Sewage - Based Fertilizer Safety Doubted

http://www.ag.auburn.edu/aaes/communications/highlights/fall96/cattl e.htm

There is a 30 year government policy that encourages farmers to spread millions of tons of sewage over their land as an alternative to commercial fertilizer. The government states that there is no downfall from using it. The give away program is much cheaper for the government than to have it incinerated. A few farmers had problems with their herds dying. They found that the soil, crops, and milk contained high levels of contaminates. When they reported the problem, the government did not follow through and investigate the situation.
After reading this article I was outraged. I have no faith in our government regulating the food we eat. We hear in the news more and more about how contaminated food is reaching the shelves, only to recall it after hundreds of people get sick from it. The government should be held more accountable for the food we eat. A health issue was reported about the sewage contaminating our food sources and they chose not to do anything. They claim that they didn’t have enough money to do broader state testing of cows. I believe that the government gets paid too much for the job they do. Maybe we should sanction their pay and use that money to fund better testing of the food. I would think that food, water, and soil would be a high priority for the government. If we contaminate our environment, how can we continue to stay healthy? Before we know it there will be no place to grow food, clean water to drink, or cows for meat or dairy. The government knows this is going on and they must take responsibility to make sure it doesn’t continue. What will be left for future generations?

Sheila B