photo from Gentle World

by Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Vegetables are often grown using slaughterhouse byproducts. Fertilizers and soil amendments made primarily of blood, bone, feather, or fishmeal, not to mention manure, are common additives.

Unfortunately, even certified organic vegetables have likely been grown in fields literally brimming with excrement from livestock that was fed with pesticide-treated grains. The animals likely have been raised on synthetic hormones or prophylactic antibiotics to ward off disease from close confinement. As recent headlines about the H5N1 avian flu virus infecting cows and humans can attest, there are no ways to ward off all diseases in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs).

So, what’s a concerned consumer to do? Some individuals grow their own produce using vegan fertilizers. There are plenty of ways to concoct your own blend from only plant-based sources so you can rest assured that what you’re eating is vegan.

Limited space is not a barrier to entry. Vegan gardening works in containers on balconies and stoops, in raised beds on rooftops, in backyard gardens, or in open community plots. Anyone can grow their own with a bit of persistence.

But there is another solution: seek out farms practicing veganic agriculture. See: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2025issue1/2025_issue1_veganic_agriculture.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php