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UNIVERSITY OF NATURAL MEDICINE Sick Soil, Sick Plants, Sick People By: Spice Williams-Crosby Submitted to: Dr. Ellen Tart-Jensen Dr. Mark Smith University of Natural Medicine In partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Doctoral Degree in Natural Science ii Declaration This is declared that this is original work which the author of this paper has produced on the subject. Further, this paper is produced for the fulfillment of the degree requirement for a Doctorate in Natural Science. iii ABSTRACT Survival is built into the DNA of all living things, including soil and plants which play a very important part in the survival of animals and humans. Without soil, humankind wouldn‘t have anything to stand on, trees and crops wouldn‘t grow, and there would be no place to store nature‘s heat, water, and carbon dioxide. Although taken for granted by most people, soil is just as important as any other living element on planet Earth. In the words of the Greek philosopher Xenophanes, "For all things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth." Just like people, soil and plants need certain nutrients to grow and to fend off disease. Soil is the foundation of the food system, and like all living substances, it needs to be respected and nourished. Healthy soil results in healthy plants and healthy people. Today, people are suffering from dangerous nutrient deficiencies, and there is an ever-increasing number of Americans that are becoming afflicted with a new breed of diseases, conditions, and multiple syndromes. Because these maladies have worsened within the last 150 years, it must be considered that diet and environmental factors play a major role in this unfortunate situation. Mortality rates have increased despite the last 30 years of health awareness (i.e., exercise, organic foods, supplements, and regular medical checkups). The state of nutritional deficiency, along with environmental toxicity, is becoming epidemic in its proportions. While some modern technology is allowing people to live longer, other technology is, unfortunately, systematically robbing man of the very nutrients that the human body needs to strengthen its own immune system and fight off disease. It is a huge problem that cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come from are brought back into proper mineral balance! Plants need rich soil, filled with probiotics and minerals in order to flourish. But in today‘s world, plants have become malnourished and corporate America has tried to iv remedy the problem by using carcinogenic toxins rather than do what is really right by replenishing the soils with God-given nutrients. Soils are lacking minerals, living microorganisms, and fulvic acids, and they have further been poisoned by polluted air, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and dumping. The truth is that insects do not eat healthy plants, and disease preys on the undernourished. Therefore, mankind must turn to the soil if it has any intention of taking its power back. The simplest way to address the depleted soil problem is to "repair" it by remineralization, and by using organic waste products to put back those very nutrients that are necessary for plant and human health. This study tested the growth patterns of wheatgrass and lettuce in mineral/probiotics verses regular soil to determine the benefits to the crop. Upon initial testing of the experimental plants utilizing a Brix meter, the organic soils have rendered a much higher nutritional reading than their chemical-ridden counterparts, and only the plants that have suffered an insect infestation were those that have been planted in synthetic soil and basic dirt. In some testing with the basic dirt, there were no results because the seeds would not germinate at all. Farmers have known for a very long time that certain substances such as bat guano and nitrogen fixing legumes, when added to the soil, improves overall production. Although these are now called fertilizers, for reasons of cost and ease of use, chemical fertilizers have replaced natural ones. And even though plants may not be able to distinguish the difference between the two, artificial fertilizers can easily be overused, resulting in damage to our soils, rivers, and oceans. Based on these findings, it has been shown that the soil is so much more than just an anchor for plants to grow from. It is a living, breathing environment that if carefully tended to will continue to provide healthy vibrating crop yields for years to come, despite intense planting practices. These findings v also indicated that if the soil is regularly replenished with organic matter, nutrients, minerals, and probiotics, it will help to ensure that the food that is harvested is truly nutritional. On the other hand, poor soil management will result in more plant diseases, declining production levels, poor water percolation and moisture retention, and crops that have no nutritional value. In the long run, it is less expensive and much easier to cure sick soil than sick people. vi Acknowledgement I heartedly acknowledge and thank my dear friend, Wayne Blakeley, who‘s entire life has been devoted to educating others about the soil of our country and how to make it alive and bio-available for plants. He hooked me on this subject when he stated, ―Ya know, insects don‘t eat healthy plants.‖ I also want to acknowledge my deepest appreciation for the guidance and unconditional help I received from my close friend and colleague, Dr. Elliott Haimoff, world-renowned tropical biologist and animal behaviorist. He opened my mind to all my possibilities in order to write a valuable dissertation and guiding me through my research project. Without Dr. Mary DeLongis, I wouldn‘t have any hair left in my head! She has always been there for me throughout my journey and as always, just a phone call away! And not to forget my husband of 26 years, Gregory Crosby, who has developed the uncanny ability to deal with me when I freak out and still love me as he is guiding me through what he claims I don‘t have, ―common sense!‖ vii Table of Contents Abstract iii Table of Contents vii List of Figures xi List of Tables ix Chapter One – Introduction 1 1.1Background 1 1.2 Modern Times 7 1.3 Purpose of Study 9 1.4 Objective of Study 9 1.5 Study Structure 9 1.6 Final 10 Chapter Two – Methods 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Materials 11 2.2.1 Soil 12 2.2.2 Lettuce Seeds 15 2.2.3 Wheatgrass Seeds 16 2.2.4 Equipment 16 2.2.5 Water and pH 20 Chapter Three – Lettuce Trials 22 3.1 Results 22 3.1.1 Growth rate of lettuce 24 3.1.2 Second planting of lettuce 24 3.1.3 Sprouts separated 26 3.1.4 Variable Trial 27 3.1.5 Insects 28 3.2 Testing of Lettuce 3.2.1 Miracle-Gro Garden Soil (MGGS) 30 30 viii 3.2.2 Miracle-Gro Potting Soil (MGPS) 32 3.2.3 Basic Dirt 33 3.2.4 Organic Kellogs with Living Earth Minerals 34 3.2.5 Variable Trial – ―Water Trial‖ 35 3.3 Statistics – The Mann -Whitney U Test 36 3.3.1 Lettuce Statistics 3.4 Conclusion Chapter Four – Wheatgrass Trials 36 36 38 4.1 Results 38 4.2 First wheatgrass trials testing 39 4.2.1 Testing on the organic Kellogg Garden plants 40 4.2.2 Testing on the Basic Dirt plants 41 4.2.3 Testing on Synthetic Miracle-Gro Potting Soil 41 4.2.4 Testing on Synthetic Miracle-Grow Garden Soil 46 4.2.5 Brix Meter average for all the wheatgrass plants 42 4.3 Second wheatgrass trials 43 4.3.1 Second trial wheatgrass measurements 44 4.3.2 Wheatgrass Growth Messurements 45 4.3.3 Calibration of Brix Meter 46 4.3.4 Testing on wheatgrass plants 47 4.3.5 Brix Meter average on wheatgrass 47 4.4 Third wheatgrass trial 48 4.4.1 Variable Trial with Basic Dirt 48 4.4.2 Wheatgrass growth 50 4.4.3 Calibration of Brix Meter 51 4.4.4 Brix Meter reading on wheatgrass 51 4.4.5 Brix Meter average reading of wheatgrass 52 ix 4.4.6 Variable Trial Brix Meter reading 52 4.5 Statistics – The Mann -Whitney U Test 53 4.5.1 Wheatgrass statistics 4.6 Conclusion Chapter Five 5.1 Discussion 53 54 55 56 5.1.1 Soil Erosion 56 5.1.2 Loss of Minerals 58 5.1.3 Lack of Trace Minerals 62 5.1.4 Lack of Probiotics 66 5.2 Sick Soil, Sick Plants 68 5.3 Chemicals 75 5.3.1 Pesticides 77 5.3.2 DDT 79 5.3.3 Dioxin 81 5.3.4 Fluoride 84 5.4 Sick Soil, Sick People 93 5.4.1 Cancer and Selenium 93 5.4.2 Deficiency of Selenium 95 5.4.3 Heart Disease 98 5.4.4 Deficiency of Magnesium 101 5.4.5 Diabetes and Chromium 104 5.4.6 Deficiency of Chromium 109 5.4.7 Thyroid and Iodine 112 5.4.8 Fluorinated Pesticides 113 x 5.5 Genetically Modified Organisms 114 5.5.1 Glyphosate 115 5.5.2 Glyphosate in soil 116 5.5.3 Estrogen Toxicity 119 5.6 Solution 119 APENDEX I 122 APENDEX II 124 References 125 xi List of Figures Page Figure 1 MAIZE 4 2 TEST SOILS 13 3 SET OF TEST SOILS FOR TRIALS 15 4 LETTUCE SEEDS USED IN TRIALS 15 5 WHEATGRASS SEEDS USED IN TRIALS 16 6 LIVING EARTH MINERALS WITH PROBIOTICS 17 7 BRIX METER 19 8 LITMUS PAPER FOR PH 20 9 CHEMICAL POOL TEST FOR PH 20 10 AQUACHEK TRU-TEST FOR WATER ALKALINITY 21 11 LETTUCE SPROUTS 22 12 SPROUTS IN ORGANIC SOIL 22 13 POTS MOVED 23 14 SHADED AREA FOR LETTUCE POTS 23 15 TRANSFERRED SPROUTS TO INDIVIDUAL POTS 24 16 SPROUTS GROWTH MEASURED ON 22ND DAY 25 17 SPROUTS GROWTH MEASURED ON 25ND DAY 25 18 GROWTH AND NO GROWTH 26 19 LETTUCE SPROUT IN POT #3 26 20 ALL SPROUTS SEPARATED OUT 26 21 SHADED SUNSCREEN 27 22 LETTUCE GROWTH COOLER WEATHER 28 23 INSECTS 28 24 INSECT DAMAGE 29 25 SEVIN INSECTICIDE 29 26 LETTUCE LEAF 30 xii 27 CALIBRATION OF BRIX METER FOR MGGS 31 28 BRIX METER READING ON MGGS 31 29 CALIBRATION OF BRIX METER FOR MGPS 32 30 BRIX READING ON MGPS 32 31 CALIBRATION OF BRIX METER FOR BASIC DIRT 33 32 BRIX READING ON BASIC DIRT 33 33 CALIBRATION OF ORGANIC KELLOGG SOIL 34 34 BRIX READING ON ORGANIC KELLOGG SOIL 34 35 BRIX READING ON VARIABLE TRIAL 35 36 FRIST WHEATGRASS TRIAL 38 37 WHEATGRASS GROWTH 39 38 WHEATGRASS SPROUTS 39 39 JUICER FOR TESTING 40 40 CALIBRATION OF BRIX METER FOR WHEATGRASS 40 41 BRIX METER READING OF KELLOGG ORGANIC SOIL 40 42 BRIX METER READING OF BASIC DIRT 41 43 BRIX METER READING OF MGPS 41 44 BRIX METER READING OF MGGS 42 45 SECOND WHEATGRASS TRIAL 44 46 GROWTH OF WHEATGRASS 44 47 WHEATGRASS SPROUTS MEASURED 45 48 SPROUTS GROWTH AND NO GROWTH 45 49 ORGANIC KELLOGG WHEATGRASS MESSURED 45 50 NO GROW TO MEASURE ON BASIC DIRT 46 51 MGPS WHEATGRASS GROWTH MEASURED 46 52 MGGS WHEATGRASS GROWTH MEASURED 46 53 BRIX METER READING ON ORGANIC KELLOGG 46 54 BRIX METER READING ON BASIC DIRT 47 55 BRIX METER READING ON MGPS 47 xiii 56 BRIX METER READING ON MGGS 47 57 THIRD WHEATGRASS TRIAL 48 58 VARIABLE TRIAL ON BASIC DIRT AND MINERALS 48 59 WHEATGRASS SPROUT GROWTH 49 60 WHEATGRASS SPROUTS IN FOUR DAYS 49 61 WHEATGRASS GROWTH MEASURED 50 62 GROWTH OF ORGANIC KELLOGG MEASURED 50 63 NO GROWTH OF BASIC DIRT 50 64 GROWTH OF MGPS 51 65 GROWTH OF MGGS 51 66 CALIBRATION OF BRIX METER 51 67 BRIX METER READING ON ORGANIC WHEATGRASS 51 68 BRIX METER READING ON BASIC DIRT 52 69 BRIX METER READING ON MGPS 52 70 BRIX METER READING ON MGGS 52 71 VARIABLE TRIAL BRIX METER READING 53 72 VARIABLE TRIAL WHEATGRASS MEASUREMENT 53 73 BRIX METER READING ON BASIC DIRT WITH MINERAL 53 74 DUST BOWL 58 75 BOVIS 59 76 NEMATODE 67 77 DDT 80 78 DIOXIN 82 79 SULFURYL FLUORIDE 92 80 SPERM COUNT 96 81 CORONARY HEART DISEASE 101 82 GLYPHOSATE 115 83 WHEAT FIELD AFTER GLYPHOSATE USE 116 84 GLYPHOSATE MOLECULE 117 xiv 85 FUSARIUM 118 xv List of Tables Table Page 1 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS 1 2 MINERAL DEPLETION PAST 100 YEARS 62 3 TRACE ELEMENTS 63 4 COMPARISON CHART OF MINERALS IN EUROPE 72 5 FOOD SOURCES FOR SELENIUM 98 6 PHYSICAL SIGNS OF LOW MAGNESIUM 102 7 SOURCES OF DIETARY CHROMIUM 110 1 Chapter 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background When the soils can no long bare produce, then there will be a need to find a way to feed out of test tubes. This was a fear of many who saw the destruction of the farming lands and knew someday the human race would be in trouble. Oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus and sulfur compounds and the metals potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium were all found in the primordial seas. Ammonia and carbon dioxide formed into amino acids which catalyzed by magnesium and trace metals of manganese or zinc, combined in long chains to make proteins. ―Growth is the first requisite of life, reproduction the second‖ (Schroeder, 1973). The seas were filled with living matter which began to contribute to life and to this day, those elements are needed to grow plants. If it wasn‘t for the plants converting a carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere into an oxygen-rich atmosphere, humans, animals, and insects could not survive. Table 1 Essential bulk elements in sea water and in the earth‘s crust. Note. Plants used all of the eight bulk or major elements in sea water for their structures and chemical reaction. Table from Trace Elements and Man Although thousands of plants and animals existed millions of years ago, man has only domesticated 200 plants and about 50 animal species. To be considered domesticated, a 2 population of plants must have their behavior, life cycle, or appearance significantly altered as a result of being under human control for multiple generations (Conservation Biology, 2001). Today, our important staples include 12 to 13 plant crops and almost all of these are grains, such as wheat, rice, and corn. All domesticated from wild grasses by deliberate cultivation of their seeds. During the Paleolithic period from at least 2.5 million years ago to about 8,000 BC, people began to hunt, fish, and gather their foods. Hence, the term, ―Hunters and Gatherers.‖ They hunted mammoths, buffalo, rabbits, birds, fish, sheep, and goats and as for fruits and plants there were berries and other fruits when found, depending on the climate and terrain, along with nuts and acorns. They had no comprehension of growing their foods. It was either available or came from their efforts of hunting. They may have only spent two days a week looking for things to eat, but their lives were truly ruled by food. As they moved about, they would have to take all their possessions with them, which would mostly include a knife, spear, bow and arrows, baskets, and some sort of clothing they made for themselves. (Standage, 2009). As humans began to create families and tribes, it was necessary for them to develop tools to help them bring more food back to the principal unit. From about 11,000 to 8.000 BC, flint-edged wooden sickles were used to gather wild grains that would be stored in caves. Various areas of the world were showing signs of developing their civilization. Sheep were the first to be domesticated in the Near East. These are countries of Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and Iran. Surprisingly, in human history to date, only 12 species of large animals have proven capable of domestication. In approximate order of their earliest domestication these are: dog, sheep, goat, pig, cow, horse, donkey, water buffalo, llama, alpaca, camel and elephant. Dogs were the first animals to be tamed for hunting. During the Mesolithic period (10,000 to 8000 B.C), groups of people began to practice natural plant husbandry by a method called ―broadcasting seeds‖ and then waiting 3 for the harvest. Once the seedling became ready for harvest, a crude tool used to reap the grain was a halt of bone, wood, or antler fitted with a small sharp blade of stone. It wasn‘t until the 6,500 to 3,500 BC, in the Near East and Europe that the practice of cultivating plants became established. As the world began to progress, Asia, Mesoamerica and Peru began to establish their practice for cultivating plants to feed their people. Mesoamerica was a region extending south and east from central Mexico to include parts of Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In pre-Columbian times it was inhabited by the Mayan and the Olmec Indians. What they knew was that the most important area to cultivate their plants for eating was located in river valleys having semi-arid climates. As we move into the Neolithic period (10,700 to 9400 BC), the process of cultivation in the ―Old World‖ otherwise known as the New Stone Age, involved preparing the soil by harrowing. Harrowing is the breaking down and smoothing the soil with a tree branch. Then with a stick plow, the chosen seeds would be planted. In Mesoamerica, there were no draft animals to help them plow and the chief grain was maize. This product, corn, needed individual planting and a plow-less form of cultivation developed, whereby a digging stick was used to make holes into which the seeds were dropped. The nomadic ―hunter and gatherer‖ had evolved to cultivator which allowed the people to establish permanent villages because they had a reliable food supply close at hand. Because more people were freed from having to provide food for their individual families and clan, many were able to develop technologies and services that led to the shift from farming communities to towns and eventually agricultural-based civilizations were born. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, today known as Iraq was once called Mesopotamia. The people of this region began cultivating their foods around 9,000 BC. The wheel was invented and used with pulleys to draw water from artificial canals in a complex irrigation system the people had constructed. The Mesopotamians were now able to 4 raise wheat and other cereal grains. They relied on the water and fertile silt of the Nile. The Egyptians irrigated their land to ensure large crops of wheat, barley, and flax which was the basis for their agriculture. In Northern India, the Indus civilization, which existed from about 2,300 to 1,750 BC, raised wheat, barley, and rice. They also grew such plants as cotton, sesame, tea, and sugarcane. The farmers learned to use plows, designed effective irrigation systems, and built large granaries. Just like the people among the river valleys of China, they learned how to cultivate soybeans, oranges, peaches, pears, hemp, and tea. They also practiced intensive gardening and excelled at flower horticulture. Eventually, from 7,000 to 5,000 BC, Mesoamerica became known as Mexico and Central America. The people began to domesticate gourds, peppers, avocados, and grains like amaranth. From ―hunters and gatherers‖ to semi-agriculturists, they learned how to domesticate maize at around 2,500 BC. However, in Mexico and Central America, from 250 AD to 1,600 AD, the Maya-Toltec-Aztec civilization hybridized corn to increase yields. At this time, corn, or maize was domesticated from a wild grass called teosinte in Mexico. Teosinte looks so different from corn that it was originally classified in a separate genus and its role in corn. The ears, being closer to the ground, end up closer to the nutrient supply and can potentially grow much larger (Standage, 2009) Figure 1. Progession from teosinte to proto-maize and modern maize. Photo from The Edible Foundations of Civilization 5 As primitive farmers gathered ears of a new kind of maize, they gave preference to plants with larger ears. Kernels from those ears would then have been used as seeds. In this way, mutations that resulted in larger ears with more kernels were propagated, so that the ears grew larger from one generation to the next and became corn cobs (Standage, 2009). Once they learned how to accomplish this cross breeding with their produce, they started cultivating beans, squash, chili peppers, avocados, and potatoes. They also grew tobacco and many species of cotton. They developed irrigation canals, made artificial gardens that floated on water and created ―dry farming.‖ This is a type of farming practiced in arid areas without irrigation by planting drought-resistant crops and maintaining a fine surface tilth (tilled earth) or mulch that protects the natural moisture of the soil from evaporation. By 1,600 AD, the Mayans and Aztecs knew that the soil was sacred. While the Incas were carving out an empire in the Andes amid a harsh environment, they used stone hoes and digging sticks with a foot rest for pushing the end into the soil. Drainage systems and terraces, along with irrigation were skillfully constructed. The Incas were aware that in order to grow food that would help their people fight off disease and be physically strong, they had to fertilize the soil. They cultivated such foods as corn, white and sweet potatoes, and squash. Several types of fertilizers were used across the Inca Empire. Along the coast, small fish such as anchovies and sardines were buried with maize kernels to spur their growth. Coastal farmers also used guano produced by the thousands of marine birds that nested offshore. In the rest of the empire, farmers had to resort to other types of fertilizers, including manure from domesticated camelids (even-toed hoofed camels) and fallen leaves from trees. The Greeks, credited to inventing the water wheel which raises water to high levels using buckets cultivated cereals grains, mostly barley, and olive and fig trees. The Romans began to advance farm technology by making tools such as the plow, reaper, hoe, and sickle 6 with iron parts. They too, cultivated barley, along with wheat, millet and kept vineyards for their wine. They also knew that in order to assure them a powerful army their crops had to be rich with minerals and vitamins. After they conquered a land, they would flood the fields with salt water to make sure their grains and produce were full of components to bring strength to their bodies (Blakely, 2011). Over the next 200 years, the rich and powerful acquired the lands from all the independent farmers, took control of their lives and food, and brought in slaves to work the land. Eventually, the very farmers who tilled, fertilized, and planted their seeds were now tenants on the farm estates ruled by the rich. Well after the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 AD and into the 15th century, the English landed estates began to enclose their lands with hedges. This was an important move because it eliminated the practice of letting land lie fallow and allowed farmers to experiment with crop rotation. Crop rotation is one of the oldest and most effective acts of agricultural control. It means the crops planted on the same field will not be the same each year. Rotation may vary from 2 or 3 years or longer period. Some insect pests and disease-causing organisms have an affinity for specific plants like the rice stem borer. This insect feeds mostly on rice. If you plant rice each year, then this insect is well fed and trained to come back year after year. However, if you plant a legume as the next crop, then corn, then beans, then bulbs, the insect pest will likely die due to absence of food. Coming into the 17th and 18th centuries, the agricultural revolution hit in England with the inventions of mechanical farm implements such as Jethro Tull‘s horse drawn drill in 1701 and Joseph Boyce‘s Reaper in 1799. It was Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend of Norfolk, who served for a decade as Secretary of State directing British foreign policy. He had a strong interest in farming and introduced crop rotations of clover, wheat, turnips, and barley and alternating grain crops with nitrogen-fixing legumes and grasses that put nutrients 7 back into the soil. As of this time in our agricultural history, the farmers knew the soil was not the same as they started with and guano, lime, gypsum, and sandy clay were used to improve the soil. In 1793, the first agricultural society was founded and during the period of 1756 to 1770, a group of men called Physiocrats, in France, spear-headed by Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours of the Du Pont family began to outline agricultural economics. He immigrated to the United States and his son founded DuPont, the world's second largest chemical company. The settlers moved into America and began to teach the Native Americans how to plant corn and other crops. The farmers knew the land was infertile and would plant crops close to the rivers for the rich soil. However, the larger farms that were planting wheat, cotton and tobacco went into the business of commercial farming. The U.S. federal government stepped in and began to develop land policies to promote settlement of the West quickly and at low cost. Big business and politics had all become a significant part of farming by the late 1800‘s. By the 1890‘s, the gasoline tractor had been invented, horses were out and plant breeding became a science. It was Gifford Pinchot a conservationist in 1910 who tried to make people aware of methods to prevent of soil erosion. He served as Republican governor of Pennsylvania from 1923-26 and 1931-34 and was often called the Father of American Forestry. It had become extremely obvious to some that the ―good ‗ol‖ world was changing and not for the better. 1.2 Modern Times In recent times, the statistics have shown that more people are dying from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and osteoporosis in America than any other country in the world. Since the turn of the nineteenth century, the understanding that massive amounts of 8 civilized communities could be wipe-out due to influenzas, lack of food, civil wars, and viruses has given rise to the pharmaceutical and chemical companies to prevent such tragedies. People who acquired riches within the last 100 years realized they could have all the money in the world but if they didn‘t have their health, they were as poor as the man who had nothing. Because of the supply and demand concept employed greatly in America, the need to find a cure for what ails a person brings forth multiple companies with a purpose to supply a quick fix for a healthy price. The more health issues people were complaining about, the more resolutions began to surface. However, the resolutions coming forth did not address one very large problem that was instigated back in the late 1700‘s when the soil for farming was not considered to be relevant due to the demand of food for larger communities. As the soil began to be depleted in the very life force that contributed to the health of an individual, the necessary components, such as minerals and probiotics were becoming vacant in the soil. The quality of plants for food was showing signs of trouble for the farmer and consumer. From the soil erosion due to over production of the land to the insect infestation attracted to sick and vulnerable plants, birthed a new society of people willing to over look their future health issues for the convenience of a quick fix. Today, most people are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies which cannot be remedied until the depleted soils from which our foods come are brought into proper mineral and probiotic balance. The alarming fact is that fruits, vegetables and grains are now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain needed minerals to sustain life and no matter how much of them you consume, you are not achieving the amount you need to keep disease away from your door. 1.3 Purpose of Study 9 The purpose of this study is to analyze the level of nutrition within specific plants grown for food in various soil samples, tap or filtered water, along with the use of mineral and probiotic solution and to see if these levels are sustainable for human life. Considering the results of this analysis, the study will try to suggest a strategy for achieving a desirable condition within the soils that we grow plants for food in order to help mankind fight off disease and achieve a more healthy body. 1.4 Objectives of Study The objectives of this study are: To understand the nutritional value of our soils and why our foods are so deficient in the life-saving properties that were once in our soils before. To learn if it‘s the seed or the soil that brings life to the plant. To understand why insects don‘t eat healthy plants. What makes a healthy plant? To show that minerals and probiotics are vital to human metabolism and health and that no plant or animal can give humans the level of nutrition they need to fight off diseases if they are not present in the soil upon which they feed. 1.5 Study Structure In order to analyze nutritional levels of eatable plants a series of trials will be set up with organic and conventional seeds planted in various soils, watered with tap or filtered water fortified with minerals and probiotics. Through the use of a Brix refractometer (Brix Meter) which is a simple optical instrument that measures the amount of light refracted in the juice of the plants, the lettuce and wheatgrass will be analyzed for their nutritional value with constant observation on growth and any attacks by insects to help determine the quality of these plants. 10 1.6 Final Minerals and probiotics are the nutrients within the soil to enter the plant that has become a delivery system for human beings to achieve their phytonutrients. Glyphosate is a strong chelator of metal ions, rendering these essential nutrients unavailable in the soil and within the plant. The macro and micronutrients that are the victims of this chelation process are Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron, Manganese, Nickel and Zinc. At this point, I‘d like to prove that sick soil creates sick plants and in turn, the consumer of the sick plant will be affected in the long run. The lack of the life-force and carbohydrate, complex sugars or proteins in the photosynthesis factory, the leaf, will affect the health of the recipient. By establishing various soils and organic and non-organic lettuce and wheatgrass seeds with organic and synthetic soils under the same conditions, I believe the plants will yield different nutritional read outs on a Brix Meter, thus, proving that the condition of the soil is linked to conditions acquired by humans. Chapter 2 - Methods 2.1 Introduction 11 The objective of these trials is to test the nutritional value of the plant which will be determined by the quality of the soil. The issue at hand is the soil being a life force for all plants. If the soil is deficient in minerals and probiotics, the life force that begins the germination lacks the energy to bring the plant sufficient nutrients in order to grow and/or survive. The method chosen to determine the quality of the soil that will measure the quality of the plant is by placing organic and conventional seeds within various soils, watering them with either filtered water with a supplement of probiotics and minerals or regular tap water with no supplements. The growth or lack of growth will begin the course to document their value. The nutritional value will be measured through the use of a Brix Meter which will measure the total sugars, minerals and other dissolved nutrients in the juice of the plant. The more ripe and nutrient dense the plant, the higher the reading. Daily – Plants will be nocturnally watered at 6:00pm with their designated water. Purified water for the organic plants and regular tap water for the basic dirt and synthetic soil plants. Weekly - Tuesday, the water for the organic plants will receive a mineral and probiotic solution. All other plants will continue to receive the regular tap water at the same time of the evening. 2.2 Materials The materials chosen were designed to establish various conditions of how plants for food consumption were grown over 300 years ago. How the seeds wouldn‘t germinate during the Dust Bowl conditions, a demineralization of the soil caused by decades of extensive farming without crop rotation. Also, how food is grown today in synthetically controlled conditions in order to create quantity but without the consideration of nutritional quality. In search of genetically engineered (GE) seeds by Monsanto (a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation), it was found that the company does not sell to 12 anyone unless you are a commercial farmer. Their pesticide called, Roundup, works by inhibiting an enzyme 5-enolpyruvyl shikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) that is necessary for the plant to synthesize certain aromatic amino acids, thus killing the plant. The genetic engineering of Roundup Ready soybeans was done by incorporating a bacterial version of this enzyme from Agrobacterium species, strain CP4, into the soybean plant, giving the soybean protection from Roundup. Unfortunately, it was impossible to use any GE seeds for these trials. On the other hand, the most important concern of this project was to find the best possible soil condition in order for the plants to deliver enough nutrition to a human being to sustain a healthy life. To simulate the water used in the fields for all our foods the use of tap water from the hose was used. This water was not filtered or cleaned of any fluoride, chemicals, or parasites. The filtered water from a water purifier system consists of a water conditioner and a granulated activated carbon tank. The first filter removes particles down to 5 microns. The second filter is a combination of copper-zinc alloy and carbon which protects the membrane, removes chlorine and helps prevent bacteria or algae growth. The third and forth filters prevent bacteria such as cryptosporidium, and E-Coli. This system also has a reverse osmosis filtration which is used to purify the water and make it unfluoridated. Along with activated alumina defluoridation filter, the water that was used in the organic soil was reduced considerably in fluoride. 2.2.1 Soil The soil types are organic, basic dirt, and 2 different synthetic soils. Organic soil is Kellogg Organic All Natural Garden Soil. Basic dirt came directly from my own back yard. Synthetic is Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for Flowers & Vegetables and Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. 13 Figure 2. Four various soils to be used The Kellogg Organic All Natural Garden soil rich in all natural, organic materials such as forest humus compost including, compost chicken manure, kelp meal, worm castings, and bat guano with oyster, dolomite and lime as a pH adjuster. The basic dirt from the backyard has had multiple flowers grown within them over the past 10 years, but with no great satisfaction. No chemicals have been used on this soil, but no fertilizer has been used either. The soil is very much like the 1930‘s ―Dust Bowl‖ due to the lack of care in replenishing what has been taken from the earth. Each trial used with basic dirt will come from the dirt being tilled deeper and deeper for more soil replicating the condition of the soil in the 1930‘s after farmers continued to dig deeper to find soil that would produce plants. The Miracle-Gro (MGGS) Garden Soil contains potassium chloride, sulfur, ammonium phosphate, sulfate, and urea. This product is regionally formulated with organic materials derived from peat, composted forest products, aged rice hulls and/or compost, with sphagnum peat moss, manure from Florida cows, wetting agent, and fertilizer. Miracle-Gro Garden Soil (MGGS) Flowers and Vegetables contains: Total nitrogen (N) - .15% 0.05% ammoniacal nitrogen 0.05% nitrate nitrogen 0.05% water insoluble nitrogen 14 Available phosphate (P2O5) – 0.05% Soluble potash (K20) – 0.10% Derived from: manure (In Florida, cow manure); polymer coated: ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium phosphate, and potassium sulfate; and ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium phosphate, and potassium sulfate. A portion of the Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potash sources has been coated to provide 0.08% coated slow release Nitrogen (N) 0.02% coated slow released. Available Phosphate (P2O5) and 0.06% coated slow release Soluable Potash (K20) The Miracle-Gro Potting Mix (MGPM) is regionally formulated with forest products compost, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, a wetting agent and fertilizer. Miracle-Gro Potting Mix contains: Total nitrogen (N) - .021% 0.12% ammoniacal nitrogen 0.09% nitrate nitrogen Available phosphate (P2O5) Soluble potash (K20) Iron (Fe) 0.10% water soluble iron (Fe) Derived from: polymer-coated: ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium phosphate and potassium sulfate; and ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, calcium phosphate, potassium sulfate, and ferrous sulfate. A portion of the nitrogen, phosphate and potash has been coated to provide 0.15% coated slow release nitrogen (N), 0.03% coated slow release available phosphate (P2O5f) and 0.08% coated slow release soluble potash (K2O). 15 Figure 3. First set of pots with various soils – August 3, 2011 2.2.2 Lettuce Seeds The lettuce seeds used in the first trial are Organic lettuce seeds (Thoreau) Lot: 64729 EX: 5075, S/C: 98% Date: 3/11 Vitalis Biologische Zaden Seeds from White Seed Company in Oxnard, California. In accordance with current regulations, growers in organic agriculture are obliged to use seeds that are produced in organic way. They are Organic and Conventional. Each pot received 20 seeds. Vitalis breeds and produces seeds in organic production systems, and ensures that the resulting varieties have the highest genetic and purity standards in the marketplace. No Vitalis seeds are derived from or produced using Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or their derivatives. Figure 4. Organic & conventional seeds from White Seed Company 16 The seeds are coated using a friendly and effective bio-stimulant and adding humic acids. Coated seeds can be distinguished visually from naked seeds, because of their higher weight and different color, the shape of the seeds does not change. The higher weight makes it better for ground contact. The coat is a purely biological component and non toxic to birds but also not attractive for them to eat. The coat that surrounds the grain has an immediate and important protective function. With sufficient irrigation, the coating which is storing the water now delivers the water bit by bit to the seedling within. This therefore prevents dehydration of the seedling. Though naked seeds germinate faster they are exposed to the danger of drying up after the germination because of water shortages. For this reason, the coated seeds are used in this trial. 2.2.3 Wheatgrass Seeds The seeds used in the wheatgrass trials are organic wheatgrass seeds purchased from BuyWholesaleCheap.com. They are certified organic wheatgrass seeds. There were no conventional wheatgrass seeds to be found on the market for sale. Figure 5. Organic wheatgrass seeds from Buy Wholesale Cheap. 2.2.4 Equipment August 3, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 64 (All weather reports from accuweather.com) First trial with lettuce – August 3, 2011 – Weather 94 to low 64 17 The 2.5 gallon plastic pots (except #3 is a 1.5 gallon) are lined up as: 1. Kellogg Organic soil, organic seeds, no chemicals, filtered, purified water with Minerals & Probiotics 2. Backyard Basic dirt, organic seeds, no chemicals, tap water 3. MGPS Potting Synthetic soil, organic seeds, no chemicals, tap water (smaller pot) 4. MGGS Garden Synthetic soil, conventional seeds, chemicals, tap water Only in the organic pots will the Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics for Home and Garden be used. Second and third trials with organic wheatgrass seeds – August 24, 2011 The 2.92 quart plastic pots are lined up as: 1. Kellogg Organic soil, organic seeds, no chemicals, filtered, purified water with Minerals & Probiotics 2. Backyard Basic dirt, organic seeds, no chemicals, tap water 3. MGPS Potting Synthetic soil, organic seeds, no chemicals, tap water (smaller pot) 4. MGGS Garden Synthetic soil, organic seeds, chemicals, tap water Only in the organic soil pots will the Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics for Home and Garden be used. Figure 6. Mineral solution with probitoics Because soil biology is as critical to soil health as natural microbes are to human health it is necessary to supplement the soil with probiotics. The probiotics with Living Earth Minerals for Home and Garden will be used to break down various food substances for 18 absorption, produce by-products for absorption, such as "B" vitamins, Vitamin K, natural antibiotics, and inhibit yeast and bad bacterial growth. These Living Earth Minerals for Home and Garden help put organic plant material back into the soil to help feed the bacteria and provide more nutrients for plant growth. Normal soil ecology consists of billions of these friendly organisms, and they do similar things for soil as the organisms in our intestinal track. The bacteria actually break down the organic material and minerals in the soil, making them available to plants. When water enters the soil, it carries these substances to the roots of the plants which absorb these and builds organic plant tissue for our consumption. Living Earth Minerals for Home and Garden contains virgin soil microbes from areas never before farmed or used for production. The use of artificial fertilizers, chemicals, herbicides and insecticides have gradually killed off these natural soil organisms, in both farmlands, and the home environment along with mineral supplements which enhances plant growth immediately, while natural microbes culture the soil over time. The minerals that make up the Living Earth Minerals for Home and Garden are: Magnesium Chloride Flake: Magnesium Chloride (MgCl2) 46.8% Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) 2% Sodium Chloride (NaCl) .6% Potassium Chloride (KCl) .3% Ammonia 1ppm Azomite: Soluble Potash .2% Calcium 1.8% Chlorine .1% 19 Cobalt .002% Silica 65% Trace Element Content (Volcanic ash raw): Element (raw) Typical (ppm) Element (raw) Typical (ppm) Element (raw) Typical (ppm) Mg Ca Br K S (SO4) Sr Li N Si Fe 115,000 7,000 5,000 2,500 180 120 30 4 9 3 P Mn Al Ba Co Cr Cu F Mo Ni 2 2 1 2 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 <1 Se V Zn As Hg Pb Cd I Rb <1 <1 <1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 na na Once the lettuce has begun to sprout, there will be a number of days before testing can begin. The testing method will be done with a hand-held Brix meter. The Brix meter was originally designed for farmers to know nutrient levels of their produce and when to harvest crops. This precision instrument is also known as a refractometer. With a drop or two of the sap (juice) of the produce placed on the glass and held up to the light to read the Brix scale of 0 to 32. The higher the Brix reading, the higher the nutrient levels. Figure 7. Brix meter The Brix meter will measure the total dissolved solids. The number on its scale indicates the level of balance of nutrient uptake and sugars or proteins during photosynthesis within the leaf. If the Brix meter read out is low, even after several hours of sunshine, some elements are missing in the photosynthesis. If Ions are present they have not been 20 ―complexed‖ into sugars or proteins. The Brix meter has a sap extractor, a calibration kit and reference chart in order to know what is a good Brix reading compared to a poor Brix reading, in four increments. It does not require batteries for a reading, just light. The Brix meter can measure a wide range of fruits, vegetables, grasses, grains, legumes, even roses, anything that juice can be squeezed from. Brix readings differ from one species to another. 2.25 Water and pH Each organic plant will be watered with purified water from a filter by the manufacturing company, Aqua 2000. This water filter is a commercial grade resin and catalytic carbon water treatment system. The pH balance of the water it produces is a 7.1. The regular tap water that is being used for the other plants (basic dirt, synthetic) has a 7.3 pH. The water was tested with litmus paper showing that test strip on the bottom of the chart on filtered water to be a little closer to 7.1pH and the test strip on the top of the chart to be closer to 7.3 pH. Figure 8. Litmus paper for water pH testing To confirm this pH test, a chemical test was done using a pool supply test kit. The glass with the blue base contains the filtered water and the glass with the green base contains the tap water. Figure 9. Chemical swimming pool test kit for pH levels 21 Each day at approximately 6:00pm, the plants will be watered with their designated water. August 4, 2011 – weather at high 93 to low 57 August 5, 2011 – weather at high 85 to low 60 August 6, 2011 – weather at high 86 to low 57 August 7, 2011 – weather at high 89 to low 58 An AquaChek TruTest meter to determine the chlorine, pH, and Alkalinity of the filtered water and the tap water. The ideal ranges for plant growth are: Chlorine – 0 pH – 4.5 to 7.0 Alkalinity – 80 to 120 Figure 10. Left to right: AquaChek TruTest Meter. Reading from filtered water and reading from tap water. The aquachek TruTest meter reading show that the filtered water that is being used on the organic plants is at a pH of 7.2 and the alkalinity is at 106. For the tap water used on all the other plants, the AquaChek TruTest Meter shows the pH at 7.7 and the alkalinity at 179. No chlorine is present in either sampling of water. 22 Chapter 3 - Lettuce Trials 3.1 Results August 8, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 58 On August 8, 2011, 5 days after the lettuce seeds were planted there was the first sign of life from the Kellogg organic soil mixture. The other pots failed to show any life. Figure 11. August 8, 2011 - Little lettuce sprouts coming up in the Kellogg Organic with Living Earth Minerals and probiotics only soil. August 9, 2011 – weather at high 83 to low 58 August 10, 2011 – weather at high 97 to low 59 August 11, 2011 – weather at high 80 to low 59 August 12, 2011 – weather at high 83 to low 59 By August 12, 2011, one lettuce sprout began appearing after 9 days in the synthetic soil, Miracle Gro Garden Soil (MGGS) with the conventional lettuce seeds and multiple sprouts began to appear in the Kellogg organic soil where the Living Earth Minerals with probiotics is being used weekly. Figure 12. Sprouts appear in Pot #1 Organic Soil and Pot #4 Synthetic MGGS. 23 August 13, 2011 – weather at high 84 to low 59 August 14, 2011 – weather at high 92 to low 60 August 15, 2011 – weather at high 90 to low 61 August 16, 2011 – weather at high 91 to low 61 August 17, 2011 – weather at high 92 to low 62 August 18, 2011 – weather at high 93 to low 63 August 19, 2011 – weather at high 84 to low 61 August 20, 2011 – weather at high 81 to low 60 August 21, 2011 – weather at high 84 to low 58 Due to the heat spell in Los Angeles, the lettuce is taking longer to sprout and grow. Lettuce doesn‘t like hot weather it was necessary to move the pots to a shady area. August 21, 2011 all the pots were moved. Figure 13. All pots moved to a shadier area where the temperature averaged closer to 75 degrees Figure 14. All pots in the shadier area began to show growth. All except pot #3 & #4A. 24 August 22, 2011 – weather at high 89 to low 60 August 23, 2011 – weather at high 97 to low 62 August 24, 2011 – weather at high 95 to low 65 On August 24, 2011, most of the pots were sprouting except pot #3 Organic Seed in MGPS Potting Synthetic soil. It was transferred to a bigger 2.5 gallon pot, like the others, carefully not disturbing the planted seeds waiting to sprout. Figure 15. Pot #3 transferred to bigger 2.5 gallon like the other pots for consistency in size. August 25, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 67 August 25, 2011 – Measurement of lettuce organic and conventional sprouts on pots #1, 2, 3, 4, #1A, #2A, #3A, and #4A show individual grow patterns. 3.1.1 Growth rate of lettuce From first day of planting, August 3, 2011 to August 25, 2011 the sprout growth is covered over 22 days. The first set of plants (#1, #2, #3, #4) show erratic growth. The organic pot, #1, has multiple sprouts that stand only 1.5 cm high. The #2 pot with basic dirt has sprouts that have reached 1 cm. The pot #3 still at this time has no signs of life. Pot #4 exhibits the most growth, yet only 1 sprout has risen and has reached 7 cm high. 3.1.2 Second planting of lettuce August 25, 2011 - In the second trial lettuce pots, plant #1A, shows multiple sprouts reaching as high as 1.5 cm. In the basic dirt pot, #2A, the sprout show a height of 2 cm. Pot #3A shows sprouts shooting straight up at a height of 3.5 cm. Still no sign of life in Pot #4A. 25 1A 2A 1 2 3A 4A 3 4 Figure 16. August 25, 2011 - Showing sprout growth after 22 days from first day of planting. August 26, 2011 – weather at high 103 to low 72 August 27, 2011 – weather at high 106 to low 72 August 28, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 67 Figure 17. Showing sprout growth after 25 days from first day of planting. August 29, 2011 – weather at high 95 to low 68 August 30, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 61 August 30, 2011 – Finally growth found in pot #4A and extra lettuce sprouts coming up in pot #4, but still no sign of sprouts coming up in pot #3. 26 #3 #4 A AAA Figure 18. A sprout coming up in pot #4A with MGGS yet A no sprout in pot #3 MGPS. #4 September 1, 2011 – Pot #3 of the lettuce seeds are finally showing growth. The weather has claimed down and become much cooler. #3 Figure 19. Lettuce sprouts coming up in pot #3 3.1.3 Sprouts separated out into individual pots September 2, 2011 – weather at high 90 to low 57 September 2, 2011 – All sprouts have been separated out into their own individual pots within their own categories. Figure 20. Individual sprouts in each different category. 27 3.1.4 Variable Trial – Water Trial Three separate pots have been set aside for an individual trial with the organic soil, basic dirt, and MGGS. These lettuce sprouts will be watered with different water. This trial will be called the Water Trial and the pots will be numbered as 1B, 2B, 3B. #1B – Lettuce sprout in organic soil watered with tap water #2B – Lettuce sprout in basic dirt watered with filtered water and Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics #3B – Lettuce sprout in Miracle Grow Garden Soil watered with filtered water with Probiotics. The weather has played a demanding challenge in growing lettuce. Lettuce prefers cooler temperatures and it was necessary to move all the plants to a shadier area. However, the sun is still making it difficult for the sprouts to grow. A sunscreen net was placed over the entire group of plants which they all seem to be responding to. The lettuce is extremely delicate to heat and sun. Figure 21. All plants shaded by a sunscreen net September 3, 2011 – weather at high 91 to low 59 September 4, 2011 – weather at high 91 to low 60 September 5, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 68 September 6, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 70 28 September 7, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 70 September 8, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 62 September 9, 2011 – weather at high 89 to low 62 September 10, 2011 – weather at high 72 to low 60 with thunderstorms The weather began to come to a comfortable level in the 70‘s which made it better for the lettuce sprouts that have been struggling along. Figure 22. Lettuce trial showing more growth since the weather became cooler. September 11, 2011 – weather at high 81 to low 59 September 12, 2011 – weather at high 83 to low 61 3.1.5 Insects All lettuce plants, except the lettuce plants growing in the organic soil with the Living Earth Minerals with probiotics are showing insect damage. The exceptions are the lettuce grown in basic dirt pot #2B and the MGGS grown in pot #3B watered with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. Figure 23. Insect damage on all lettuce plants except the lettuce plants in the Kellogg Organic soil with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. 29 The other exception is that the lettuce grown in the organic Kellogg soil, pot #1B, watered with tap water and no supplementation with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics is showing signs of insect damage. The #2, #3, and #4 pots were sprayed with Sevin Ready-ToUse Insecticide to prevent any more damage. Exception showed up in pots #2B with basic dirt and #3B MGGS watered with filtered water with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. #2B #1B #3B Figure 24. Exception in pot #1B showing insect damage, pots #2B and #3B showing no insect damage. It is necessary to spray an insecticide on the plants showing insect damage to prohibit anymore destruction and to control whatever insects are eating the lettuce. Figure 25. GardenTech® Sevin insecticide used to stop insect damage to lettuce plants in pots #2,#3, and #4. GardenTech® Sevin containing carbaryl is the an insecticide available as an over the counter product. Sevin has been on the market for over 50 years to control a wide variety of insects. Sevin claims to provide the consumer with the broadest spectrum of control, killing more insects in more places versus other leading brands. Sevin is available in a dust, granular, concentrate, ready-to-use, and hose end formulations. Sevin works on contact and through ingestion. The company states that it is non-systemic, which means it does not penetrate plant tissue. It will only stay on the outside of the plant. The other claim is that after controlling the targeted pest, Sevin is easily broken down in the environment. 30 The main ingredient of Sevin is Carbaryl which is an insecticide used on a variety of crops. Short-term and Long-term occupational exposure to humans has been observed to cause cholinesterase inhibition, and reduced levels of this enzyme in the blood cause neurological effects. Cholinesterase is produced in the liver and is one of many important enzymes needed for the proper functioning of the nervous systems of humans. These effects appear to be reversible upon discontinuation of exposure. Headaches, memory loss, muscle weakness and cramps, and anorexia are caused by prolonged low-level exposure to carbaryl resulting from cholinesterase inhibition. EPA has classified carbaryl as a Group D, not classifiable as to human carcinogenicity. September 13, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 62. September 14, 2011 – weather at high 80 to low 62. September 15, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 59. September 16, 2011 – weather at high 77 to low 59 September 17, 2011 – weather at high 72 to low 59 September 18, 2011 – weather at high 85 to low 61 3.2 Testing of the Lettuce plants September 27, 2011 – 56 days after initial planting of the lettuce seeds. Leaves were cut from each lettuce plant which averaged in 5.5 to 7 inches in growth. Figure 26. Lettuce leaf cutting 3.2.1 Miracle Gro Garden Soil plants Brix Meter readings. Cuttings from all the MGGS plants were taken from each of the 8 pots that had been separated out. They were watered only with tap water and given no supplements. 31 The Brix meter was calculated to zero (0) and each leaf was juiced separately and the Brix meter was immediately clean to insure no contamination from each sample. Figure 27. Calibrated to zero (0) on the Brix Meter Figure 28. Brix Meter readings for the MGGS soil plant. 8 plant readings The total sum of the readings of 8 MGGS plants: 1. 2.5 2. 3 3. 3 4. 3.5 5. 3.5 6. 3.5 7. 3.5 8. 3 Total Brix Meter reading of 8 MGGS plants = 25.5 Average of the total = 3.19 32 3.2.2 Miracle Grow Potting Soil (MGPS) and conventional lettuce seeds Brix Meter readings. All 8 plants were cut to be tested as the first test with the MGGS. The Brix Meter was calibrated for accuracy to make sure it still started at zero (0). Figure 29. Brix Meter calibration to zero (0) for the MGPS testing Figure 30. Brix Meter readings for the MGPS soil plant. 8 plant readings The total sum of the readings of 8 MGPS plants: 1. 3 2. 4 3. 2.5 4. 4 5. 4.5 6. 4.5 7. 3 8. 5 Total Brix Meter reading of 8 MGPS plants = 30.5 Average of the total = 3.81 33 3.2.3 Basic Dirt lettuce Brix Meter readings. The third testing is with the Basic Soil plants. All 8 plants were cut to be tested as the first and second tests with the MGGS and MGPS. The Brix Meter was calibrated for accuracy to make sure it still started at zero (0). Figure 31. Brix Meter calibration to zero (0) for the Basic Dirt testing Figure 32. The 8 separate pots of lettuce in Basic Dirt watered with tap water. The total sum of the readings of 8 Basic Dirt plants: 1. 4 2. 4 3. 5 4. 4.5 5. 3.5 6. 3.5 7. 4 8. 4 Total Brix Meter reading of 8 Basic Dirt plants = 29 Average of the total = 3.625 34 3.2.4 Organic Kellogs with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics lettuce Brix Meter readings. The fourth testing is with the organic plants with supplementation. All 8 plants were cut to be tested as the first, second, and third tests with the MGGS, MGPS, and Basic Dirt. The Brix Meter was calibrated for accuracy to make sure it still started at zero (0). Figure 33. Brix Meter calibration to zero (0) for the Kellogg organic soil. Figure 34. The 8 separate pots of lettuce in Kellogg Organic Soil watered with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics. The total sum of the readings of 8 Kellogg organic soil watered with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotic plants: 1. 6 2. 6 3. 6 4. 6.5 5. 6.5 35 6. 6 7. 6 8. 6 Total Brix Meter reading of 8 organic Kellogg soil with minerals plants = 49 Average of the total = 6.125 3.2.5 Variable Trial – “Water Trial” with Pots #1B, #2B, and #3B Brix Meter readings #1B – Lettuce sprout in organic soil watered with tap water – Brix reading 4.5 #2B – Lettuce sprout in basic dirt watered with filtered water and Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics - 4 #3B – Lettuce sprout in Miracle Grow Garden Soil watered with filtered water - 2.5 Figure 69. Pots, #1B, #2B, and #3B Figure 35. Left to right – Organic soil with tap water, basic dirt with minerals/probiotics, and MGGS with filtered water. September 19, 2011 – weather at high 92 to low 59 September 20, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 58 September 21, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 59 September 22, 2011 – weather at high 96 to low 58 September 23, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 62 September 24, 2011 – weather at high 74 to low 60 September 25, 2011 – weather at high 74 to low 59 September 26, 2011 – weather at high 79 to low 56 September 27, 2011 – weather at high 96 to low 58 36 September 28, 2011 – weather at high 84 to low 63 3.3 Statistics – The Mann -Whitney U Test on lettuce trial Few, if any, data presented here met the criteria necessary to allow parametric statistical testing (e.g. normality of distribution, the measurements must be made in at least an interval scale): hence all analysis required non-parametric statistics. The statistical tests and the symbols used here may be found in SIEGAL (1956). Correlations are tested with onetailed region of rejection. The region of rejection for all tests done here were equal to or less than a ‗p value‘ of .05. 3.3.1 Lettuce Statistics: A – represents Miracle Grow Garden Soil B – represents Miracle Grow Potting Soil C – represents Basic Dirt D – represents Kellogg‘s Organic soil with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics Testing of A and D - (u = 0, n1= 8, n2 = 8, p < 0.001) Testing of B and D - (u = 0, n1= 8, n2 = 8, p < 0.001) Testing of C and D - (u = 0, n1= 8, n2 = 8, p < 0.001) Testing of B and C - (u = 28.5, n1= 8, n2 = 8, p > 0.05) Testing of A and B - (u = 18.5, n1= 8, n2 = 8, p > 0.05) 3.4 Conclusion: This lettuce trial showed that regardless of the type of soil or water, the evidence of minerals and probiotics included in the life of the plant yield higher nutritional value than all the other pots of lettuce without the use of Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. Within the variable trial where organic Kellogg soil and tap water were used, showed a sublevel of 4.5. Within the basic dirt using Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics, the Brix reading of 4 is still sublevel. However, the value of the basic dirt was showing severe 37 deficiency in the other measurements as low as 3.5 and the possibility that the mineral supplement made it a little healthier for the lettuce is to be considered. The Brix reading on the MGGS with just filtered water proved to be extremely deficient with a read of 2.5. There were two types of seeds used for this trial; organic and conventional seeds which both responded by germinating. The Brix Meter can only register the amount of nutritional carbohydrates that bring the quality of life into the plant. The Brix Meter will show a measure of total sugars, minerals and other dissolved nutrients in the plant fluids. However, it cannot register the amount of toxins, poisons, fluoride, genetically modified organisms, or other properties that could make the plant sick. The lettuce plants grown in synthetic and basic dirt were both grown from organic and conventional seeds. They were also the only plants that became damaged by insects indicating that the plants were not healthy and were lacking certain integrity for protection against the very bugs that would ravage them. The overall conclusion of the lettuce trial via readings from the Brix Meter, insect infestation, and statistics shows that soil fortified with minerals and probiotics actually make a difference in the nutritional value of the edible plant used to feed human beings. 38 Chapter 4 - Wheatgrass Trial 4.1 Results August 24, 2011 – weather at high 95 to low 65 August 24, 2011 - A new trial was set up with organic wheatgrass in the same soil conditions. All pots are 2.92 Qts and set in the same location with the lettuce trial. This trial will be called, Wheatgrass trial with pots numbered in 1, 2, 3, 4, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A. Each pot received 1/4th of a cup in seeds. Figure 36. Additional pots established for a new trial with organic wheatgrass. August 25, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 67 August 26, 2011 – weather at high 103 to low 72 August 27, 2011 – weather at high 106 to low 72 August 28, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 67 August 28, 2011 – Wheatgrass sprouts began shooting up fast. Only 4 days after seeds where placed within the various soils. The weather has been extremely erratic with temperatures ranging from 75 degree to 110 degrees. These extremely hot days are stunting the growth of the lettuce, however, does not seem to be affecting the wheatgrass. In fact the grass is growing extremely fast. 39 Figure 37. Wheatgrass sprouts appearing to grow very rapidly and not affected by the extreme temperatures of the outside weather. August 29, 2011 – weather at high 95 to low 68 August 30, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 61 August 30, 2011 - All wheatgrass pots show signs of rapidly growing grass. However, the organic pots , #1 and #1A seem slower to take off. #1 & 1A #2 & 2A #3 & 3A #4 & 4A September 1, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 57 Figure38. Wheatgrass showing sprouts within 5 days. 4.2 First Testing on wheatgrass with Brix Meter September 2, 2011 – weather at high 90 to low 57 September 2, 2011 – Ten days after initial planting of wheatgrass. A Healthy Juicer for Wheatgrass and Leafy vegetables is used to extract the juice from the trial plants. Samples of wheatgrass were taken from each pot, run through the Healthy Juicer and 3 drops of juice was then place on the screen of the Brix Meter to test the nutritional value of the sample. A Canon Power Shot A1100IS camera is used to photograph the results within the Brix Meter. The Brix Meter was tested for calibration by using 3 drops of distilled water on the main prism. The daylight plate prism is then closed so that the water 40 spreads across the entire surface of the prism without air bubbles or dry spots. It is necessary to let the sample settle for 30 seconds and adjust to the ambient temperature of the refractometer. Figure 39. Healthy Juicer Wheatgrass & Leafy Vegetable Juicer along with the wheatgrass samples Figure 40. The Brix Meter was tested for perfect calibration before testing of each sample. Once the drops of juice were placed on the screen of the Brix Meter, it was taken outside to be viewed through the eye piece. 4.2.1 Testing with the organic Kellogg Garden Soil plants Brix Meter readings. Pot #1 and Pot #1A Wheatgrass with organic Kellogg Garden Soil watered with filtered water and once a week supplemented with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics registered over 5 on the Brix Meter. Pot #1 reads at 8 and Pot #1A reads at 6. The average read is 7. #1 #1A Figure 41. Brix Meter reading on Pots #1 and #1A - Average read 7 41 4.2.2 Testing on the Basic Dirt plants Brix Meter readings. The following pots to be tested were#1A the basic dirt pots #2 and #2A. Again, samples #1 were cut for testing. The Healthy Juicer was completely cleaned with water before starting to make sure no contamination would be present from the prior samples and the Brix Meter was tested for perfect calibration. #2 #2A Figure 42. Pot #2 and Pot #2A of wheatgrass tested for nutritional value – Average read 4. The Brix Meter read out on the wheatgrass juice for Pot #2 was under 5 making it to 4. The same read out for pot #2A registered at a 4. The average read between the two pots came to 4. 4.2.3 Testing on the Synthetic Miracle Gro Potting Soil (MGPS) plants Brix Meter readings. Next pots to be tested were the Synthetic Miracle Gro Potting Soil (MGPS) pots #3 and #3A. The Healthy Juicer was cleaned and ready along with the Brix Meter cleaned to test the new samples. #3 #3A Figure 43. Brix Meter read outs for pots #3 and #3A of wheatgrass – Average read 4.25. Pot #3 Brix Meter read out came to a little over 4 placing it very close to 5. Calling it 4.5 where as the pot #3A was directly on 4. The average read out was 4.25. 42 4.2.4 Testing on the Synthetic Miracle Grow Garden Soil (MGGS). plants Brix Meter readings. The pots #4 and #4A were finally tested after the same procedure of cleaning the Healthy Juicer and Brix Meter and acquiring the juice to be able to evaluate the nutritional value of the plant. The wheatgrass in pots #4 and #4A were grown in the Miracle Grow Garden Soil (MGGS). #4 #4A Figure 44. Pot # 4 and Pot #4A of wheatgrass tested for nutritional value – Average read 4. The Brix Meter read out on Pots #4 read at 4 and #4A was at an even 4.5. Taking an average of the two pots, the read is 4.25. The same read as the plants grown in the MGPS. 4.2.5 The Brix Meter average for all the wheatgrass plants: Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1 – 8 Average 7 Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1A – 6 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2 – 4 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2A - 4 MGPS with tap water Pot #3 – 4.5 Average 4 Average 4.25 MGPS with tap water Pot #3A – 4.5 MGGS with tap water Pot #4 – 4 MGGS with tap water Pot #4A – 4.5 Average 4.25 43 4.3 Second wheatgrass trialss September 3, 2011 – weather at high 91 to low 59 September 3, 2011 After getting the results from the first trial of the wheatgrass Brix Meter readings, a new wheatgrass trial was set up again to retest and check the nutritional average. Everything is the same on the conditions and soil. However, the basic dirt is from the same place where the original basic dirt was taken from which means the soil is being taken from a deeper level in the dirt bed. The original basic dirt seemed lighter and easier to work with. This basic dirt feels heavier and more like mud when it gets wet. 2 pots with organic Kellogg soil and organic wheatgrass seeds watered with filtered water and probiotics with minerals. 2 pots with basic dirt and organic wheatgrass seeds watered with tap water 2 pots with Miracle Grow Potting Soil and watered with tap water 2 pots with Miracle Grow Garden Soil, conventional seeds and watered with tap water. September 4, 2011 – weather at high 91 to low 60 September 5, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 68 September 6, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 70 September 7, 2011 – weather at high 101 to low 70 All the pots were showing signs of growth except the basic dirt pots. There were absolutely no sprouts as of September 7, 2011, four days after planting in a new second wheatgrass trial. 44 Figure 45. Second trial of wheatgrass: organic and conventional. Four days after planting new seeds. September 8, 2011 – weather at high 94 to low 62 September 9, 2011 – weather at high 89 to low 62 After only 6 days from planting the new wheatgrass seeds, the growth of the sprouts has been quite rapid. However, absolutely no sprouts to be found in the basic dirt pots. Figure 46. From left to right, Organic, Basic Dirt, MGPS, and MGGS 4.3.1 Second trial wheatgrass measurements of sprouts on 5th day Upon measuring the sprouts, they are much taller and fuller than the first trial with wheatgrass. The organic soil wheatgrass trial shows a growth of 6 inches after only 6 days from planting. The MGPS wheatgrass sprouts reached a height of 5 inches. The MGGS wheatgrass sprouts showed only a 2 ½ inch growth. Still no sprouts to be found in the basic dirt wheatgrass trial. 45 #1 #2 #3 #4 Figure 47. Sprouts measured on 5th day from planting. September 10, 2011 – weather at high 72 to low 60 with thunderstorms As of September 10, 2011, 8 days after planting the wheatgrass seeds, all the pots have such tremendous growth except the basic dirt pots. The organic and conventional seeds seem to be sprouting within a few days and with very fast growth over the course of 8 days. The wheatgrass seeds just stayed in the soil and upon watering, some rose to the surface. But, absolutely no sprout growth for 8 days. Figure 48. All pots sprouting except basic dirt. Photo reveals absolutely no sprout growth after 8 days from the time of planting the seeds. 4.3.2 Wheatgrass Growth Messurements September 11, 2011 – weather at high 81 to low 59 September 11, 2011 – Measurement of growth for all wheatgrass pots were taken except for the basic dirt that showed no signs of life. Figure 49. Organic wheatgrass growth measured at 8 inches 46 Figure 50. No wheatgrass growth in basic dirt soil Figure 51. MGPS wheatgrass growth measured at 5 inches Figure 52. MGGS wheatgrass growth measured at 7 inches 4.3.3 Calibration of Brix Meter for Second Wheatgrass Trial Brix Meter Readings The Brix Meter used was tested for calibration by placing 3 drops of distilled water on the main prism. The daylight plate prism is then closed so that the water spreads across the entire surface of the prism without air bubbles or dry spots. It is necessary to let the sample settle for 30 seconds and adjust to the ambient temperature of the refractometer. After each sample testing, the Brix Meter was carefully cleaned with only warm water and dried with a soft cloth. The Healthy Juicer was also cleaned after each sample plant was tested so as not to contaminate the previous sampling. 4.3.4 Testing on wheatgrass plants Brix Meter readings. #1 #1A Figure 53. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in organic soil pots #1 and #1A average at 9 . 47 #2 #2A Figure 54. No Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in basic dirt soil pots #2 and #2A average at 0. #3 #3A Figure 55. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in MGPS soil pots #3 and #3A averaged at 5.75 . #4 #4A Figure 56. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in MGGS soil pots #4 and #4A averaged at 6.75 . 4.3.5 Brix Meter average for all the wheatgrass plants: Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1 – 8 Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1A – 10 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2 – 0 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2A - 0 MGPS with tap water Pot #3 – 4.5 Average 9 Average 0 Average 5.75 MGPS with tap water Pot #3A – 7 MGGS with tap water Pot #4 – 7 MGGS with tap water Pot #4A – 6.5 Average 6.75 48 4.4 Third wheatgrass trial September 12, 2011 – weather at high 83 to low 61 September 12, 2011 the third wheatgrass trial is set up with the same conditions as the first and second. All pots are 1.5qts and set in the same location with the lettuce and other wheatgrass trials. The pots are numbered as the others, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A. Each pot received 1/4th of a cup in seeds. The basic dirt is taken from the same area as the all the basic dirt pots are filled with. The dirt comes from the same hole that presents no top soil, only raw dirt. Figure 57. Third wheatgrass trial with same conditions. Left to right, MGGS, MGPS, basic dirt, and organic Kellogg’s soil. 4.4.1Variable Trial - Basic dirt trial with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics The basic dirt pot #2 and #2A from the second wheatgrass trial that showed no growth within 8 days from planting seeds has been put aside to be watered with filtered water and probiotics. It has the same dirt with the same seeds. They will be labelled #BD 1 and BD 2. Basic dirt from 2nd Trial #2 #2A Figure 58. Same basic dirt and seeds from second wheatgrass trial watered with filtered water and probiotic/mineral solution. 49 September 13, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 62. September 14, 2011 – weather at high 80 to low 62. September 15, 2011 – weather at high 88 to low 59. September 16, 2011 – weather at high 77 to low 59 September 16, 2011 – The third trial of wheatgrass has begun to show sprouts. All the pots are successful showing growth except the basic dirt pots; pots #2 and #2A. Figure 59. Third trial of wheatgrass – Pots from left to right – MGGS, MGPS, basic dirt, and Kellogg with Living Earth Minerals. #1 #2 #3 #4 Figure 60. Four days after initial planting of the wheatgrass seeds, the sprout are beginning to shoot up. The Kellogg with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics in pot #1 and #1A (not shown here) is showing the most growth, whereas the basic dirt pot #2 and #2A (not shown here), once again, is showing no growth. The MGPS pot #3 and #3A (not shown here) is presenting growth, along with the MGGS pot #4 and #4A (not shown here). September 17, 2011 – weather at high 72 to low 59 September 18, 2011 – weather at high 85 to low 61 September 19, 2011 – weather at high 92 to low 59 September 20, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 58 September 21, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 59 50 September 22, 2011 – weather at high 96 to low 58 September 23, 2011 – weather at high 87 to low 62 September 24, 2011 – weather at high 74 to low 60 September 25, 2011 – weather at high 74 to low 59 September 26, 2011 – weather at high 79 to low 56 September 27, 2011 – weather at high 96 to low 58 4.4.2Third Wheatgrass Trial Growth Messurements September 28, 2011 – weather at high 84 to low 63 #1 & #1A #2 & #2A #3 & #3A #4 & #4A Figure 61. From left to right – Organic, basic dirt, MGPS, MGGS. Once again, the basic dirt yelled no sprouts. Measurement of growth for all wheatgrass pots were taken except for the basic dirt that showed no signs of life. Figure 62. Organic wheatgrass growth measured at 8 inches Figure 63. No wheatgrass growth in basic dirt soil 51 Figure 64. MGPS wheatgrass growth measured at 6.5 inches Figure 65. MGGS wheatgrass growth measured at 4.5 inches 4.4.3 Calibration of Brix Meter for Third Wheatgrass Trial Brix Meter Readings The Brix Meter was again tested for calibration by placing 3 drops of distilled water on the main prism. The daylight plate prism is then closed so that the water spreads across the entire surface of the prism without air bubbles or dry spots. It is necessary to let the sample settle for 30 seconds and adjust to the ambient temperature of the refractometer. After each sample testing, the Brix Meter was carefully cleaned with only warm water and dried with a soft cloth. The Healthy Juicer was also cleaned after each sample plant was tested so as not to contaminate the previous sampling. 4.4.4 Third testing with Wheatgrass plants Brix Meter readings. Figure 66. Brix Meter calibrated at 0 #1 #1A Figure 67. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in organic soil pots #1 and #1A average at 12 . 52 #2 #2A Figure 68. No Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in basic soil pots #2 and #2A average at 0. #3 #3A Figure 69. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in MGPS soil pots #3 and #3A averaged at 8.5 . #4 #4A Figure 70. Brix Meter reading on the wheatgrass in MGGS soil pots #4 and #4A averaged at 7.5 . 4.4.5 The Brix Meter average for all the wheatgrass plants: Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1 – 11 Kellogg Organic with Probitics and filtered water Pot #1A – 13 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2 – 0 Basic Dirt with tap water Pot #2A - 0 MGPS with tap water Pot #3 – 8 Average 12 Average 0 Average 8.50 MGPS with tap water Pot #3A – 9 MGGS with tap water Pot #4 – 8 MGGS with tap water Pot #4A – 7 Average 7.50 4.4.6 The variable wheatgrass trial was basic dirt that was watered with filtered water along with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. Where the basic dirt wheatgrass with tap water showed no sign of growth. With the Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics, there was some growth. 53 #BD 1 & #BD 2 Figure 71. Basic dirt wheatgrass trial with minerals and probiotics Figure 72. Basic dirt wheatgrass growth measured at 5.5 inches #BD 2 #BD 1 Figure 73. Brix Meter readings on Basic Dirt Wheatgrass with Living Earth Minerals and filtered water. Basic Dirt with filtered water and Living Earth Minerals #BD 1– 3 Average 3 Basic Dirt with filtered water and Living Earth Minerals #BD 2 - 3 4.5 Statistics – The Mann -Whitney U Test on wheatgrass trial Few, if any, data presented here met the criteria necessary to allow parametric statistical testing (e.g. normality of distribution, the measurements must be made in at least an interval scale): hence all analysis required non-parametric statistics. The statistical tests and the symbol used here may be found in SIEGAL (1956). Correlations are tested with onetailed region of rejection. The region of rejection for all tests done here were equal to or less than a ‗p value‘ of .05. 4.5.1 Wheatgrass Statistics: A – represents wheatgrass in Kellogg‘s Organic soil with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics B – represents wheatgrass in Basic Dirt C – represents wheatgrass in Miracle Grow Potting Soil 54 D – represents wheatgrass in Miracle Grow Garden Soil Testing of A and B – (u = 0, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p < 0.001) Testing of A and C - (u = 3, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p < 0.001) Testing of A and D - (u = 4.5, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p < 0.02) Testing of C and D - (u = 16.5, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p > 0.05) Testing of B and D - (u = 2, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p < 0.05) (no growth in basic dirt skewed these tests) Testing B and C - (u = 0, n1= 6, n2 = 6, p < 0.001) 4.6 Conclusion: With all the variables present the one constant component that shows the wheatgrass plants with more nutritional value are the ones watered with the Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. Even the basic dirt which failed to yelled any growth on the second and third trials showed some instigation of growth in the variable wheatgrass trial only when the Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics were employed. Albeit, the levels were still extremely low to sustain life, it did show that the minerals with probiotics assisted with the necessary spark of life to help the seeds germinate. According to the Bovis scale, in order to sustain life in living organisms, the minimal energy point is found at 6,500 Bovis Energy Units (Bovis, 1930). The minimal energy level for humans is found between 8,000 to 10,000 Bovis Energy Units. If human beings are consuming foods that are below 6,500, and are not supplementing with vitamins, minerals, and probiotics, then there will be a decline in health and vulnerable to many illnesses. Adding up the readings from the Brix Meter, measurements of growth, and statistics, the wheatgrass with the highest level of nutrition were the plants watered with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. 55 Chapter 5 - Conclusion The data presented for each trial (lettuce and wheatgrass) is showing the hypothesis to have validity whereas the necessity of minerals and probiotics to nourish the plants making them nutritionally superior for human beings appears to be true. Throughout all testing, the group with the highest Brix meter reading was the plants that were grown in the Kellogg organic soil with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics. The Mann-Whitney U test showed within the lettuce trial that there is a statistically significant difference in the plants consuming minerals with probiotics as they ranked higher on the Brix meter which is designed to determine the nutritional quality of each plant. The wheatgrass trial was found to be slightly askew primarily because the seeds trying to germinate in the basic dirt only sprouted on the first batch. The second and third batches did not show any sprout growth what-so-ever. However, the result proves the hypothesis to have some validity because each batch of basic dirt used to grow the wheatgrass seeds after the first batch sprouted did not germinate to sprouts. The basic dirt came from the same patch of dirt that was originally taken from the yard. Imitating the 1930‘s dust bowl event and simulating the same dirt conditions whereas the farmers could not get their seeds to germinate because the top soil with most of the nutrients had washed away. The variable trial that was set up with the same basic dirt that wouldn‘t germinate any sprouts of wheatgrass seeds was used and given the Living Earth Minerals with probiotics. That batch did germinate enough to give a Brix meter reading. When the insects came to prey on the lettuce, they only attacked the plants that were not given the Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. It was necessary to spray an insecticide on those plants growing in basic dirt and synthetic soil, but not the plants grown in Kellogg‘s organic soil with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics added to their water. 56 It appears the variable difference between all the batches used in these trials were the plants that were watered with filtered water supplemented with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. The other difference showed up in the growth height of each batch. The seeds that germinated within the Kellogg organic soil watered with filtered water with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics actually showed a difference in size. The wheatgrass measured longer when it was grown in organic soil with minerals and probiotics. These supplemented plants achieved higher Brix meter readings indicating a higher level of nutrition. The overall conclusion is that whether the seeds are conventional or organic the determining factor for the highest grade of nutrition is reliant upon the quality of the soil and its levels of minerals and probiotics. 5.1 Discussion: History repeats itself in many ways. Through the wheatgrass and lettuce trials, it was clear that if you set up the same conditions of the soil in America during the first part of this 20th century, you would begin to see why farmers were losing their crops and their ability to sustain their farms. 5.1.1 Soil Erosion By 1928 over 126 billion pounds of plant-food material was removed annually from the fields and pastures due to cultivation and overgrazed pastures and ranges. The plant-food elements lost through the cultivation and overgrazed pastures was phosphorus, potash, lime, magnesia, sulphur, and nitrogen. Potash are salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. Today, potash is produced worldwide at amounts exceeding 30 million tons per year to be used in fertilizers (Bennett & Chapline, 1928). Rainwash removed not only the plant-food elements but also the soil itself. The plantfood elements removed by crops could have been restored in the form of fertilizers, manures, and soil-improving crops turned under, but the soil that was washed out of fields could not be 57 restored. An important note is that the crops do not take away the soil, but extract nutrients from it. The erosion of this soil was obviously an immediate loss to the farmer. A considerable part of the eroded soil went into water ways and clogged channels and made swampy and much less valuable land. When the top soil was gone and its valuable humus (refers to any organic matter that has reached a point of stability) and nitrogen were no more, the soil became less productive, less permeable, less absorptive, and raw subsoil was exposed in its place. This had to be loosened, aerated, and supplied with much needed humus to put it back into a condition suited to plant growth. To bring this kind of soil back into nutrient-rich medium would take a lot of work and money. This exposed raw subsoil was heavier than the original soil, stiffer, more difficult to plow, less penetrable to plant roots, less absorptive or retentive. At this stage, the plant-food elements frequently had not been converted into available plant nutrients to anything like the degree that obtains in the displaced surface soil. (Bennett & Chapline, 1928). Farmers began to move from the east to the west because they were economically vulnerable due to factors beyond their control. Environmental conditions greatly affected the farmers‘ economy. Mother Nature‘s wrath severely harmed the farmers. First, floods caused the erosion of the land and destroyed the scarce fertile topsoil. Farmers, who were suffering from a loss due to the weather damaging the crops, now had to buy overly expensive fertilizer to repair the land before next season‘s crops had to be planted. Secondly, the plants were not thriving and due to the lack of production the farmers had to leave their farms. From 1930 to 1936, the Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major economical and agricultural damage to American lands. A horrific time that was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, fallow fields, and cover crops planted between main crops to prevent erosion or to be plowed in to enrich the soil or other techniques to prevent wind erosion. Deep plowing of the virgin topsoil 58 of the Great Plains had displaced the natural deep-rooted grasses that normally kept the soil in place and trapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds. Figure 74. Buried machinery in barn lot in Dallas, South Dakota, United States during the Dust Bowl, an agricultural, ecological, and economic disaster in the Great Plains region of North America in 1936. Photo from Wikipedia 5.1.2 Loss of Minerals The soil is a living thing! It has many of the characteristics of an animal and requires the same kind of intelligent and sympathetic care as an animal in order for it to perform to its utmost effective service. Because the soil began to erode and the nutrients found themselves at the bottom of water ways and away from the much needed fields, the plants became weak and sick. The inertness of the freshly exposed material was obvious when compared with the productivity brought about in the original surface soils. As with the basic dirt trials, each time the dirt was taken from the same patch of earth, only deeper in the ground, the loss of minerals began to rear its ugly head when the second and third batch of wheatgrass seeds could not germinate. 59 The soil was beginning to lose its life force. It was Antoine Bovis, a French physicist, who created The Life Force Index or Bovis Scale. He theorized and thought about creating this scale while doing research among the Great Pyramids of Egypt in the 1930's. Today, this Bovis Energy Scale is used to measure "Natural Earth Energy‖ ranging from zero to infinity. Bovis Scale is also known as the Bovis Biometer. Not only does it measure the life force energy level of food, but also medicine, living beings, objects and geographic places. It quantifies or measures how positively or negatively charged a substance is. For living organisms, the key reference point on the scale is found at 6,500 Bovis Energy Units. From 0 to 6,500, the charge is in the negative range, or life-detracting, while above the 6,500 point the energy gradually becomes more positive, or life-enhancing. (Bovis, 1930). Figure 75. The Bovis Scale quantifies or measures how positively or negatively charged a substance is. The desired minimal energy level for humans is found between 8,000 to 10,000 Bovis Energy Units, or slightly positive. The Earth itself creates energy in the 7,000 to 18,000 range. This energy is also referred to as "Biophotons" (life – light), which are light particles invisible to our eyes. This positive radiation is necessary to the maintenance of life on Earth. (Bovis, 1930). Based off the lettuce and wheatgrass trials, it was only the plants watered with Living Earth Minerals and Probiotics that were able to achieve neutral point of 6,500 for human life. 60 What Antoine Bovis found was that it was necessary for the soil to have a certain life force in order for the seed to properly sprout. Understanding that life force, you soon come to understand that it is the minerals within the soil that are creating the positive or negative charges in order to bring sustaining life to the seed. Just as he discovered in the Great Pyramids of Egypt that in the rooms made for the great pharaohs there were gifts of food presented for the incarnation of the deceased Pharaoh to take on his spiritual journey. The energy of these rooms were found by Bovis to have preserved the food after thousands of years. It was the same positive energy that is necessary for the maintenance of our soils to give life to our plants. The seed has to die before it germinates. When the seed dies, there is a ―spark of life‖ transfer from the whole seed to the germ. The seed is food for the germ to grow. The germ is the part of the seed that actually grows. When it germinates the soil reads the Bovis energy in the surrounding area and it dictates how big the plant will grow and how much fruit it will produce. Today, the average life force of our produce is registering on the Bovis Biometer at a bare 6,000 Bovis Energy Units. It was obvious in the early twentieth century and known to all the farmers that the top soil was being washed away by rain, irrigation and blown away by the wind. Our produce grown on these soils still looked normal, but their nutritional value is suffering. The mineral content had been slowly vanishing. The alarming fact is that fruits, vegetables and grains were being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contained enough of certain minerals to prevent illness and disease. In order to garner enough minerals from the plants grown on these deficient soils, one would have to eat huge portions beyond what the human stomach can hold in a healthy manner. By 1936, laboratory tests were showing that fruits, vegetables, grains, eggs, and even the milk and meats products of the day were not supplying a human beings system with the mineral salts they required for perfect health. ―It is bad news to learn from our leading 61 authorities that 99% of the American people are deficient in these minerals, and that a marked deficiency in any one of the more important minerals actually results in disease. Any upset of the balance, any considerable lack of one or another element, however, microscopic the body requirement may be, and we sicken, and shorten our lives‖ (Beach, 1936). The minerals that were vanishing from our soils were vital to human metabolism and no plant or animal can create or acquire any mineral which is necessary for human life that is not present in the soil from where our plants feed upon. We knew that vitamins and minerals were indispensable to daily nutrition and that each element synergistically worked with the body to keep homeostasis. Just as we learned that vitamin C deficiency will lead to scurvy, there are many disorders and diseases as a result of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Vitamins control the body‘s appropriation of minerals and that in the absence of minerals they have no function to perform. ―Lacking vitamins, the system can make some use of minerals, but lacking minerals, vitamins are useless‖ (Beach, Northen, 1936). Questions began to rise in regards to how long the soil will last and continue to produce satisfactory crops. Some believed the soil will last only a comparatively few years unless certain plant food elements such as phosphorus and potassium are returned to the soil in proportion to the amount removed from the farm by crops themselves. Many believed that the soil had regenerative power and that its life was indefinite along with the ability to continue to produce crops as long as man had the skills to work the soil. Such a view is almost forced when we look back at the evidence presented by the older cultivated soils of Europe and Asia. In the past 300 years the yield of wheat per acre in England, France, and German had increased several times over. These lands had been occupied for agricultural purposes for 1,000 to 2, 000 years. Interestingly, the old Greek philosophers nearly 3,000 years ago were speculating on how long the soils would last for the increasing population of the world (Whitney, 1925). 62 What is not taken into consideration is that it is not how much produce you grow, rather than what quality of produce you are growing? To the layman, dirt is dirt! They assume that by adding a little fertilizer to the dirt, that the vegetable or fruit can be grown. But, in truth, without the proper vitamins and minerals within the fruit or vegetable that that individuals will consume, many of these foods are not worth eating. Table 2 Percentage of mineral depletion from soil during the past 100 years, by continent: North America South America Asia Africa Europe Australia 85% 76% 76% 74% 72% 55% Chart from Medical Missionary Press – http://www.mmpress.info 5.1.3 Lack of Trace Minerals It was not just the minerals that were lacking in the basic dirt and synthetic soils, but the lack of trace minerals that are the synergistic components to creating the spark of life. Although most people know minerals are important to their health, few people know exactly why or even that much about them. Biochemically speaking, minerals are inorganic chemical elements not attached to a carbon atom. Minerals include colloidal, elemental, essential, ionic, chelated, organic, plant, inorganic, trace, metallic, sea, fulvic, volcanic, pure, leached, composted, glacial, rock, coral, ancient and liquid. These are all minerals associated with health. When we speak of trace elements, we mean an element occurring in amounts less than 0.01 % of the human body. Elements making up the bulk of a plant or animal make up the bulk of living, growing matter. Elements used in traces in man are used in traces by plants and animals (Schauss, 1995). 63 No element in the concentrations found in sea water is toxic to living things. However, all elements are toxic in large enough amounts because they are insoluble or completely inert. It was Gabriel Bertrand, a French scientist and the father of the study of trace elements, established a rule which eventually became Bertrand’s Law of Optimal Nutritive Concentrations. It stated that in the absence of an essential element a plant cannot live. A plant thrives on just the right amount but in excess, the plant will die. (Shroeder, 1973) Table 3. Essential trace elements in sea water and in the earth‘s crust Table from Trace Elements and Man Elements taken up by agricultural crops are removed upon harvesting and, with leaching or erosion dramatically alters the mineral balance of the soil. Thus, the mineral content of soils used to produce each crop that comes to harvest undergoes a steady decline which must be balanced by inputs of soil conditioners and fertilizers if the system is to remain viable and productive. Nutrient elements are lost from the root zone of the plants. This is the area in the soil occupied by the roots of a plant. The residual minerals of little chemical benefit to plants, mainly kaolinitic clays (a clay mineral), iron, aluminum oxides, and oxyhydroxides, tend to accumulate in the soil. As time passes, crops come and go, the weathering, leaching, and 64 element depletion processes continues and the growing conditions for plants of all kinds become more stressful. The plants begin to show symptoms of the increased stress that show up as low energy, poor root development, slow growth, low resistance to pests and diseases, low yields, and declining nutritional value of the produce (Schroeder, 1973). As the symptoms continue, modern day agriculture's use of conventional technology, using applications of NPK fertilizers, a range of chemicals, and crop rotations are nothing more than expensive quick fixes. They fail to address the fundamental, long term problems of nutritionally deficient soils that are mineral deficient and worn-out (Coventry, 2007). When vital minerals and essential elements are restored to the soil through conditioning and minerals are reintroduced, the stress the plant feels are reversed, and the plants respond positively. A number of scientific studies have documented the benefits of remineralizing the soil in the highly weathered conditions in Mauritius, Hawaii, Florida, and Brazil. (D'Hotman de Villiers, 1961, 1962), (Clements 1965), (Fox, 1967), (Plucknett, 1972), (Gascho,1978), (Leonardos, 1987). There is a distinction between minerals and trace minerals or trace elements. If the body requires more than 100 milligrams of 11 minerals each day, then the substance is labelled a mineral. If the cellular body requires less than this, it is labelled a trace mineral. Trace minerals are generally needed in quantities of only a few milligrams (mg) or micrograms (mcg) per day. When studying the relationship of minerals to human health, it becomes extremely obvious that keeping a balanced level of minerals in every organ, tissue and cell of the human body may be a prominent key to maintaining a disease free body. Even though minerals are only a fraction of the total body weight of a human being, they are crucial for many body functions including transporting oxygen, normalizing the nervous system and simulating growth, maintenance and repair of tissues and bones. 65 Minerals and trace minerals can be of the most benefit if they are in balance with other elements they interact with: Calcium: Known to help develop and maintain healthy bones and teeth along with normal blood clotting. Among other jobs for calcium it also helps with muscle contraction, nerve transmission, oxygen transport. cellular secretion of fluids and enzyme activity. Optimal absorption helps reduce risk of osteoporosis. Chromium: Used to regulate blood sugar and aids in glucose metabolism by potentiating insulin and serving as a component of glucose tolerance factor. Colbalt: Helps in the formulation of red blood cells and serves as a component of the vitamin B-12. Copper: Is necessary for normal red blood cell and connective tissue formation. It also acts as a catalyst to store and release iron to help from hemoglobin. lodine: Needed by the thyroid to help in the conversation process, T4 to T3, and to support the metabolism. Iron: Required for transport of oxygen throughout the body and necessary for red blood cell formation. Important for brain function. Women of childbearing age require higher amounts. Magnesium: Critical for proper heart function. Over 100 enzymes are activated by magnesium and it helps nerve and muscle function. Helps maintain the integrity of cell membranes and stabilizes the cell electrically Manganese: Mandatory key component of enzyme systems, including oxygen-handling enzymes. Also, supports brain function and reproduction and is required for blood sugar regulation. It is also part of bone structure. Molybdenum: Key component in many enzyme systems including enzymes involved in detoxification. Contributes to normal growth and development. 66 Phosphorous: Works hand and hand with calcium to develop and maintain strong bones and teeth. Synergistically works with other nutrients. Important in the cell membrane integrity and intercellular communication. Critical for processing of energy in the body. Potassium: Regulates heartbeat, maintains fluid balance and helps muscles contract. Selenium: Major antioxidant enzyme and necessary for normal growth and development. Assists in detoxification of heavy metals, such as mercury. Plays an important role in production of antibodies by the immune system. Component of teeth. Sulfur: Critical role in liver detoxification. Needed for structure of most protein, including muscles, skin, and hair. Zinc: Important part of more than 200 enzymes involved in digestion, metabolism, reproduction, and wound healing. Plays a critical role in immune response and is an important antioxidant. 5.1.4 Lack of Probiotics Real soil is active and alive. It‘s teaming with living microorganisms called, Probiotics. From the Latin translation, pro is a preposition meaning “for" and the Greek adjective biotic from the noun bios meaning ―life.‖ When these pro-life microbes are swimming and breeding in our soil, the plants reap the benefits toward optimum health. Without the probiotics within our soil to gobble up the much needed minerals, digest them so they are bio-available for the plants to be able to absorb them, then the plant will become sick, weak, diseased, and vulnerable to insects and death (Lowenfels & Lewis, 2006). Even though some synthetic soils incorporate the bare necessity of the much needed components to spark life from a germinating seed, such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, if huge populations of probiotics are missing or killed off within the soil, the nutritional value of the plant will show deficiencies. 67 Living soil, teaming with probiotics, is the energy field that transmutes nutrients into the plant for strength and wellbeing. They also improve the soil structure by producing the slime that binds the tiny individual soil particles into larger aggregates. These probiotics provide defenses against disease and actually hunt down and capture bad bacteria and stop them from doing damage to the plant. Some probiotics act like doctors, dispensing vitamins and hormones, or will serve as barriers around plants to protect them from predators trying to get at the plant‘s roots. If man would investigate the life within the soil he would realize that the world of dirt with probiotics is governed by a survival mode. In the soils of today, over 200 species of carnivorous fungi are feasting on nematodes; a kind of round body worm, i.e. round-worm or hook-worm. These fungi, microorganisms, will use a lassos technique along with various other methods to trap the worms. They will penetrate its body with root-like projections from its cells called ‗infestation hyphae‘ and drawn out the nutrients it needs (Lowenfels & Lewis, 2009). Figure 76. A foraging, root-eating nematode, trapped by a fungal hypha. Photo from Teaming with Microbes Probiotics influence the pH of the soil which determines what kind of nitrogen is available, nitrate or ammonium. A plant that receives its preferred form of nitrogen will perform at its best. The microorganisms within the soil have been greatly reduced through modern day agriculture. The destruction of our soils by erosion, depletion of minerals and 68 trace minerals along with a lack of probiotics has created a sick environment in where we plant the very foods our civilization has to have in order to survive. Because of this decline, the inabilities of minerals and trace elements to make their way into the plants we eat are causing our produce to be empty and nutritionally deficient in disease preventive materials. 5.2 Sick Soil, Sick Plants For the duration of the trials, no insects were found to invade the lettuce plants that were grown in the Kellogg organic soil with Living Earth Minerals with Probiotics. The other lettuce plants grown in the basic dirt, Miracle Grow Potting Soil and Miracle Grow Garden Soil were attacked by insects. An insecticide was used to stop any further destruction. The question is, are human beings like plants in the way that if undernourished, will viruses, bacteria, and cancer cells proliferate do to the lack of minerals and probiotics in the individual‘s body leaving them like a sick plant ready to be devoured by bugs? The farmer knows, insects do not eat healthy plants. When the vitamins and minerals are present within the soil, the plants are fortified with the necessary means to fight off the insects. When the plants lack the necessary elements to grow and be healthy, the insects sense the plants fragility and vulnerability. The study of Xenohormesis explains how polyphenols, certain molecules of the plants, indicate stress in the plants, can have a positive effect in consumers of the plant. Polyphenols are a large family of natural compounds widely distributed in plant foods that act as antioxidants. If the plants are under stress, their increased polyphenol content may signal forthcoming famine conditions. It could be advantageous for the plant to begin to react by preparing for the lean times to come (Sinclair, 2004). However, there‘s another understanding about plants that mankind doesn‘t look at. Millions of years ago, plants had multiple foliage with leaves and blooms subject to many 69 invaders, such as insects and animals. Because plants actually have a survival instinct, there was an evolutionary change that took place where the plant made a decision to not birth endless leaves and blooms and chose only a limited supply in order for the leaves and blooms to take up specific elements to make their leaves and blooms toxic to insects and animals. Cocaine, heroin, and other toxic drugs were actually developed out of this survival mechanism of plants (Haimoff, 2011). But, without the necessary minerals for the plants to survive and make these decisions, their life is short lived. In 2006, the SEER (Sustainable Ecological Earth Regeneration) Centre in Scotland, created the first scientifically controlled field trials of soil re-mineralization. Their conclusion was that unless vital nutrients and elements are placed back into the soil, then the quality of food and the well-being of the planet will deteriorate (Fletcher, 2006). This study was instigated by a book written by Graham Harvey, ―We Want Real Food.‖ He states that a teaspoonful of healthy soil contains over 5 billion living organisms from some 10,000 different species. As well as the earthworms that eat many times their own weight in soil each day and the dung beetles that drag little balls of nutrient-rich animal droppings down shallow tunnels where plant roots can feed off them, there are thousands of species that are invisible to the naked eye (Harvey, 2006). Biologists have known of their existence for over a century, although some have only been fully understood recently. Take the thread-like fungi or microrrhizae that form intricate links with plant roots. They feed on the sap of the plant but in return they increase a plant's ability to take up minerals from the soil, and thereby become good food for us. But it is the business of chemicals rather than biology that has ruled our industrial agriculture for more than half a century. Chemical farming has subjected these vital microorganisms to a toxic barrage, and does its best to obliterate them. The farmers of today have no choice but to depend on synthesized nitrate fertilizers, because agribusiness has depleted the soil of the minerals, trace 70 elements, and probiotics. We can‘t grow healthy plants. Over the last 50 years vegetables have lost a quarter of their magnesium, more than a quarter of their iron and nearly half of their calcium. The result is impoverished food, sick animals, and a catalogue of degenerative human diseases. The problem is you cannot get all the nutrients you need from today‘s food, no matter how healthy you eat. Yes, plants do manufacture vitamins, but they cannot manufacture minerals, and vitamins can only be utilized properly by the body if minerals are present, in the proper ratios. Without all 90 essential nutrients, the chemical reactions that make vitamins useable will not take place. Approximately 70 to 84 minerals are necessary for a healthy body and farmers are only replacing 3 back into the soil. Human beings are becoming more and more nutritionally deficient every day. Because of this lack of nutrients, your body has little chance of maintaining its once healthy state. What most people think are signs of ―aging‖ is really the beginning of a physical decline that doesn‘t have to happen. Vitamins and minerals act as co-factors for each other. For each vitamin there is a specific mineral that makes it work and vice versa. Without this relationship between vitamin and mineral, either one won‘t perform its job. We have over 300 billion cells within our bodies and they are not designed to consume rocks! The most utilizable form of minerals comes from plants that have taken minerals up through their root system, with the help of probiotics. Had we not destroyed our soils throughout the years, we would have been taking up vitamins and minerals that we need from our food, which would then allow the proper chemical reactions to happen within our bodies. Unfortunately, because of our mineral deficient soils, this is just not possible. You can eat the healthiest foods available and you still won‘t be getting the benefit from the vitamins in that food if minerals are not present because without minerals, vitamins are ineffective. 71 This mineral deficiency within our foods and soil was brought to the attention of the US Government in 1936 by a well known Senate Document #264 presented by Rex Beach, entitled ―Modern Miracle Men.‖ Beach presented this article to the 74th Congress, Second Session. His final statement was, ―It is simpler to cure sick soils than sick people – which shall we choose?‖ (Beach, Senate Doc 264, 1936). In 1977 US Department of Agriculture report to Congress: ―In the future, we will not be able to rely anymore on our premise that the consumption of a varied balanced diet will provide all the essential trace elements, because such a diet will be very difficult to obtain for millions of people‖ (Mertz, 1977). This statement holds true today for we cannot acquire the proper amount of nutrients from our fruits and vegetables to satiate our body‘s nutritional needs. American farmers are not chemists. They have been doing what they‘ve been told to do to help them make a living with their long history of farming. They have been educated by the chemical corporate world to achieve crop yields with the chemical fertilizer, NPK, (the minerals, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium) for over the past 100 years without adding any other nutrients back into the soil. Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium are only 3 of the approximately 70 plus essential minerals that are known to be necessary to the human body. Our soils have been starved by neglecting to replenish these missing minerals for so many years. The farms and range soils have become depleted of essential nutrients. As Beach stated to US Senate in Document #264, ―The alarming fact is that foods now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contains enough of certain needed minerals, are starving us—no matter how much of them we eat‖ (Beach, 1936). The nutritional deterioration of our soils and bodies are now showing an unprecedented increase in mineral deficiency diseases such as: Arthritis, High Blood Pressure, Asthma, Type II Diabetes, and Heart Disease. Just as insects do not eat healthy 72 plants, disease does not just happen to healthy people. Years and years of nutritional deficiencies create poor health. This has become a growing issue and there are many scientists and doctors who set out to show society that we are in trouble. Even as early as the 1940s, Dr David Thomas, a primary healthcare practitioner and independent researcher, made a comparison of government tables published in 1940, and again in 2002 (Fletcher, 2006) Table 4 Comparison chart of loss of minerals in vegetables, fruit, and meat from 1940 to 1991 in Europe (Fletcher, 2006). Year of Analysis Mineral 1940 1991 1940 1991 1940 1990 1940 1991 1940 1991 1940 1991 1940 1991 Sodium Na Potassium K Phosphorous P Magnesium Mg Calcium Ca Iron Fe Copper Cu Vegetables Fruit Meat 27 Varieties 17 Varieties 10 cuts Less 49% Less 29% Less30% Less 16% Less 19% Less 16% Plus 9% Plus 2% Less 28% Less 24% Less 16% Less 10% Less 46% Less 16% Less 41% Less 27% Less 24% Less 54% Less 76% Less 20% Less 24% Note. But statistics clearly show that there is something seriously wrong with levels of nutritional awareness in Europe. Because animals are eating sick, nutritionally deprived plants for sustenance Dr. Thompson concludes that the iron content in 15 different varieties of meat had decreased on average by 47%, with some products showing a fall as high as 80%, while the iron content of milk had dropped by over 60%. 73 Dairy foods have experienced a 90% fall in copper, while the calcium loss in highvalue parmesan cheese was an extraordinary 70%, implying a considerable dilution of the original highly concentrated recipe (Fletcher, 2006). Dr. Thompson‘s study revealed that the nutritional quality of vegetables has also fallen. He asked, "Why is it that you have to eat four carrots to get the same amount of magnesium as you would have done in 1940?" The realization that Dr. Thompson‘s statistics only go up to 1991. It has now been 20 years from those conclusions and our soils have not improved and are assaulted now more than ever. It‘s a strong belief by many who share this knowledge that if our soils were remineralized and good probiotics used as a soil supplement then many problems connected to malnutrition, disease and the poor nutritional quality of food would disappear. Food is only as good as the earth it comes from and clearly we have not had the same rich soil the world had 200 years ago. With our use of new technology and chemicals we have begun to play God with our soils and forgot about the little critters that make the world beneath our feet rich in nutrition. Earthworms are eating machines! They eat primarily bacteria. They are a powerful force within the soil. They are involved in the shredding of organic matter, they aerated the soil, and they are involved in the movement of organic matter and microorganism through the soil. They also increase microbial population and aid in plant root growth. They re-mineralizes soil and compost to boost soil fertility (Lowenfels & Lewis, 2006). We are in an era of increasing industrial and chemical pollution of our soils and this is in particularly killing earthworms. Annually plant mass that goes into the soil and the digestive tract of animals decomposes, emitting about 28 billion tons of CO2 and energy. Land animals and people from this number falls to no more than 10%, the remaining 90% is recycled by soil‘s life, which biomass at 50% to 72% is earthworms. 74 Earthworms are the most numerous and important invertebrates on Earth. The total number of earthworms in our soils for farming before the use of agricultural chemicals ranged from 500 thousand to 20 million individuals per hectare (2.471 acres). Earthworms absorb along with soil an enormous amount of detritus (loose fragments), microbes, fungi, algae, protozoa, nematodes, etc. and digest them. Earthworm castings are the excretions left behind by worms after they finish digesting the organic matter that makes up their diet. Through their feces or castings, they emit a lot of their own intestinal microflora, enzymes, vitamins, biologically active substances that inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms, also suppress the putrefactive processes, neutralize and decontaminate the soil. Today, they are being destroyed by acid rains, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. We need to realize that by losing earthworms the soil loses fertility. Restoration and revival of soil fertility of rich land is impossible without the restoration and enhancement of living matters (Lowenfels & Lewis, 2006). Because each mineral element plays an important role in nutrition a very, welldefined set of symptoms will appear in the absence of a mineral. To quote Rex Beach again, from his article to the 74th Congress, Second Session, Document No. 264 in 1936, ―Sick soils mean sick plants, sick animals, and sick people. Physical, mental and moral fitness depends largely upon an ample supply and a proper proportion of minerals in our foods. Nerve function, nerve stability and nerve cell-building likewise depend upon trace minerals‖ (Beach, 1936) Because our soils are so seriously deficient in minerals, trace elements, probiotics, and earthworms they cannot produce plant life that is nutritionally sound in order to maintain our needs to keep us disease free. 75 5.3 Chemicals CALIFORNIA FARMER – JULY 31, 1946 INSECTICIDE WARNING Keep on the safe side with insecticides. The National Safety Council warns summer gardeners that plant sprays and poisons claim many child lives each year. Keep poison locked up. Insects don‘t eat healthy plants! The sicker the plants got, the faster the insects invaded. Once man altered nature, the war on Mother Earth began. However, the consumer of these plants were not aware of their deficiencies and by making sure there is always enough food, the deception of modern day wealth is shattered by the lack of quality of the nutrition within the plant foods. The agricultural industry now began one of the most alarming assaults upon the environment ever to be perpetuated upon mankind. A contamination of the air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and lethal chemicals known as pesticides began and never ended. Human beings are unknowingly being poisoned with carcinogenic chemicals from the moment of conception until death. During WWII, our military tactics took us into developing agents of chemical warfare and many of the chemicals that were created in the laboratory were also found to be lethal to insects. At that time, insects were used for chemical testing, so it was a natural segue into making pesticides for farm produce. There were natural pesticides before all this reckless altering of atoms and molecules. They were derived from naturally occurring minerals and plant products, such as compounds of arsenic, copper, lead, manganese, zinc, and other minerals, pyrethrum from the dried flowers of chrysanthemums, nicotine sulphate from some off shoots of tobacco, and rotenone from leguminous plants from the East Indies. 76 However, these new synthetic insecticides have the power to not only poison and kill insects, but destroy enzymes within the human body designed to protect us. They block the oxidation processes from which the body receives its energy, they prevent the normal function of various organs, and are extremely carcinogenic. The production of synthetic pesticides in the United States soared from 124,000 to 259,000 pounds in 1947. By 1960, the number climbed to 637,666,000 pounds (Carson, 1962). Today, nearly 500,000 tons of pesticides, including more than 500 different types of chemicals, are used annually in the U.S. (Agriculture & Public Health, 2010). This is a multi-billion dollar a year business and it‘s not going away. Of the old standard pesticides was arsenic. It is a highly toxic mineral, tasteless, and carcinogenic. Areas that were contaminated with arsenic had sickness and death among horses, cows, goats, pigs, deer, fishes, and bees. It was because of the wide use of the arsenic crop spraying that the beekeeping industry in the United States almost died out. Today, scientists have been studying the pollution in the air, water, land and in our food. Up until 2005, they were focused on investigating how the pollution impacted the lives of adults. However, in 2005 they found the pollution has reached babies during vital stages of development. A study done on the umbilical cord blood of 10 American newborns commissioned by the Environmental Working Group confirmed an evitable nightmare. The group asked a lab to test 10 American Red Cross cord blood samples for what they claimed is the most extensive array of industrial chemicals, pesticides and other pollutants ever studied. The lab tests were done in August and September of 2004 in United States hospitals. They found that hundreds of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides are pumped back and forth from mother to fetus through umbilical cord blood (Environmental Working Group, 2005). 77 The core blood samples showed 200 industrial contaminants along with mercury, fire retardants, pesticides, and chemicals used in making Teflon, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA). In total, the babies' blood had 287 chemicals, including 209 never before detected in cord blood (EWG, 2005). Of those pesticides found in these fetus‘ core-blood samples were over 21 organochlorine pesticides (OCs), DDT, chlordane and other carcinogenic pesticides. Largely banned in the U.S. and persist for decades in the environment. They accumulate up the food chain from our plants, to humans and to our babies. They all cause cancer and numerous reproductive effects. 5.3.1 Pesticides Man failed to realize that plants have the ability to evolve and protect themselves when given the necessary tools to create their own survival mechanisms. The theory as to why the dinosaurs died was in fact the plants were being continuously consumed to maintain the enormous bodies of these gigantic beings and many of the plants, out of survival, created toxins within their leaves to ward off predators. In fact, the majority of plant species have various kinds of fungi associated with their root systems in a kind of symbiotic association known as mycorrhiza. This fungi helps the plants gain water and mineral nutrients from the soil, while the plant gives the fungi carbohydrates manufactured in photosynthesis. Some plants serve as homes for endophytic fungi that protect the plant from herbivores by producing toxins. An endophytic fungi is an organism, especially a fungus or microorganism, that lives inside a plant, in a parasitic or has a symbiotic relationship. The fungal endophyte, Neotyphodium coenophialum, in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) does tremendous economic damage to the cattle industry in the U.S. Today, fescue toxicity in cattle is a serious problem. It causes a roughening of the animal‘s coat in the summer and intolerance to heat. Cattle that graze on tall fescue are more likely to stay in the shade or wade in the water in hot weather. In the winter, a condition 78 known as "fescue foot" might afflict cattle. This results from vasoconstriction of the blood vessels especially in the extremities, and causes a gangrenous condition. Untreated, the hoof might slough off. Additionally, cattle may experience decreased weight gains and poor milk production when heavily grazing infected tall fescue pasture. To deter toxicosis cattle should be given alternative feed to dilute their infected tall fescue intake (Ball, 1993). Fescue pollen is a significant contributor to hay fever. However, the answer to a healthy plant is still not being addressed. For it is not the protection human beings can bring upon the plants that will give us nutritional well developed produce, but rather the replenishment of our soils with the minerals and probiotics the plants need to live, survive, and become vehicles of nutrition to our human bodies. More than ninety years ago, farmers were forced into using pesticides and converted their organic farms into chemical ones. They knew that that they did not need to use so many dangerous poisons since they once were able to achieve good yields and high quality produce without them. However, the agribusiness was taking over due to the belief that chemicals were necessary essential, progressive, economically more feasible, miraculous and even heroic. Many organic farmers warned about health issues and the ignorant farmers were being feed information from the manufacturers of these profitable chemicals that they were not only safe to use, but also necessary to make a profit, to conduct the Second World War, and to feed all the hungry people in the world. ―To read the label and follow the instructions, you can‘t get hurt‖ they would say (Allen, 2008). Many editorials in rural journals in the late 1930s and early 1940‘s would conclude that spray-residue analysis is distorted by the natural presence of lead, arsenic, and fluorine in a person‘s body. Magazines with these contributing articles would argue that necessary and natural quantities of poisons significantly increased the level of lead and arsenic when federal 79 investigators checked for residues in people or test animals. They claimed that the lead and arsenic are totally safe in spite of irrefutable evidence that both were deadly (Allen, 2008). Fluoride pesticides were very effective against the pests, and chemical corporations aggressively began to promote their use as the fluoride sales soared until DDT became popular. 5.3.2 DDT Arsenic was deadly, but nothing could beat the new modern day insecticides. The vast majority of the pesticides fell into one of two large groups of chemicals. One was represented by Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloro-ethane (DDT), which is known as the chlorinated hydrocarbons group. The other group consists of the organic phosphorus insecticide, parathion. Parathion is an organophosphate compound. It is a potent insecticide and acaricide (Acari group, which includes ticks and mites.). DDT was first synthesized by a German chemist in 1874, but not yet developed as an insecticide until 1939 by IG Farben. It was considered harmless because it was used during wartime as a dusting of soldiers, refugees, and prisoners to combat lice with no ill effects. However, this could have been because it was delivered in a powder form and not readily absorbable through the skin. But, once it‘s mixed in oil as it was to be used on plants, then it became highly toxic to all organisms, including humans. As it entered the body, it is stored in organs rich in fatty substances, i.e. adrenals, testes, and thyroid. Other organs assaulted by this chemical are the liver, kidneys, and parts of the intestinal tract. 80 Figure 77. LACCO DDT dust and duster ad. From California Cultivator, April 13, 1946. Illustration from The War on Bugs (Allen, 2008) As our plants began to be sprayed because of the insects consuming weak and sick plants, DDT would be absorbed until quite high levels were reached. Once consumed, minute quantities would bring about physiological changes within the body. Animal experiments showed that only 3 parts per million proved to inhibit an essential enzyme in the heart muscles and only 5 parts per million brought about necrosis and disintegration of liver cells. DDT and many other related chemicals are passed along from one organism to another until it has worked its way up the food chain. The plants grown to feed livestock that were sprayed with DDT, eventually the chemical would be found in the tissues of the livestock animals. From the animals to humans, it was inevitable. By 1950, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientists were testing human breast milk and recovered residues of DDT that not only were fed to the new born infant, but most likely that fetus was exposed while intrauterine. The FDA scientists stated in 1950 that it is ―extremely likely the potential hazard of DDT has been underestimated.‖ Yet it persists in our soil and foodstuffs (Carson, 1962). 81 DDT was banned in the United States in 1972 because it contributed to the near extinction of birds, including the bald eagle and the peregrine falcon. Not necessarily because of the danger it presents to human beings. Its use was banned or restricted in many other countries, however there are proposals to ban it from all use. Chlorinated hydrocarbons group and organophosphate compound are all built on a basis of carbon atoms which are also the building blocks of life and for that reason, it is classified as ―organic.‖ Synthetic organic insecticides do not naturally occur in the environment, but are synthesized by man. Since all these compounds have carbon and hydrogen atoms as the basis of their molecule, as do living plants and animals, they are referred to as organic compounds. 5.3.3 Dioxin Although dioxins have been banned from the ingredients of pesticides in Australia for more than a decade, many dioxins emerged in the manufacturing process and there was no end-stage monitoring to protect consumers and the public, said University of Queensland scientist Dr Caroline Gaus (Gaus, Science Alert, 2010). As an environmental scientist, she worked on dioxins last year, 2010, and prompted governments around the world to suspend the use of some pesticides she says are contributing more to the problem and authorities need to act urgently. Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds belong to a range of chemical compounds which are known to exhibit ―dioxin-like‖ toxicity. 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo para dioxin (TCDD) is the actual chemical name of Dioxin. The name "dioxins" is often used for the family of structurally and chemically related polychlorinated dibenzo para dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Certain dioxin-like olychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) similar in toxicity are also labeled as dioxins. Over 419 types of dioxin-related compounds have been identified, however, somewhere around 30 of these are considered to the most toxic in relation to TCDD (World Health Organization, 2010). 82 Figure 78. Dioxins are linked to a range of cancers and are considered one of the most toxic man-made chemicals. They can cause adverse health effects in humans and wildlife including cancer, and act on development, reproduction and the endocrine system. Illustration from Science Alert. Just as DDT enters the body and finds its way to fatty tissues and organs, so do dioxins and they too are highly toxic to our human bodies. Through experiments they have learned that dioxins half-life in the body is estimated to be seven to eleven years. Humans will obtain these toxins through our foods. The higher in the animal food chain one goes, the higher the concentration of dioxins. Once it finds its way into the human body the destruction is endless. These chemicals are also known as xeno-estrogens, meaning that they mimic estrogen making an individual estrogen toxic. Because of this dioxins can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage to the immune system, interfere with hormones and will cause cancer. There is no getting away from dioxins for all people have been exposed to these toxic chemicals. Many countries are now aware of this toxic problem and monitor their food supply for dioxins. There are several sited incidents of dioxin contamination throughout the world. In 2004 in the Netherlands it was found at high levels in the milk through the animal feed. Tested again for contamination it was detected in high levels in the actual animal feed in 2006. In Ireland a recall of many tons of pork meat and pork products took place in 2008. Over 200 times more dioxins than the safe limit were detected in samples of pork. The contamination was traced back to contaminated feed (World Health Organization, 2010). 83 In 2007, the EPA detected the highest level of dioxin ever discovered in Michigan‘s rivers and lakes in waterways near Dow's global headquarters located in Midland, Michigan. Dioxin levels in some places were a thousand times higher than the residential standard, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. A recent study found women living in Midland, as well as Saginaw and Bay counties, have significantly higher rates of breast cancer and it was dioxin to blame. A class action lawsuit is pending (Lappe', 2011). In July 2007, high levels of dioxins were detected in a food additive, guar gum traced from India that was contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP), a pesticide no longer in use. PCP contains dioxins as contamination. The European Commission issued a health warning to its Member States. Belgium in 1999, high levels of dioxins were found in poultry, eggs, and pork along with other nearby countries due to contaminated animal feed with illegally disposed PCBbased waste industrial oil. In 1998, high levels of dioxins in milk sold in Germany were traced to citrus pulp pellets used as animal feed exported from Brazil. The investigation resulted in a ban on all citrus pulp imports to the EU from Brazil. Dioxins are here to stay and there are short-term exposure and long-term exposure issues. The short term exposure of dioxins in humans results in skin lesions, darkening of the skin, and altered liver function. Long-term exposure is linked to impairment of the immune system, the developing nervous system, the endocrine system and reproductive functions and cancer. TCDD was evaluated by the WHO‘s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 1997. Based on animal data and on human epidemiology data, TCDD was classified by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a "known human carcinogen‖ (World Health Organization, 2011). 84 5.3.4 Fluoride Warning: Keep out of the reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than the amount used for brushing teeth, seek professional assistance or contact a Poison Control center immediately Another hazardous chemical that limited our soil‘s capabilities to bring nutritional components to our body was fluoride. The filtered water used in both the lettuce and wheatgrass trial was free from fluoride. There was no indication that fluoride had a marked difference on the plants nutritional value, however, the fluoride used to water our plants for consumption will transfer the fluoride to the human body and that is a health concern. Fluoride was used as a pesticide and just like the other issues with our soil, it was one more obstacle in our quest for a disease free life. In the early 1930‘s, it was Hitler who asked his scientists to find him an odorless drug that could secretively be administered to the German people to make them less resistant to domination. I.G. Farben, at Hitler‘s demand came up with sodium fluoride. This chemical will find its way to the rear occipital of the left lobe of the brain which is responsible for the individual‘s power to resist domination. Repeated doses of minute amounts of sodium fluoride will reduce the individual‘s power to resist domination (Walters, 2006). Over a gradual period of time, the brain will become poisoned and this occipital region of the brain will narcotizes. In large doses, sodium fluoride causes paralysis and death. When sodium fluoride enters the body, it allows a muscle to move one way, but blocks it from a corresponding reaction or contraction. However, when an individual receives minute doses of it on a continuous basis, such as in drinking water, brushing your teeth, or consuming it via our vegetables and fruit, the effect is a marked weakening of the will, dental fluorosis, osteoporosis, and blocks the iodine from doing its job with the thyroid in converting T4 to T3. It worked so well that Eli Lilly introduced an antidepressant to the world in the early 90‘s. "Based on documents recently obtained by 85 FREEDOM under the Freedom of Information Act, as of September 16, 1993, 28,623 reports of adverse reactions to Prozac had been received by the FDA. These included such effects as delirium, hallucinations, convulsions, violent hostility, aggression, psychosis, 1,885 suicide attempts, 1,734 deaths, and 1,089 by suicide‖ (Loren, 2006). Fluoride had also entered the food supply from sulfuryl fluoride, which was used as a fumigant. Large quantities were found in processed wheat and dried eggs, among others. Fortunately sulfuryl fluoride has now been banned by the FDA. However, fluoride has been added to water in the form of hexafluorosilicic acid (an industrial waste product). Fluoride is a binary compound of fluorine, which is a highly corrosive and poisonous element used in a wide variety of industrial compounds. The misinformation about how great it is may continue, but the reality is that fluoride is an acute toxin with a rating slightly higher than lead, and is one of the most bone seeking elements known to mankind. In fact, the US Public Health Service has stated that fluoride makes our bones more brittle and our dental enamel more porous. It was microbiologist Professor Albert Schatz (winner of the Nobel Prize and the man who discovered Streptomycin, the cure for tuberculosis and numerous other bacterial infections) has been quoted as saying, "Fluoridation is the greatest fraud that has ever been perpetrated, and it has been perpetrated on more people than any other fraud has" (Britt, 2010). According to an article that appeared in the 1998 April-May issue of Nexus Magazine (some 50 years after United States authorities began adding fluoride to public water supplies to reduce cavities in children's teeth), there are quite a few declassified government documents suddenly turning up that are revealing a surprising connection between the use of fluoride and the dawning of the nuclear age (Toxic Secrets,Nexus Magazine, 1998). Today, two-thirds of US public drinking water is fluoridated, yet many municipalities still resist the practice, disbelieving the government's assurances of safety. Nature designed 86 drinking water to help us clean out our system, to help us flush it out, not pollute it. Ever since the US prevailed by building the world‘s first atomic bomb, our nation‘s public health leaders have maintained that low doses of fluoride are safe for people and good for children‘s teeth. Let‘s re-examine the facts in light of the hundreds of once-secret WWII-era documents that are starting to come forth, including declassified papers of the Manhattan Project -- the ultra-secret US Military program that produced the atomic bomb. According to these documents, fluoride was the key chemical in atomic bomb production, and millions of tons were essential for the manufacture of bomb-grade uranium and plutonium for nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. And as one of the most toxic chemicals known to the environment fluoride emerged as the leading chemical health hazard of the US atomic bomb program, both for workers, local farmers, and for nearby communities. What is also scary is that the US Government's conflict of interest and its motive to prove fluoride safe in the furious debate over water fluoridation since the 1950's has only recently been made clear to the general public, let alone civilian researchers, health professionals and journalists. These declassified documents resonate with a growing body of scientific evidence and a chorus of questions about the health effects of fluoride in the environment. Human exposure to fluoride has mushroomed since WWII, due not only to fluoridated water and toothpaste, but to environmental pollution by major industries, from aluminum to pesticides, where fluoride is a critical industrial chemical as well as a waste byproduct. Fluoride is everywhere, in the environment, food, water, and all our vegetables, fruits, and grains are being watered, everyday, with fluorinated water. The impact can be seen literally in the smiles of our children. Large numbers (up to eighty percent in some cities) of young Americans now have dental fluorosis, the first visible sign of excessive fluoride exposure, resulting in whitish flecks or spots, particularly on the 87 front teeth, or dark spots or stripes in more severe cases. And even less known to the public is the damage fluoride does to the bones, and how scientists are finally beginning to link the increase of stress fractures among young people in this country with the increase of water fluoridation over the years. Fluoride is more toxic than lead, and is only slightly less toxic than arsenic (Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products, 1984). There are a series of quotes by highly recognized doctors and scientists that have expressed their educated thoughts about fluoride: "I am appalled at the prospect of using water as a vehicle for drugs. Fluoride is a corrosive poison that will produce serious effects on a long-range basis. Any attempt to use water this way is deplorable." -- Dr. Charles Gordon Heyd, Past President of the American Medical Association (National Water Center, 2010). "The American Medical Association is NOT prepared to state that no harm will be done to any person by water fluoridation. The AMA has not carried out any research work, either long-term or short term, regarding the possibility of any side effects." -- Dr. Flanagan, Assistant Director of Enviromental Health, American Medical Association. "Fluoride may be destroying our bones, our teeth, and overall health… it doesn‘t need to be added to our water and we may be taking unnecessary risks by doing so." -- Dr. Hardy Limeback, a le Canadian fluoride authority, former fluoride advocate and long-standing consultant to the Canadian Dental Association. Now a Professor of Dentistry at the University of Toronto. "The evidence against the safety of this public health policy keeps mounting; it is too compelling to ignore." -- Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, Children's Hospital, Boston. Dr. Dean Burk, former Director & Chief Chemist Emeritus of U. S. National Cancer Institute, introduced the MRI scan: "Fluoride causes more human cancer death, and causes it faster, than any other chemical‖ (National Water Center, 2010). 88 "By 1983, I was thoroughly convinced that fluoridation caused more harm than good. I expressed the opinion that some of these children with dental fluorosis could, just possibly, have suffered harm to their bones." -- Dr. Colquhoun, former Principal Dental Officer for Auckland New Zealand (Colquhoun, 1997). "Based on data from the National Academy of Sciences, current levels of fluoride exposure in drinking water may cause arthritis in a substantial portion of the population long before they reach old age." -- Dr. Robert Carton, former EPA scientist. Fluoride's alleged safety in low doses rests on the postwar work done at the University of Rochester in anticipation of lawsuits against the bomb program for human injury. The University of Rochester's classified fluoride studies, code-name "Program F", were started during the war and continued up until the early 1950's. Program F was not about children's teeth. It grew directly out of litigation against the bomb program, and its main purpose was to furnish scientific ammunition which the government and its nuclear contractors could use to defeat lawsuits for human injury. It was quite clear that the bomb program required human studies of fluoride‘s effects, just as it needed human studies of plutonium‘s effects. In May of 1945, Newburgh, New York quietly fluoridated its water, and over the next 10 years, its residents were secretly studied by the New York State Health Department. The study was conducted by potential law suit defendants who were obviously bias to begin with. Even recent Newburg Mayor, Audrey Carey (she held office from 1992-1999), was quoted after learning about these experiments, "I'm shocked… beyond words. It reminds me of the Tuskegee experiment that was done on syphilis patients down in Alabama." Carey was appalled that any kind of experimentation could be done to people without their knowledge and consent (Griffiths and Bryson 1997). The question was, ―How much fluoride is too much? Fifty years ago, when fluoride was first recommended for municipal water supplies, there were no other sources of fluoride 89 in a person's diet. The "optimum" dose of 1 PPM (parts per million) was proposed because if a person drank four 8 oz glasses of water, they would be receiving about 1 mg of fluoride. Now, however, because fluoride can be found in just about everything you eat or drink, if your son or daughter has only one soft drink, a glass of milk, and a bowl of processed cereal (and no other food the entire day), he or she will more than likely be receiving 230% of the recommended "optimal" dose. That's equivalent to a pill a little bigger than an aspirin. The following is a list of 56 cities rejecting fluoridation since 1990. Whitehorse, Yukon Terr., Can. Ste. Genevieve, Missouri Salt Lake City, Utah Grand Island, Nebraska Norfolk, Nebraska Scottsbluff, Nebraska Aurora, Nebraska Stromsburg, Nebraska North Platte, Nebraska Washington, Missouri Santa Cruz, California Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada Hot Springs, Arkansas Ridgefield, Oregon Methuen, Massachusetts Brisbane, Australia Spokane, Washington Largo, Florida 90 Clearwater, Florida North Redington Beach, Florida Amsterdam, New York Suisun City, California Yardly, Pennsylvania Erie, Pennsylvania Western Nassau County, New York Kelowna, British Columbia, Can. Gothenburg, Nebraska Worcester, Massachusetts Bloomer, Wisconsin Kodiak, Alaska Carle Place, New York Winter Springs, Florida Pasco, Florida York, Pennsylvania Bradenton, Florida Thurmont, Maryland Albany, New York Middletown, Maryland Sarnia, Ontario, Canada Barnstable, (Cape Cod) Mass. Wagoner, Oklahoma Redwood Valley, California Los Altos Hills,(Purissima) California 91 Campbell River, British Columbia, Can. Port Hardy, British Columbia, Can. Squarnish, British Columbia, Can. Milltown, Wisconsin Bellingham, Washington Washoe County, Nevada Comox Courtenay, B. C., Can. Palm Beach County, Florida Ketchikan, Alaska Toxicity is worse in hot climates because more water is consumed. It is also likely if someone eats or drinks food high in fluoride such as tea, coffee, reconstituted fruit juice, grapes or raisins that have had fluoride insecticide , cryolite, sodium aluminofluoride, Na3AlF6, also found in dried eggs, soy beans, and carbonated drinks. Fluoride interferes with the hydroxylation of proline to hydroxyproline (Sharma, 1982). Therefore fluoride exposure disrupts the synthesis of collagen and leads to the breakdown of collagen in bone, tendon, muscle, skin, cartilage, lungs, kidney, trachea and arteries (Susheela & Mohan, 1981). That is the type of damage you'd expect to see in connective tissue disorders. It will also cause damage to ligaments resembling arthritis. It has been found that the elastic properties of the ascending aorta are impaired in patients with endemic fluorosis (Varol, 2010). Fluoride inhibits the immune cells at those times when an infection activates them (Weisman, 1972). Another serious effect is bone cancer found in young boys, but not girls. During the growth spurt during 6 to 8 years the bone cancer rate is 8 times higher in boys living in fluoridated areas than in non poisoned water areas (Bassin, 2006). Fluoride confuses the immune system and causes it to attack the body's own tissues, and increases the tumor 92 growth rate in cancer prone individuals (Taylor. 1965). There is increased incidence of melanotic tumors following treatment with sodium fluoride (Herskowitz, 1963). More than 100 animal studies have linked fluoride to brain damage, and 24 additional studies in humans have found an association between high levels of fluoride in drinking water and reduced intelligence (Ding, 2010) (Weisman, 1972). Thus, low levels of fluoride in drinking water, even within the range of levels currently allowed, negatively impact children's intelligence and dental health (Liu, 2010). In spite of all this information, fluoride is still being added to water supply that feeds our vegetables, fruits, and livestock which is breaking the former Delaney amendment law prohibiting adding cancer causing chemicals to our food supply. US EPA Office of Pesticides informed Fluoride Action Network (FAN) on January 10, 2011 that they have granted all of FAN's Objections to the use of sulfuryl fluoride on the grounds that children are overexposed to fluoride. It will be seen if DOW AgroSciences does not mount a substantive defense against these grounds, the majority of foods will not be fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride beginning the year 2014 and all food fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride will end in three years. This is the first time in Environmental Protection Agency's history that they have granted an Objection. Figure 79. Molecular structure of sulfuryl fluoride. Produced exclusively by Dow AgroSciences. Illustration from Fluoride Action Network 93 5.4 Sick Soil, Sick People The future for mankind is in the hands of the farmer. Medicine and healing cannot remain the property of the pharmaceutical companies. It must be the farmer‘s role to service the soil and those billions of microorganisms. The soils must feed the crops and animals, all of which require the proper minerals for proper genetic expression. Modern day medicine has been looking for the ―cure‖ needle in the haystack not realizing that it‘s the hay that is in trouble. The doctors hope to treat the symptoms and numb pain with drugs, yet little attention is paid to disease and causes. Some of the most important minerals like selenium, magnesium, chromium, and calcium are in a direct relationship to the health of our cells, and yet they are missing in the majority of our foods. Today, America, land of the great opportunity and one of the richest countries in the world, is number one in Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Obesity, and Hypothyroidism. Medicine is a multi-billon dollar business as our institutions continue to search with an enormous voracious money appetite for the ―cure‖ and very little attention is given to the ―cause.‖ There is some focus on ―prevention,‖ but the incredulous lack of focus to the ―cause‖ remains the same. Professional, corporate Alzheimer‘s set into the minds that rule the machines that run the county and have forgotten that human being‘s physicals needs must be met to achieve a healthy life. 5.4.1 Cancer and selenium In 2007, the National Cancer Institute estimated that approximately 11.7 million Americans either had a history of cancer or were living with cancer. However, about 1,596,670 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed today in 2011. This estimate does not include carcinoma in situ (noninvasive cancer) of any site except urinary bladder, and 94 does not include basal and squamous cell skin cancers, which are not required to be reported to cancer registries (Clark, 1996). As of 2011, close to 571,950 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. In the US, cancer accounts for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths (American Cancer Society, 2011). Selenium is a nutritionally essential trace element that naturally occurs in the soil, just like iron, copper, and zinc. It enters our bodies through our food via plants and animals and to a lesser extent, water. Plants absorb selenium from the soil into their leaves, stems, seeds and fruits. When animals eat plants containing selenium it will be stored in their tissues (Walters, 2006). Several studies have suggested a possible link between cancer and selenium deficiency (Russo, 1997). Without selenium, our bodies cannot function correctly. Out of the entire mineral family, selenium is the king! It activates our body‘s own antioxidant system through the enzyme glutathione peroxidase. This fortifies the immune system and has many benefits, from protecting us against cancer, to being an amazing antioxidant and improving the function of the thyroid . The small farmer is going out of business unless they become embedded in the chemical world. Farmers can only make a profit by growing soy, corn, or wheat. Farmers then have to use all their land to grow these huge crops, and that means they can‘t have animals there living in the same place to re-fertilize it with its native nutrients and minerals. They only fertilize with factory-made chemicals, so the crops don‘t have one of our most important nutrients that you used to get from the soil, selenium. A double blind trial that included 1,300 people found that those given 200 mcg of a yeast-based selenium per day for 4 ½ years had a 50% drop in the cancer death rate compared 95 to those in the placebo group. If a drug had performed similarly in any such trial it would make headlines and be hailed as a wonder drug. Another study found that men consuming the most selenium through diet developed 65% fewer cases of advanced prostate cancer than those with lower selenium intake (Yoshizawa, 1998). The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study showing that people supplementing with selenium had a 20% reduced chance of dying from any cause, and a 50% reduce chance of dying from cancer. The study reported a 50% decrease in total cancer incidence as well as a 63% reduction in prostate cancer, a 58% reduction in colorectal cancer and a 48% reduction in lung cancer. Only 6 of the 1,312 subjects had selenium blood levels below that achievable by the RDA prior to supplementation (Reid, 2006). This study proved that dietary supplements were of great benefit, however, it also confirmed the need for supplementation due to the lack of selenium in our soils and plants today. After extensive scrutiny of the data only the evidence for reduction of prostate cancer is now accepted as statistically significant for a 42% reduction in prostate cancer. The data still shows a total cancer mortality reduction of 51% (Duffield-Lillico, 2002) 5.4.2 Deficiency of Selenium Geographic studies have found that in parts of the world where soil and the foods people eat are low in selenium, rates of colon, liver, lung and prostate cancer are all significantly higher (Greenwood-Robins, 2004). One well known risk of selenium deficiency is called ―Keshan‘s disease.‖ It‘s named after a province in China where people weren‘t getting enough selenium. Named after Keshan County of Heilongjiang province, Northeast China, where symptoms were first noted, this disease is a congestive cardiomyopathy caused by a combination of dietary deficiency of selenium and the presence of a mutated strain of 96 Coxsackie virus. These symptoms were later found prevalent in a wide belt extending from northeast to southwest China, all due to selenium-deficient soil. Often fatal, the disease afflicts children and women of child bearing age, characterized by heart failure and pulmonary edema. Supplementation with selenium reduces the pain and suffering from this disease. Governments and huge agribusiness companies are forcing chemicals upon the farmers and growers in the rest of the world, too. Mineral deprivation is rampant and selenium is among the biggest loss. Selenium is also essential for making sperm (Moslemi, 2011). The male reproductive system depends on it and this might be one of the reasons why sperm counts are dropping everywhere in the United States (Hawkes & Turek, 2001). This noticeable drop began right after the Great Depression and the so-called, ―Dirty Thirties‖ aka Dust Bowl, when many of the industrial farming practices were introduced (Swan, 2000). When massive single-crop farming was introduced in Europe during the 1970‘s, their sperm counts began to drop even faster (Carlsen, 1992). In 1990, University of Missouri reviewed 61 studies published since 1938 that looked at sperm counts for over 15,000 people in the United States (Halweil, 1999). Figure 80. A study found average sperm counts for men in the United States had dropped by over 55 percent – from 113×106/ml in 1938 to just over 50×106/ml in 1988. And counts are dropping 1.5 percent per year. Illustration from My Health & Fitness website 97 The University of North Carolina did a study showing that an increase of just onetenth of a part per million of selenium in your body could decrease the risk of osteoarthritis by 15 to 20 percent. The higher the amount of selenium, the more the risk would drop (Williamson, 2005). Selenium is a vital mineral involved making critical thyroid hormones T3 and T4. Your body uses selenium to make glutathione peroxidase, a powerful antioxidant along with increasing your number of Natural Killer T-cells. This mineral helps you drop your risk of many kinds of cancer, including lung, liver, colon and prostate cancer (Williamson, 2005). Selenium‘s function with glutathione acts as a powerful antioxidant helping the body to combat damage done by free radicals. Oxidation damage in the body is responsible for most degenerative diseases, skin damage, along with damage to our internal organs. In conditions such as arthritis, selenium also works as an anti-inflammatory. As a scavenger of toxic metals in the body, selenium works as an antagonist of mercury, lead, aluminum and cadmium. It also increases our white blood cell activity which is the main thrust of our immune system. A study at Liverpool University examined the effects of selenium supplementation on the polio virus. The results showed that the supplement increased cellular immune response, and produced a more rapid eradication of the virus (Broome, 2004). The daily recommended amount of selenium is 55 micrograms up to 200 micrograms per day. This is a very small amount but the issue is that you can‘t get this amount from our foods anymore because our soils are depleted. We must supplement. 98 Table 5 Selenium is found in most multi-nutrient supplements. It may also be obtained as a separate supplement in various forms, including: selenium-rich yeast and sodium selenite. BEST FOOD SOURCES OF SELENIUM mcg per 100g Wheat germ 111 Brazil nuts 103 Whole-wheat 66 Sunflower seeds 60 Oats 56 Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (2011) 5.4.3 Heart Disease and magnesium In the United States today, every 34 seconds a person dies from heart disease. That‘s more than 2,500 people a day. Furthermore, every 20 seconds a person has a heart attack and at least 250,000 people die each year before they can reach the hospital. Since 1900, cardio vascular disease has been the number one killer in the United States and is now neck and neck with cancer. One of the most important minerals for the maintenance of the heart muscle is magnesium. This mineral has also been deficient in our soils for close to 100 years. Magnesium is involved in almost every bodily function including more than 50 biochemical reactions. It is vital to enzyme activity and its deficiency interferes with the transmission of nerve and muscle impulses, causing irritability and nervousness. Our plants use light and chlorophyll to manufacture carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the plant environment. The leaves produce most of the carbohydrates, 99 but stems and buds are also contributors. Chlorophyll brings life to the plant as the center of the molecule is magnesium. It is the single mineral most wiped out by the consumption of phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is not only found in sodas, but has many other various uses. In manufacturing, it is a chemical intermediate or reagent in the production of numerous phosphate fertilizers, agricultural feeds, waxes, polishes, soaps, and detergents (HSDB, 1995). Magnesium deficiency can be found with individuals who‘s feet have a bad odor, muscles are performing poorly, bowels are blocked, kidneys not functioning, poor sleep, back pain, irregular heart palpitations, eyelids twitch, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and migraine headaches. Because of the lack of magnesium within our soils today, it is important to supplement our diets (Liebscher, 2003). The best way to lose what little magnesium we have is through the use of diuretics, drinking coffee, and consuming caffeine through sodas. Magnesium serves many crucial roles in the human body. It synergistically works with three other crucial minerals, calcium, sodium, and potassium as it helps transmit electrical impulses across the nerves and muscles, regulates blood pressure, bone building and is essential for brain and liver functions. It calms nerves, promotes cell growth, supports the excretory process, and increases tissue elasticity (Walters, 2006). Magnesium helps with muscle contraction and relaxation. Because the heart is a muscle, this is extremely important mineral. Magnesium helps reduce muscle spasm and regulates blood clotting. In addition, magnesium is required for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the spark plug of which the body depends on to perform all its physical, mental and biochemical work (Gaby, 1994). One of the most common diseases within the cardio-vascular area is atherosclerosis, the development of hardening of the arteries. Magnesium was found to help prevent this condition fourfold (Vitale, 1957). 100 Autopsies performed on the hearts of individuals who died from congestive heart failure reveled changes similar to those seen in animals feed a diet deficient in magnesium (Wener, 1964). Heart disease itself causes a loss of magnesium from the heart muscle, which in turn further exacerbates the disease. In one study, patients with cardiomyopathy had 65 percent less magnesium in their heart muscles than did healthy individuals (Frustaci, 1987). Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythm) have been treated with magnesium both orally and intravenously with much success. A life-threatening arrhythmia known as torsades de pointes has been successfully treated with magnesium (Tzivoni, 1984). Another condition with the heart is called, angina. This is chest pain that often occurs in the heart of individuals during exertion or stress. In 1958, a South African physician reported that an appreciable number of angina patients had been helped with dramatic and almost unbelievable results with magnesium therapy (Malkiel-Shapiro, 1958). Magnesium supplementation has been given in many studies to help reduce high levels of cholesterol and elevated levels of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL). One particular study each patient received 400mg of magnesium daily for an average of 118 days. The average total cholesterol level fell from 297 to 257 milligrams per deciliters. The HDL cholesterol increased from 35.2 to 46.7 mg/dl. Both of these changes were statistically significant and would be expected to reduce cardiovascular risk (Davis, 1984). The beginning of the coronary heart disease (CHD) epidemic in the 1920s and 1930‘s began when physicians in the United States and United Kingdom began witnessing an uncommon disease that was rapidly becoming the leading cause of death. By the 1950‘s, their worst nightmares had come true. A decade later, the idea that heart disease was once uncommon faded and became a common form of death to the public. 101 Figure 81. According to U.S. National Vital Statistics records beginning in 1900, CHD was rarely given as the cause of death by physicians until after 1930. Illustration from Whole Health Source The line for CHD deaths begins in the lower left-hand part of the graph. It is important to understand that before 1900, very few people died of heart disease. Since then, heart disease has become the number one killer in the United States. The invention of new technologies such as the electrocardiogram facilitated better and quicker diagnosis, but due to the processing of our foods and lack of nutrition within our plants and soil, there is no technology that can prevent heart disease other than changing our diets, and supplementing our bodies and our soils (World Health Organization, 2009). 5.4.4 Deficiency of Magnesium These physical ―Clinical‖ signs of magnesium deficiency are clearly related to both its physiological role and its significant impact on the healthy balance of minerals such as calcium and potassium. Tics, muscle spasms and cramps, seizures, anxiety, and irregular heart rhythms are among the classic signs and symptoms of low magnesium. Other not so obvious ―Sub-Clinical‖ symptoms are present but concealed by an inability to distinguish 102 their signs from other disease states. Caused by low magnesium intake prevalent in nearly all industrialized nations, they can include migraine headaches, insomnia, depression, and chronic fatigue, among others (Werner, 1964). In sub-clinical magnesium deficiency has been a growing attention largely due to epidemiological links found between ongoing chronic low magnesium and some of the more troubling chronic diseases such as hypertension, asthma and osteoporosis. Compounding the problem is the survival mechanism of the body when it is functioning on low levels of magnesium. The body actually strips magnesium and calcium from the bones during these periods (McCarthy, Kumar, 1999). Table 6 The classic physical signs of low magnesium are listed in the table below (Fox, 2003), (DiSilvestro, 2004), (Kimura, 2007): Neurological: Metabolic: Behavioral Disturbances Increased intracellular calcium Irritability and anxiety Hyperglycemia Lethargy Calcium deficiency Impaired memory and cognitive function Potassium deficiency Anorexia or loss of appetite Cardiovascular: Nausea and vomiting Irregular or rapid heartbeat Seizures Coronary spasms Muscular: Weakness Muscle spasms Tics Among Children: Growth retardation or ―failure to thrive‖ 103 Muscles Cramps Hyperactive reflexes Impaired muscle coordination Tremors Involuntary eye movements and vertigo Difficulty swallowing The conditions that are related to low Magnesium, or otherwise known as hypomagnesemia, represent possible indicators of chronic latent magnesium deficiency (Elin, 2000). Depression Chronic fatigue syndrome ADHD Epilepsy Parkinson‘s disease Sleep problems Migraine Cluster headaches Osteoporosis Premenstrual syndrome Chest pain (angina) Cardiac arrhythmias Coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis Hypertension Type II diabetes 104 Asthma The World Health Organization has estimated that three quarters of Americans do not meet the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of magnesium. Average magnesium intake in the U.S. has dwindled to less than half what it was a century ago: In the year 1900: 500 mg per day In the year 2007: 175-225 mg per day (Altura, 2007) We tout magnesium-rich foods include whole grains, leafy greens, nuts and seeds that should be in our diets. Foods like these were once common in diets around the world, but as food processing began stripping available minerals out of our produce, the need to supplement increased. However, not only are whole and unrefined foods high in magnesium are becoming increasingly rare in the modern diet, the soils we grow our produce in have been robbed of this vital mineral and in order to solve the bigger problem, we need to start at the soil first. 5.4.5 Diabetes and Chromium Contrary to Louis Pasteur, people do not necessary get sick because of the germs in our environment. It was Pasteur's belief that germs caused disease and had to be controlled or eliminated before a cure became evident. This was known as "The Germ Theory." There was another portion of the science/political arena believed that germs were not actually the cause of disease, but rather are an effect, or consequence of it. Obviously, this latter belief would have never yielded the kind of revenue that conventional medicine has. An "ounce of prevention" might have great value to the wise and caring, but not to the pharmaceutical companies. The bottom line was that Pasteur's theory was simpler, had better economic perspectives, and was more in accordance with the old concepts of disease as being caused by demons and devils outside of us. 105 Professor Pierre Jacques Antoine Bechamp, in some circles, is regarded as one of the founders of modern medicine and biology. He was a man, although still relatively unknown, who deserves an honored place as one of the giants of modern science. As an academic icon and researcher in 19th century France, Bechamp was widely known as both a teacher and an innovator. Around 1854, while still a Professor at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Science at Strasbourg, he took up the study of fermentation. Bechamp believed that the body‘s environment produced a place for microorganisms to become diseased bacteria and that improving the body‘s internal environment could alter bacteria into harmless, even useful ―microzymia.‖ It was Miss Ethel Douglas Hume, author of the book Bechamp or Pasteur? written in 1923 was quoted in saying, ―Bechamp had demonstrated the connection between a disturbed state of body and the disturbed state of its indwelling particles, which, upon an unfortunate alteration in their surroundings, are hampered in their normal multiplication as healthy microzymas and are consequently prone to develop into organisms of varied shape, known as bacteria‖ (Hume, 1923). Bechamp believed that the germ theory was false and that illness was practically always due to errors of diet or manner of living. The germs being present solely as scavengers of dead and waste tissues and foods, and not as the cause of the disease. Since the 1850‘s, we have been developing new drugs to attack and kill the disease invaders and the result has been epidemics of cancers and sicknesses and diseases. To quote Bechamp, ―Bacteria are a symptom rather than the final cause of disease.‖ In the Pasteur vs Bechamp war, Pasteur won his point because he was politically in bed with Napoleon III where the money lived. And the simplicity of Pasteur‘s theory was as he stated, ―Germs live in the air, and every once in a while get into a human body, and cause illness. Nothing to it at all. All you have to do is kill germs and diseases is licked‖ (Pearson, 1942). 106 Now, mainstream medicine believes that virtually all illness is caused by germs or genetic hereditary weakness, as well as deformities and trauma injuries. Their solution and strategy is to have us believe that there are over 10,000 different diseases and that each of these diseases requires outside intervention from drugs and surgery. The truth is that most illness is due to cellular malfunction caused by cellular toxicities and cellular malnutrition, both of which can be avoided and overcome naturally. As the world‘s most famous nurse, Florence Nightingale, stated, "There are no specific diseases only specific disease conditions" (Pitcairn, 1911). However, once again, we are missing the very point that insects don‘t eat healthy plants. Germs don‘t make healthy people sick! At the turn of the twentieth century, people were becoming fragile, weak, susceptible, and sick. Just like the soil becoming deficient and the plants in turn became fragile, weak, susceptible, and sick so too came the insects. But, our choice of rectifying this problem was similar to Pasteur‘s thinking. He believed that germs get into our bodies and all we have to do is make drugs to kill those germs and the world would be rid of disease. So, the chemical companies took on the same believe in that when plants were getting sick and being eaten by insects all they had to do was make pesticides and chemicals to control and kill the insects and they would rid the farms of all their little pests! One disease that Pasteur couldn‘t find any germs for is diabetes. This disease, also known as Type 1 diabetes has been one of the most devastating diseases known to man, and it has been recognized for over two thousand years. However, there is no history of type 2 diabetes, or any other differentiation between different types of diabetes, until the twentieth century. It was not until 1935 that it was discovered that there were multiple types of diabetes, and it could be said that this is where the history of type 2 diabetes truly began. It was in 1935 that Roger Hinsworth discovered that there were, in fact, two different types of diabetes. Those which were sensitive to insulin, Type 1, and those that were not, 107 Type 2. It was the breakthrough of insulin in 1921 that made it possible for doctors when they noticed that insulin injections were having less of an effect on some diabetic patients. In the 1950's, a new medication was developed that is considered to be the beginnings of the history of type 2 diabetes treatments. From then on, type 2 diabetes history pretty much ran alongside that of type 1. Diabetes has grown worldwide at an alarming rate and according to various studies and the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes in the world is at least 240 million, and is expected to grow by 380 million by year 2025. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 285 million people around the world have diabetes. This total is expected to rise to 560 million within 20 years. Each year an additional 8-10 million people develop diabetes (International Diabetes Federation, 2011). Despite the differences in the projections by various health organizations, it is clear that diabetes is an ever-growing epidemic with no end in sight. It is now known that Type 2 diabetes is more related to your diet, lifestyle, and physical activity more so than being related to family genes. Starting in the second half of the 20th century, the prevalence of non-insulindependent, type 2 diabetes increased substantially when our soils were being treated with more chemicals and pesticides along with the produce being processed and refined (Cheraskin, 1968). Not only were people consuming more sugar in their diets, but also lacking a very important mineral in the soil and plants that would help the body metabolize sugar, and that would be chromium. Chromium is an essential mineral that controls insulin and is not only deficient in the soils today but is lost in processed foods. Chromium is one of the key minerals involved in controlling both blood sugar levels and fat levels. As the main component of Glucose 108 Tolerance Factor (GTF), chromium assists insulin in reducing blood glucose, by stimulating glucose uptake by the muscles and other tissues. A biologically active form of chromium participates in glucose metabolism by enhancing the effects of insulin. Insulin is secreted by specific cells in the pancreas called, islet cells or islets of Langerhans. Their function is in response to increased blood glucose levels, whether it be after a meal or emotional or physical stress. Insulin binds to insulin receptors on the surface of the islet cells, which activates the receptors and stimulates glucose uptake by cells. This interaction with insulin receptors provides the cells with glucose for energy and prevents blood glucose levels from becoming elevated. Insulin is not just involved in carbohydrate metabolism, but also influences the metabolism of fat and protein. Lack of insulin results in impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes, also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Type 2 diabetes is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels and insulin resistance (Food and Nutritional Board, 2001). According to some studies, Chromium Picolinate, a nutritional supplement, can have a significant effect on diabetes. Human studies have suggested that chromium picolinate decreases insulin levels and improves blood sugar metabolism in both obese people and people with type 2 diabetes. Richard Anderson, of the US Department of Agriculture, made a positive assessment of Chromium stating, ―Essentially all the studies using chromium picolinate supplementation for impaired glucose intolerance and diabetes showed a positive effect.‖ However, had individuals been getting enough of this mineral from their foods, and eating unrefined foods, could they have been preventing Type 2 diabetes? When chromium levels are low, the circulating level of GTF is low, and insulin is then less effective in reducing blood sugar. Blood sugar levels therefore remain high, stimulating further insulin release, which is still blocked from being effective. This cycle and 109 its exhausting effects are known as insulin resistance, the condition leading to up to full blown diabetes. There are several functions of Chromium in the body Regulation of blood sugar Moderates cholesterol levels Contributes to lean muscle mass Promotes arterial health Boosts immune system Stimulates protein synthesis 5.4.6 Chromium deficiency The short term symptoms of chromium deficiency are those of glucose intolerance, such as hypoglycemia and mood swings associated with rapid and large swings in blood glucose levels, especially after carbohydrate rich meals. This is especially important if the carbohydrates involved have a high glycemic index. Longer term, the problems can be expected are those associated with diabetes, which is an almost inevitable consequence of chromium deficiency. High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and obesity are all to be expected. Symptoms of Chromium deficiency Lack of energy/fatigue Inability to concentrate or focus mentally Abnormally elevated blood sugar Intestinal bloating and gas Sleepiness following a meal Rapid weight gain, inability to shed pounds Increased blood triglyceride level 110 High blood pressure Psychological depression Increased blood insulin level Increased LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) Decreased HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) Chromium also enhances glucose utilization within the brain. For this reason, a severe deficiency of chromium can cause fatigue, nerve damage and various psychiatric disorders. The standard American diet (or S.A.D.) includes very few chromium rich foods which make it very difficult for individuals to obtain the chromium they need from their diet. However, the foods that are supposed to be rich in chromium are still not up to the appropriate level to help a failing human system. The body is unable to make its own chromium and as aging takes place, the ability to absorb it becomes extremely difficult. Therefore, supplementation is required. There is little information and no official recommendations regarding chromium requirements. Studies have shown doses of 200 - 400 mcg/day to be effective in aiding weight loss, especially in the obese. A general guide is children, 50 - 150 mcg/day, adults 100-400mcg/day. In cases of obesity, doses up to 600 mcg a day have been shown to be effective and well-tolerated, possibly due to the poor absorption of some forms of chromium supplements. Table 7 Sources of Dietary Chromium Source mcg/100g Egg yolks 183 Molasses 121 111 Brewers yeast 117 Beef 57 Grape juice 47 Whole wheat Bread 42 Wheat Bran 38 Raw Cane Sugar 35 Rye Bread 30 Honey 29 Potatoes 27 Wheat Germ 23 Green bell Pepper 19 Chicken (leg) 18 Whole wheat pasta 15 Apple 14 Parsnips 13 Cornmeal 12 Spinach 10 Bananas 10 Carrots 9 Haddock 7 Blueberries 5 Source: National Institute of Health 112 5.4.7 Thyroid and Iodine The relationship between thyroid function and iodine levels within the body have been known for over 50 years. The thyroid gland has to make thyroid hormone and without adequate amounts of iodine present, it will fall short in doing so. T4 thyroid (levothyroxine) hormone has four iodine molecules attached to it while T3 thyroid (triiodothyronine) has only three. When there is not enough iodine in the body, the thyroid gland will be unable to make the necessary thyroid hormone which makes the gland susceptible to developing a goiter (Abraham, 2002). Lack of iodine in the soil translates to low levels of iodine within the food which then leads to poor thyroid function (Brownstein, 2002). Many areas of the world have soil that is so poor in iodine that these areas are referred to as the ―goiter belt.‖ There is an increased number of people dealing with goiters in these areas found in the inland region of the US, encompassing the Great Lakes, Midwest, and intermountain regions. Diets consistent of foods grown on iodine-depleted soil that have shown the development of goiter. Iodine deficiency is the number one cause of thyroid disorders. Beginning in the mid 20th century this deficiency was recognized as a simple problem with a simple treatment. But today, it is occurring at epidemic proportions. Approximately 1.5 billion people of the earth‘s population live in iodine-deficient areas (WHO, 2010). This includes vast areas of the United States where the iodine levels have fallen by 50% over the last 30 years and autoimmune disorders and hyperthyroid symptoms have been increasing at a rapid pace. In the 1800‘s, nearly 200 years ago, the soil was being robbed of its precious minerals and the probiotics were being killed by all the chemicals and insecticides. It was shown back then, that the cause of a goiter was iodine deficiency and the treatment of a goiter was the use of iodine. That is why in the 1920‘s, the United States added iodine to salt to help solve this issue. However, the amount of iodine added to salt is only 77 mcg per gram of salt which 113 does prevent a goiter, but is not adequate to manage the rest of the body‘s needs (Venkatesh, 1995). Most importantly, iodized salt is insufficient for maintaining proper thyroid function (Brownstein, 2002). Fluoride blocks the uptake and utilization of iodide, which is a compound of iodine, in target cells (Abraham, 2007). Fluoride has been found to inhibit the thyroid along with fluoride symptoms having many similarities to low thyroid. This showed up in children in India who had fluoride in their blood were also diagnosed with thyroid abnormality. Fluoride poisoning reached as far as South Africa as it was found to cause goiters there. A government-sponsored report has concluded that levels of fluoride that people are regularly exposed to in drinking water can cause serious malfunctioning of the thyroid gland, leading to even more serious health problems. Fluoride depresses thyroid activity (Von Mundy, 1963). 5.4.8 Fluorinated Pesticides Fluoride pesticides are bioaccumulations found in humans, wildlife, and soil. The main pesticides are: Cryolite: (sodium aluminum fluoride) - mainly used on grapes, fruits, and potatoes. EPA allows fluoride tolerances of 7 ppm, except for kiwifruit, which has a residue tolerance of 15 ppm (Archer, 1979). Sulfuryl fluoride is an acutely toxic fumigant received its first-time approval for use on stored food commodities (raw and processed) in the US in January 2004. This approval allows the highest levels of fluoride residue levels in food in the history of the EPA. Sodium fluoride or fluoride salts are used to enhance the strength of teeth by the formation of fluorapatite, a naturally occurring component of tooth enamel. Although sodium fluoride is also used to fluoridate water and, indeed, is the standard by which other water-fluoridation compounds are gauged, the lethal dose for a 154 lb human is estimated at 5–10 gm. Sodium 114 fluoride is classed as toxic by both inhalation (of dusts or aerosols) and ingestion. In high enough doses, it has been shown to affect the heart and circulatory system (Bourne, 1986). Fluorinated pesticides are called, "organofluorines" to describe organic pesticides containing fluorine in their chemical formula. The toxicity of the fluorinated compound is not due to the release of a free fluoride ion, but to the particular molecular structure of the compound. It appears that fluorinated pesticides are used to intensify pesticide and biological activity (Fluoride Action Network, 2007). 5.5 Genetically Modified Organisms By now, over 200 years of soil destruction causing plants to become sick and fragile sitting ducks waiting for voracious insects to consume them, the choice was made to create stronger more powerful pesticides. It is in the nature of insects to mutate in order to survive each insecticide used upon them. Constant utilization of any insecticide allowed the insects to acquire a natural tolerance and immunity to it. However, one such chemical, known as Ready Roundup by Monsanto Chemical Company, became the weapon of choice against the new breed of pests, mutating weeds. Pesticides are generally chemicals, biological agents, antimicrobial, or disinfectants. They are designed to repel, control, attract and then terminate pests. They are commonly, but not always, made to kill or poison their targets. Herbicides are often used to control all types of weeds in industrial areas. They are also often used on roadways and railroad tracks to prevent unwanted plant or weed obstructions on the tracks. Selective types of herbicides, such as Monsanto‘s Ready Roundup, are more commonly used on gardens, lawns, and golf courses, since the desire is to only kill specific weeds and not to eradicate all the plants (Institute For Responsible Technology, 2011). 115 5.5.1 Glyphosate More than 30% of all herbicides sprayed contain glyphosate which is known as the world‘s bestselling weed killer. It was patented by Monsanto for use in their Roundup brand, which became more popular when they introduced ―Roundup Ready‖ crops starting in 1996 (Institute For Responsible Technology, 2011). Figure 82. Alfalfa Nutrients reduced by Glyphostate. Third year, second cutting analysis. Glyphosate applied one time in the previous year. Illustration from Infinite Unknown What‘s interesting is that the herbicide doesn‘t destroy plants directly. Indirectly, it creates conditions that stirs up disease-causing organisms in the soil, and at the same time wipes out plant defenses against those diseases (Institute For Responsible Technology, 2011). These genetically modified organism (GMO) plants, which include soy, corn, cotton, canola, and sugar beets, have inserted genetic material from viruses and bacteria that allows the crops to withstand applications of normally deadly Roundup (Institute For Responsible Technology, 2011). Among the issues with GMOs, the manufacture of herbicide tolerant (HT) biotech crops, particularly Monsanto's Ready Roundup crops, has resulted in the creation of hard-to-kill "superweeds" (Randerson, 2002). 116 These so-called 'superweeds' result from accidental crosses between neighboring crops that have been genetically modified to resist different herbicides. Farmers are often forced to resort to older stronger herbicides to remove them (Randerson, 2002). Figure 83. Wheat affected after 10 years of glyphosate field applications. Illustration from Infinite Unknown There is new research, today, that exposes disastrous ecological damage of these genetically modified (GM) crops that are tolerant to Ready Roundup with Glyphosate. Glyphosate is the chemical name for that compound that is attributed for herbicidal action. Ready Roundup is a formulated product that includes other components other than glyphosate in order to increase its penetration into plant cells or its activity as an herbicide. When you have a genetically engineered crop that‘s resistant to glyphosate, that not only permits the wider use of the glyphosate, the extended exposure to it, but it also permits the application directly upon that crop which we are consuming. 5.5.2 Glyphosate poisons the soil for all plants What you see after continued use of these herbicides are groups of organisms that cease to exist in the soil. There is a dramatic change within the soil‘s microflora which increases soil diseases. This is because glyphosate is not only a very powerful herbicide but also a dangerously powerful biocide that stimulates soil born-diseases and affects the nutrient 117 bioavailability for the crops. One of the organisms that disappear from the soil because of glyphosate are those organisms that make manganese available to the plants. When manganese is reduced within the plants, they become susceptible to pathogens that cause disease to the plant (Huber, 2010) Figure 84. Glyphosate (N-(phoshonomethyl)glycine) Glyphosate (N-(phoshonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum herbicide initially patented by Monsanto in the 1970s under the trade name Roundup. In 2010, Dr. Don M. Huber speaks of an epidemic of Goss‘s Wilt on corn and sudden death on soy beans. The farmers have had to increase the usage of glyphosate in order to get a handle on killing more than usual pathogens within the soil. As an herbicide, its primary action is to suppress resistance and increase disease. Any weed that is killed by glyphosate increases its susceptibly to diseases. The quality of these crops that are produced for food or feed, they are finding very high population of these pathogens that cause disease (Huber, 2010). The ecological disaster has been unfolding amid mounting evidence of the herbicide adverse impacts on human and animal health (Ho, 2009). Research published in 1979 already showed that glyphosate absorbed through plant foliage after application was transported systemically toward the roots and eventually released into the rhizopshere (the narrow region of soil that is directly influenced by root secretions and associated soil microorganisms) where it changes the whole ecology of the soil, resulting in increased colonization of plant roots by pathogenic species such as Fusarium and Phytophorthora, as well as Pythium in bean plants. 118 Figure 85 . Corn with Fusarium, Cuccumber with Phytophorthora, and French beans with Pythium. Illustration from WikiGardener In addition, glyphosate increases excretion of an underlying layer from roots that may be metabolized by specific pathogens, such as amino acids and glyphosate itself, thus feeding these pathogens to flourish. In the meantime, glyphosate and its breakdown products such as Aminomethylphosphonic Acid Accumulation (AMPA) are poisonous to susceptible organisms, many of which are beneficial (Reddy, 2004). Pseudomonas are important multifunctional bacteria in the rhizospere that produce numerous off-shoot metabolites that suppress harmful microbes. These are known as gammaproteobacteria, belonging to the family Pseudomonadaceae. Gammaproteobacteria is a class of several medically, ecologically and scientifically important groups of bacteria, such as the Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia coli), Vibrionaceae and Pseudomonadaceae. Glyphosate and Glyphosate Tolerant (GT) soybean significantly decrease these beneficial Pseudomonas species in the rhizosphere, thereby further encouraging the growth of the fungal pathogens by suppressing their bacterial antagonists. Manganese oxidation and reduction are primarily carried out by bacteria in the rhizosphere, and have a major impact on plant nutrient availability and metabolism. Oxidation of manganese is suspected by many of being a means by which a bacterial cell obtains its energy. A low ratio of organisms that reduce manganese to manganese oxidizers was found for GT soybean treated with glyphosate compared with non-GT soybean, suggesting less manganese is available for the plant. 119 It has now been noted that glyphosate is being released through the roots of dying plants (weeds) and will be transferred to living plants nearby that are not treated with glyphosate via the roots. This is showing that glyphosate applied to weeds or other vegetation is being transferred to trees and causing disease and yield losses (Ho and Cherry, 2010). GT crops and glyphosate use have become serious threats to the sustainability of agriculture and food production. It appears through observation that the use of glyphosate and the Monsanto‘s Roundup Ready cropping system that this presents major threats to human and animal health. 5.5.3 Estrogen Toxicity There was an urgent message delivered at the third meeting of the open-ended ad hoc Working Group on Bio-safety of the UN-Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal (see Appendix 1). On October 13, 1997 it was issued because plant estrogens are known to effect humans, especially young children, who are very susceptible. Monsanto genetically engineered soybeans are in approximately 60% of soybean products you have probably ingested today! 5.6 Solution It would have never been a huge expense or large undertaking to restore the soils to a good balance to prevent the intoxication of chemicals and fragility of the plants making them subjects of desire for insects. This would have been a prophylactic beginning to control of human and animal diseases. Each farmer could have determined by analysis the precise chemistry of the soil and then corrected any deficiencies by adding to the soil the missing elements in order to restore its balance. A good practice for the modern day physician to keep in mind. As of today, human beings are paying the price for the decision that was ignored to replenish the soil rather than poison it. 120 Due to the advancement of chemistry, we are far more knowledgeable in deciphering which minerals and probiotics are lacking where as in the earlier years, chemistry with insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides seemed to be the quick fix. As seen by the lettuce and wheatgrass trials, if soils are seriously deficient in minerals and probiotics the plants cannot produce plant life competent to maintain our needs. With continuing the practice of tiling and stripping the soils, the loss of nutritional components needed for quality plants dissipate and the health conditions only becomes worse. It is important to note that human beings need to protect themselves from infection or disease by taking in an adequate supply of minerals through our food and to achieve a nutritional balance. In doing so, it is possible to create a natural method of immunization. For human beings are not drug deficient but nutritionally deficient. If we had focused our attention on prevention of disease by choosing to restore nature back to its balance, the cure for most illnesses might not have become the straw that is breaking the economic system. Once the soil was robbed of vital nutrients, the individual became the victim waiting to be slaughtered by the chemicals brought forth by the pharmaceutical companies and chemical corporations. There is no prejudice when it comes to disease, as it preys on the undernourishment and unfit plants, animals, and human beings. As medicine treats the symptoms and ignores the source, perhaps returning to the basis of nature would force medicine to rewrite the books. But, it is really up to the public to begin demanding quality foods, no chemicals, and stop consuming foods that have been birthed out of Frankstein methods. The farmers are looking for bigger and better crops which means a good economic condition for them without subjecting any damaging chemicals to their land which in the long run will take its toll. Minerals and probiotics can be replaced overnight, but repairing the damage done by 121 chemicals may take years. If we start now, the world could begin improving immediately. For if we don‘t try to heal the sick soils the sick people will never find their cures! APENDEX I 122 URGENT APPEAL TO ALL GOVERNMENTS TO REVOKE THE MARKET APPROVAL OF MONSANTO'S RR-SOYBEAN Montreal, 13 October 1997 We the undersigned scientists ask all governments to use whatever methods are available to them to bar from their markets on grounds of injury to public health Monsanto's genetically engineered Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans. In the case of the European Union, of course, we urge the individual governments to invoke Article 16 (Directive 90/220). We make this appeal on the following bases: 1) There is clear scientific evidence that application of glyphosate can increase the level of plant estrogens. This has been shown for the bean Vicia faba by German researchers (Sandermann and Wellmann, 1988, in Biosafety, p. 285-292, ed: German Ministry of Research and Technology). Soya belongs to the same plant family (legumes) as these beans. 2) Plant estrogens are known to affect mammals including humans. 3) Feeding experiments were done on cows with transgenic and ordinary soybeans by Monsanto. A statistically significant difference in the daily milk fat production between the test groups was found. Those fed transgenic RR-soybeans produced more fat per day than those fed ordinary soya. All test groups had the same intake of soya per day (Hammond et al., Journal of Nutrition, 1996). We conclude that this is an indication of a substantial difference between the transgenic and the non-transgenic soybean. 4). Monsanto's application for market approval provided no data on estrogen levels of RR-soybeans sprayed with glyphosate. All data provided on the concentration level of different compounds in RR-soybeans was derived from unsprayed beans. Despite the lack of information on sprayed beans, RR-soybeans were approved. And sprayed beans have since entered the food chain. 123 We are concerned that the increased milk fat production by cows fed RR-soybeans may be a direct consequence of higher estrogen levels in those soybeans. Growing numbers of children are dependent on soy-milk due to allergic reactions to cow's milk. Young children are especially susceptible to elevated levels of estrogen. Thus there is a clear and serious health issue at hand. There is urgent need for further and independent scientific investigation. In adherence to the precautionary principle, until these investigations are completed, RRsoybeans should no longer be allowed to enter the food chain (Sandermann, 1988). 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