It is a worrying path we tread...

[Sleepy]

Gardeners across Britain are reaping a bitter harvest of rotten potatoes, withered salads and deformed tomatoes after an industrial herbicide tainted their soil. Caroline Davies reports on how the food chain became contaminated and talks to the angry allotment owners whose plots have been destroyed

Gardeners have been warned not to eat home-grown vegetables contaminated by a powerful new herbicide that is destroying gardens and allotments across the UK.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has been inundated with calls from concerned gardeners who have seen potatoes, beans, peas, carrots and salad vegetables wither or become grossly deformed. The society admitted that it had no idea of the extent of the problem, but said it appeared 'significant'. The affected gardens and allotments have been contaminated by manure originating from farms where the hormone-based herbicide aminopyralid has been sprayed on fields.

Dow AgroSciences, which manufactures aminopyralid, has posted advice to allotment holders and gardeners on its website. Colin Bowers, Dow's UK grassland marketing manager, told The Observer that links to their products had been proved in some of the cases, but it was not clear whether aminopyralid was responsible for all of them and tests were continuing. 'It is undoubtedly a problem,' he said, 'and I have got full sympathy for everyone who is involved with this.'

www.dowagro.com/uk/grass_bites/faq/allotment.htm?filepath=&fromPage=BasicSearch

[4pygmies]

I mentioned this on the board the other week, I do feel so very sorry for the people who have had their crops affected. The scary thing, as far as I'm concerned, is that the powers that be are advising that these crops can still be eaten! Are they bonkers? They had no idea that the ingredients of the herbicide would still be active after passing through cows and being composted...are they really sure they will have no adverse effect on humans? I doubt it, I really do.....
I know I bang on about it but really the only way is to step off this path and reduce our dependency on others for our staple foods. We can all contribute by growing our own food, (organically) to some degree, no matter how small our gardens, by refusing to believe what we are told about the safety of these substances (often such information comes from people employed, directly or indirectly by the companies who make the stuff), by trying to support the local organic farmers and making a fuss about our food at supermarkets, which is most people's point of purchase and the point where most of the farmers sell their produce. And by making sure that we know the provenance of all the composts and fertilisers we put on our crops - ie making our own......or getting it from organic sources....

[karenwl]

Just seen this im not sure if there are any problems on our allotments but a lot of us have had manure delivered last season i will print this off and take it to my next committe meeting.

Thanks Karen xx

[emseypop]

A large number of plots at my new allotment site used this manure Luckily our plot was unaffected.