what
> transpired.
>
> Thanks Jeff.  Good info.
>
> Kirk
>
> Some totally unsubstantiated and potentially irresponsible
scuttlebutt on
> this:  (And I trust Doc E doesn't mind my relating a little story here.)
> Scheuerell was going to be a grad student under Doc E, but internal U
> politics intervened and that didn't happen.  So OSU set up sort of a
> yin-yang on compost tea, which USDA has picked up on (being a major OSU
> funder).  Following the money, I think Scheuerell's looking for USDA
money,
> not a quid pro quo but effectively keeping ACT in limbo, like
Millner having
> to keep compost dangers in front of them to preserve Beltsville...
Could be
> a wild speculation but there's a pattern happening here...
>
> USNOP may have stymied "aged" manures for now BUT THEY WILL NOT STOP
COMPOST
> TEA!  I hope there are some USDA lurkers here.  This crap is not
defensible
> but if they think it is they should speak up.  Steve S?
>
> If there is a USDA person here, I would still like to know why the raw
> manure pathogen table was attached to CTTF report since any manure and
> compost tea are absolutely different.  And how was it ever
determined that
> compost tea was raw manure?
>
> > Date: Tue, 8 Jun 2004 10:10:28 -0800
> > From: "Jeff Lowenfels" <jeff_at_g...>
> > Subject: Re:  NOP pr....
>
> > PRESS RELEASE
> > For immediate release
>
> > Contact: Amy Steigman
> > American Phytopathological Society
> > Phone: +1.651.454.7250
> > Web: http://www.apsnet.org/meetings/2004/media.htm
> > E-mail: mailto:asteigman_at_s...
>
> > Keeping your peas and carrots safe to eat
> > Plant pathologists present research on food safety at APS Annual
Meeting
> in Anaheim,
> California
>
> > St. Paul, MN (June 8, 2004) - Recent advances in food safety
research are
> enabling
> plant pathologists to gain insight into how dangerous human
pathogens, such
> as
> strains of E.coli and Salmonella, can survive on fresh fruits and
vegetables
> and what can be done to control future outbreaks.
>
> > According to Steve Scheuerell, faculty research associate at
Oregon State
> University's
> Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, there has been an increase in
> reported
> human disease outbreaks associated with fresh produce over the last
couple
> decades.
> "When an outbreak occurs, most of the infected produce has already been
> consumed,"
> said Scheuerell. "Usually recalls won't help. This is why prevention
is key
> to
> keeping food safe," he said.
>
> [snip]
>
> > "On the domestic front, the National Organic Program has taken the
lead in
> implementing
> proactive measures to prevent potential contamination of fresh
produce with
> human
> pathogens," Scheuerell said. Examples include mandated pre-harvest
intervals
> for the application of manure and proposed quality assurance testing
> regulations
> for compost tea regulations (a brew of compost with water used as a
> biocontrol
> agent or fertilizer). "Using techniques developed by plant pathologists,
> scientists
> are just beginning to understand how human pathogens colonize leaf
surfaces,
> and how their survival can be influenced by manipulating leaf surface
> microflora
> and environmental conditions," he said.
>
> > Plant pathologists from across the country will present more on
this topic
> during
> the Food Safety as Influenced by Phyllosphere Microflora symposium
at the
> APS
> Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif., July 31 -  August 4, 2004. The food
> safety
> symposium will be held Tuesday, August 3, 2004 from 9 a.m. to 12
p.m. at the
> Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif. Members of the media are
invited
> to
> attend annual meeting events; complimentary registration is available.
>
> > The American Phytopathological Society (APS) is a non-profit,
professional
> scientific
> organization dedicated to the study and management of plant
diseases, with
> 5,000
> members worldwide.
>
> > -30- <


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Received on Fri Jun 11 2004 - 10:31:48 EDT

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