Socrates, the great philosopher, was accused of corrupting the youth of Athens and sentenced to death. However, he chose not to flee but to spend his final days in the company of his friends before drinking the executioner's cup of poisonous hemlock. He sacrificed his life for the right philosophy and proven to the generations that the politicians are wrong and the philosopher is right. The philosophers eventually became scientists and scientists should have Strongness of Will to stand on scientific truth.
Weakness of Will is the action of doing wrong when one generously knows what is right and is used when perceived personal benefits seem outweigh the damages.
I read several standard journal articles pertinent to chemical and biological quality of organic fertilizer produced in China. International Journal of Environmental Research on Public Health, 2019 March 16/61 has published an article on trace metal concentrations of organic fertilizer in Northern China. The researchers have analyzed 117 different organic fertilizer formulations and measured their heavy metal contents.
Quoting results that they have published, the concentrations of heavy metals in these formulations are as follows.
Cr 2.74-151.15 mg per kg or ppm
Ni 2.94-49.35 ppm
Cu 0.76 - 378.32 ppm
Zn 0.30 - 1748.01 ppm
As 1.54 - 23.96 ppm
Cd 2.74 - 151.15 ppm
Pb 1.60 - 151.09 ppm.
While all these heavy metals in these concentrations are harmful to human and animal health the most dangerous ones are Cr, As, Cd and Pb which are exceeding Chinese Organic Fertilizer Standards by 0.85%, 5.98%, 1.71% and 4.27% according to the researchers who published this article. They have used Monte Carlo simlulations to investigate the accumulation of these heavy metals in crops due to repeated application of fertilizer on soil.
These are the types of organic fertilizers: Compost, Blood meal, Bone meal, Cottonseed meal, Fish emulsion and Feather meal. Animal manures and sewage sludges which are called biosolids are the major components used in making organic fertilizers together with dry leaves of plants, stove and grass. The chicken feed, pig feed and cattle feed are supplemented with various chemicals to stimulate growth and feed efficiency. For example, the chemicals added to chicken feed include arsellinic acid, copper sulfate, cadmium, calcium, chlorine, cobalt, cerium, dysprosium, iron, lanthanum, magnesium, strontium, selenium, titanium, uranium, vanadium and zinc. Not all of these chemicals are metabolized in chicken and most of them are released in the manure. These chemicals are added mainly in large scale farms with more than 10,000 pigs and 5000 cattle are common in these countries. Up to 200,000 tons of antibiotics are used per annum by humans and administered to farm animals. About 70% are consumed as growth promoters in veterinary farms. Such a massive utilization of antibiotics in veterinary practices are in China, Russia, Europe and the USA where China is reported as the largest producer and user of antibiotics. These excessive amounts of antibiotics and their metabolized products accumulate in their manure and eventually end up in organic fertilizer. Such a vast exposure to antibiotics results in the development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. This antibiotic resistance has become a major issue worldwide and alternatives have to be developed to treat bacterial infections causing diseases. Additionally, organic fertilizer is an excellent medium for growth of various microorganisms and are contaminated with invading weeds. The sterilization techniques are expensive and include heating at desired temperatures for several hours, microwave heating, gamma ray irradiation and beta ray irradiation, the latter two methods are the most efficient but most costly when hundreds and millions of tons are to be sterilized. Sterilization can destroy microorganisms but the medium is favorable for re-contamination and growth. None of the sterilization methods described above can remove heavy metals and antibiotic residues. Therefore, the importing organic fertilizer is a very sensitive issue that has to be tackled with utmost care. The advisors should not have weaknesses of will!
Weakness of Will is the action of doing wrong when one generously knows what is right and is used when perceived personal benefits seem outweigh the damages.
I read several standard journal articles pertinent to chemical and biological quality of organic fertilizer produced in China. International Journal of Environmental Research on Public Health, 2019 March 16/61 has published an article on trace metal concentrations of organic fertilizer in Northern China. The researchers have analyzed 117 different organic fertilizer formulations and measured their heavy metal contents.
Quoting results that they have published, the concentrations of heavy metals in these formulations are as follows.
Cr 2.74-151.15 mg per kg or ppm
Ni 2.94-49.35 ppm
Cu 0.76 - 378.32 ppm
Zn 0.30 - 1748.01 ppm
As 1.54 - 23.96 ppm
Cd 2.74 - 151.15 ppm
Pb 1.60 - 151.09 ppm.
While all these heavy metals in these concentrations are harmful to human and animal health the most dangerous ones are Cr, As, Cd and Pb which are exceeding Chinese Organic Fertilizer Standards by 0.85%, 5.98%, 1.71% and 4.27% according to the researchers who published this article. They have used Monte Carlo simlulations to investigate the accumulation of these heavy metals in crops due to repeated application of fertilizer on soil.
These are the types of organic fertilizers: Compost, Blood meal, Bone meal, Cottonseed meal, Fish emulsion and Feather meal. Animal manures and sewage sludges which are called biosolids are the major components used in making organic fertilizers together with dry leaves of plants, stove and grass. The chicken feed, pig feed and cattle feed are supplemented with various chemicals to stimulate growth and feed efficiency. For example, the chemicals added to chicken feed include arsellinic acid, copper sulfate, cadmium, calcium, chlorine, cobalt, cerium, dysprosium, iron, lanthanum, magnesium, strontium, selenium, titanium, uranium, vanadium and zinc. Not all of these chemicals are metabolized in chicken and most of them are released in the manure. These chemicals are added mainly in large scale farms with more than 10,000 pigs and 5000 cattle are common in these countries. Up to 200,000 tons of antibiotics are used per annum by humans and administered to farm animals. About 70% are consumed as growth promoters in veterinary farms. Such a massive utilization of antibiotics in veterinary practices are in China, Russia, Europe and the USA where China is reported as the largest producer and user of antibiotics. These excessive amounts of antibiotics and their metabolized products accumulate in their manure and eventually end up in organic fertilizer. Such a vast exposure to antibiotics results in the development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. This antibiotic resistance has become a major issue worldwide and alternatives have to be developed to treat bacterial infections causing diseases. Additionally, organic fertilizer is an excellent medium for growth of various microorganisms and are contaminated with invading weeds. The sterilization techniques are expensive and include heating at desired temperatures for several hours, microwave heating, gamma ray irradiation and beta ray irradiation, the latter two methods are the most efficient but most costly when hundreds and millions of tons are to be sterilized. Sterilization can destroy microorganisms but the medium is favorable for re-contamination and growth. None of the sterilization methods described above can remove heavy metals and antibiotic residues. Therefore, the importing organic fertilizer is a very sensitive issue that has to be tackled with utmost care. The advisors should not have weaknesses of will!
