Stone Organic Pastures

USDA Certified Organic

Here is a book which tells you in

 

detail everything about Dr. Maynard Murray's 

 

research and findings:

 

 

 

 

 

excerpts fromSea Energy Agriculture Nature's Ideal Trace Element Blend
for Farm, Livestock and Humans

 

Maynard Murray, M.D.

 

Preface Sometimes one has to say difficult things,
but one has to say them as simply as possible.

G.P. Hardy, A Mathematician's Apology

Life in the sea, both animal and

vegetable, is far healthier than similar

life on land. Why? Some people

believe that the buoyancy of a

water environment ameliorates much

of the stress and trauma experienced

by creatures constantly combating

the forces of gravity. Although

buoyancy may be a partial factor, it

cannot explain why the same species

of trout lives twice as long in the saline

ocean water as it does in fresh water.

This curious health phenomenon

indicates that the sea provides its

creatures a totally balanced and

adequate physiological and

chemical diet, while fresh water and

rain-washed land masses do not.

Questions posed by the radical

health differences between sea life

and our landlocked environment

have occupied my research efforts,

as a practicing physician and

physiologist, for the past fortyfive

years. This report is the result of my

lifelong search to open doors to a

provocative new arena of science

and technology called sea energy

agriculture; and it is quite possible

that this new field of endeavor could

lead to the end of disease and

famine.

 

Such a prospect is most encouraging,

since our world is now on the verge of

a terrible crisis in agriculture and food

production. Of course, there is much

more to be learned, but my efforts

have tried to establish a firm

foundation for future research. Life is

far too short for one person to guard

selfishly any new facts he may

discover. Therefore, 1 am revealing all

I have learned even though some of

the data are not yet complete. Many

minds are better than one, and it is

my hope that from this beginning,

enthusiasm will be generated which

will bring active, probing minds into

the field. The results of my initial

research must be amplified and

technologically developed in order to

best serve mankind.

 

A large portion of our aggregate

lifetime and total resources is spent

combating illness and trying to

withstand the ravages of aging. It is

paradoxical that despite the great

variety of foods that we have

developed to nourish our bodies, we

still suffer degenerative diseases and

fall prey to the aging process long

before the optimum lifespan for

humans is reached. It has been said

time and again that we are what we

eat. This truism complements the

simple fact that although we,

Americans, have greater

abundance, and perhaps a more

balanced diet, than most of our

primitive forbears, our intake of vital,

life-sustaining elements is woefully

inadequate. The people of the United

States are the best fed, chemically

starved people in the world.

 

It is difficult to keep accurate statistics

in a nation as large as ours, but in

recent years statistical studies of

disease have improved

considerably—and the data

revealed are frightening. There is a

tremendous increase in the

frequency of chronic and metabolic

ailments. My research clearly

indicates the reason Americans

generally lack a complete

physiological chemistry is that the

balanced, essential elements of the

soil have eroded to the sea;

consequently, crops are nutritionally

poor, and the animals eating these

plants are, therefore, nutritionally

poor. Our scientific efforts to isolate

and synthesize what has been

learned about the essential properties

of soils and fertilizers are impressive;

but man's methods apparently have

not satisfactorily duplicated nature's

methods. Something is obviously

lacking.

 

As a scientist, I have great respect for

what our technology has

accomplished, but it is imperative

that we accept a junior partnership

with nature. If we do, she may allow

us to survive. If we do not, she

undoubtedly will eliminate us just as

surely as she exterminated the

brontosaurus, the woolly mammoth

and all the other creatures who once

also "ruled the earth." To join this junior

partnership we tnust alter the way

we grow our food, the way we

protect our plants from pests and

disease, and the way we process our

food.

 

Many prevailing beliefs about soil and

plant growth are erroneous and must

be discarded. My experiments have

proven that an adequate supply of

food can be developed if man

recycles the sea. Since 1936, 1 have

been experimenting to determine

what elements in the sea harbor the

secret of healthy plant life, which

elements, in turn, contribute to the

health of the animals who eat this

plant life. I became interested in

hydroponics, the art of growing crops

in liquid solution without soil, as a

means of discovering and controlling

the elements that should be present

in the nutrients available to the plants

in my experiments. I tried solutions

made from evaporated sea water, or

sea solids, to determine what means

of balance were available in the

natural sea water and the effect on

plants. Sodium chloride, the major

component of sea water, is normally

toxic to plants. However, my method

prevents the salinity from affecting

the root structure of the plants.

 

From the start, my sea solids

experiments produced excellent

results, and it has now been

conclusively proven that the

proportions of the trace minerals and

elements present in sea water are

optimum for the growth and health

of both land and sea life. In 1954,

controlled crop experiments were

conducted. Corn, oats and

soybeans, three staple feeds, were

used. Ten acres treated with sea solids

and ten control acres of corn, ten

acres treated with sea solids and ten

control acres of oats, and six acres

treated with sea solids and six control

acres of soybeans were grown.

Subsequently, the produce was fed

to animals and under controlled

conditions—four parts corn, two parts

oats, and one part soybeans. Not

only were the experimental crops

superior to the control crops, but the

effects upon the physiology and

pathology of the animals fed the sea

solids produce were delightfully

amazing. For example, chickens, pigs

and cattle fed sea solids produce

reached maturity much sooner than

control animals, and all resisted

diseases common to their species

better than control animals.

Experimentally fed pigs carried over

the benefits into a second

generation; and there were no runts

in the litters, which is something that

"always happens" in a litter of pigs

and is a sign of malnutrition.

 

My background includes a B.S.

degree in 1934, and an M.D. from the

University of Cincinnati College of

Medicine in 1936. Two additional

years of postgraduate study in

internal medicine followed, with

three-and-a-half years in ear, nose

and throat surgery. While in Cincinnati

between 1937 and 1947, I taught

physiology and directed a number of

experiments at the College of

Medicine. I studied law at night

school and was trained in medical

hypnosis. My membership in

professional societies includes the

Association of Medical Hypnotism, the

New York Academy of Sciences, the

American Association for the

Advancement of Science, the

American Medical Association,

Chicago Medical Society and the

Illinois State Medical Society.

 

In 1947, I moved to Chicago, where

for the next twenty-five years I

practiced otolaryngology. At the

same time I carried on extensive

experimentation with sea solids

fertilization, which led to my patented

sea solids technology developed on

the land, and hydroponically as

seaponics, as well as numerous

articles published in national and

international scientific journals.

 

I do not relish being critical of current

practice and theory; and certainly I

do not wish to be accused of self-

righteousness. My criticism is meant to

be constructive; and if the results of

my lifelong work eventually lead to

less suffering and illness for mankind,

all debate and difficulties will have

been worthwhile.

 

 

Chapter 2     Recycle the Sea for Better Health

We cannot impose our wills on nature

unless we first ascertain what her will is.

Working without regard to law brings

 

nothing but failure;

working with law enables us to do what

 

seemed at first impossible.

—Ralph Tyler Flewelling

The waters of the oceans hold the perfect

balance of those essential elements required

as food for the complex cell groups that

make up our bodies. This is my thesis—now

for the proofs.

 

When I was a student at the University of

Cincinnati in 1932, 1 at tempted to induce

cancer into a toad, but was astonished to

note that the amphibian seemed to have a

natural immunity. This laboratory incident

precipitated the beginning of a lifelong

search for an explanation. Some decades

ago I fed crops grown with recycled

seawater to various farm animals and

obtained remarkable health and growth

results which confirmed my theories.

 

A cubic foot of ocean water sustains many

more times the number of living organisms,

plants and animals than does the equivalent

amount of soil. Seawater is literally alive,

especially where the temperature of the

water is warm.

 

Of special interest is the fact that the aging

process does not appear to occur in the sea.

A comparison between the cells of a huge,

adult whale and cells taken from a newly

born whale will show no evidence of the

chemical changes observed when

comparing cells of adult and newborn land

mammals. There are some denizens of the

sea that apparently never cease growing.

One need only compare the size of land

turtles with sea turtles to realize the

tremendous difference.

 

I am convinced the difference in size and

longevity is due to the complete, balanced

chemistry provided by the sea. There are no

chronic diseases found among fish and

animal life in the sea that can compare to

those on land.

 

In man, most cells are replaced within about

eighteen months. If the requirements for

certain elements are not supplied by food

ingested as cell division occurs, dilution

becomes apparent until critical elements are

nonexistent in the organism. This shortage of

essential elements does not occur in the sea.

Why aren't these vital elements in our food?

 

When our cells must compensate for the

dilution, or lack of elements, then they lose

their resistance to disease. Remember that

our bodies are host to an enormous number

of microbes that eagerly pounce when the

slightest breakdown in cell function occurs.

 

Our frightening increase in chronic disease

and the sorrowful process of aging can be

attributed to the absence of a complete,

balanced physiological chemistry.

 

If the necessary elements are not found in our

food, where are they? Certainly nature

provided them. The answer is they have

departed from our soils due to continuous

taking of crops and the process of erosion.

Most crops require an average of forty

elements from the soil. In no case do fertilizers

add more than twelve, and most

commercial fertilizers add a maximum of six

elements.

 

 

 

The single most devastating source of

depletion of soil is water leaching. Even on

relatively level land tremendous leaching

occurs and has been taking place for

thousands and thousands of years.

Ultimately, the various leached elements,

because they are in water solution, flow

down to the sea.

 

For countless centuries the vital elements

have been eroded into the sea. What state

are they in while mixed with our vast

oceans? Analysis of seawater shows a

constant proportional balance of all the

water-soluble elements. Three and one-half

percent, by weight, of seawater is composed

of sea salts, or sea solids. Chemical analysis

shows that all the elements in the Atomic

Table are present, with the possible

exception of some of the gases.

 

I used these sea solids as plant food in

experiments to prove that these elements in

perfect balance will grow chemically

perfect plants. I did not try to synthesize

anything, but merely took what nature

already offered.

 

My first experiments were in 1938. Since then

I've carried out literally hundreds of

experiments involving feeding plants

nothing except sea solids mixed with tap

water and a minor but fertilizing amount of a

water-soluble nitrogen, such as ammonium

nitrate, sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate,

calcium nitrate and the like. Invariably the

result has been the same—healthier, more

productive crops.

 

Early in the experimental game I learned

that hydroponics—which is feeding nutrients

to plants without soil—gave me better control

over the plant diet. Dried, natural sea solids

were dissolved in plain water, using

approximately 112 pounds of sea solids to

10,000 gallons of water—a damn

economical mix. The only nutrition my

experimental crops received was sea solids

in solution, which bathed their roots a few

times each day. The plants flourished as no

plants have flourished in this modern day of

fertilized soil. The contrast in the experimental

crops with the control crops grown by normal

commercial methods was truly exciting. The

taste difference was very significant,

especially in tomatoes and carrots. The

production rate was considerably higher

and the resistance to disease was apparent.

 

The second line of experimentation was to

put these evaporated sea solids directly on

the soil as fertilizer. We actually used as much

as 3000 pounds per acre—and I know

eyebrows are being raised now!

 

But in the presence of the other elements

found in seawater, sodium and chlorine are

not toxic to plants. Actually, salt may be

necessary for the absorption of the heavier

elements. It is known that a saline solution will

pick up a greater quantity and variety of

elements than ordinary water solution.

 

We planted fields side by side so that one

experimental plot used sea solids mixed into

the soil as fertilizer and one control plot used

the best commercial methods available. The

results were similar to those with hydroponics.

Sea solids-fertilized crops grew faster, were

healthier and produced a far greater yield.

Colors of the plants also differed and a taste

difference was obvious. Animals, both wild

and domestic, had no trouble determining

which was better for them to eat; and a walk

through a field of oats showed us a glimpse

of animal heaven. Rabbits and mice

scurried everywhere, yet the minute we

stepped into the control area where standard

fertilizers had been used, it was almost lifeless

so far as the animals were concerned.

 

We put tape around some green stalks of

field corn to identify them as having come

from our experimental field. We mixed the

experimental with control stalks and placed

them in the feed lot for cattle and sheep. We

watched as the animals munched away. It

was immediately apparent which stalks they

preferred, because after once sampling an

experimental stalk, the animals would nuzzle

and burrow in the pile to find another stalk,

ignoring the control stalks until they had no

other choice.

 

To prove further that animal instinct knows

best, we treated a section of clover field

covering about 100 square feet with sea

solids. When the clover grew to about six

inches, sheep were let out to graze. They

walked and grazed until they came to the

treated spot, then ate until the clover within

the treated area was nubbed to the ground.

 

Feeding experiments with steers showed they

had greater weight gain while eating less of

the experimental feed. Farmers ought to

appreciate that!

 

We used 306 freshly hatched chicks and

designated 153 control and 153

experimental. The experimental group was

fed a commercial concentrate and oats

along with corn and soybeans grown on sea

solids-treated soil. Control chicks were fed the

same diet with the exception that all feed

was grown on nontreated soil. At the end of

six months, the experimental roosters

weighed a full 1.5 pounds more than

controls. Experimental hens laid eggs for the

first time one month earlier than controls, and

exhibited a phenomenon amazing to

anyone familiar with laying hens—not a

single experimental hen laid a pullet size or

small egg! All the experimental eggs were of

firm shell and large size. During one

complete year of careful observation,

experimental chickens exhibited perfect

health, free from disease, and remained

calm when approached by men. The

controls were nervous when approached by

the flock tender, exhibited disease such as

slipped tendons and worms; and several

died of unknown causes. None of the

experimental chickens died.

 

Similar advantages of 40 foods grown with

sea solids were seen in experiments with

laboratory rats. Control rats showed less

weight gain per pound of food and

sustained definite eye disease. Experimental

rats, on the other hand, exhibited sleek coats,

were apparently immune to eye disease that

afflicted the others, and showed a markedly

uniform weight gain on less food. We then

conducted a similar experiment with mice

bred to develop breast cancer, and the

experimental mice failed to develop cancer

and lived significantly longer.

Wow! You might exclaim. Why not sprinkle

sea solids on our food and get healthy? It

simply doesn't work that way. Anyone with a

cursory knowledge of biology knows that

humans and other animals cannot obtain

any benefits from the elements unless they

are hooked up with carbon atom by green

plants. This is the explicit role of plant life on

earth: to convert inorganic elements to

organic compounds that can be utilized by

animal life. Table salt is the only food we eat

that is inorganic and, frankly, it isn't very

good for us.

 

Sea energy agriculture—growing foods with

sea solids as fertilizer—provides a means for

improving our chemical intake without

sacrificing our eating habits. Our meats,

vegetables, fruits and cereals would all be

adequately balanced with the essential

elements simply by growing all crops with

sea solids technology.

 

It has been shown by agronomists that soil

may contain a large amount of one

particular combination of elements that the

plants cannot absorb. The presence or

absence of a trace element can be the

deciding factor in determining whether a

necessary element is absorbed into the

plant's root system. The balance of elements

must be right in the soil for plants to synthesize

their complete chemistry.

 

Tomatoes serve as an example of the need

for this balance. Tomato growers know that

potassium is an element with a major

function in the plant's growth. Potassium is

added to the soil in quantity by tomato

growers. Yet the tomato itself has only a

minor amount of potassium. My hydroponic

experiments proved conclusively that only a

small amount of potassium, as found in its

proper balance in seawater, is needed to

grow outstanding crops of unusually healthy

tomatoes. It is unnecessary to fertilize heavily

with one element or another if an adequate

balance of elements is available for the

plant's use.

 

Growing staple crops hydroponically in

seawater solution has tremendous

implications, especially for the starving

millions in our world. One super advantage is

that plants grown hydroponically require

only about one-tenth the water that the same

plants growing in soil require. The cost of

hydroponic facilities becomes negligible

when the exceptional productivity is

considered.

 

Technical journals stress that the "long-term

solution to the food crisis is development of

new, productive crop hybrids and the

spread of modern agricultural technology

throughout the developing world," I shudder.

Established experts harp or things like "pest

control," better management of "fragile soils"

and novel ideas for "storing water", but they

turn a deaf ear toward sea solids technology,

which provides all of these things naturally.

 

Aside from economic and productivity

reasons, what are the implications for man if

we are able to restore the chemical balance

to our food? We can eliminate illness as we

experience it today. I know that to many of

you this sounds like a grandiose, unproved

claim, but one must remember that we are

only beginning to investigate this new

agricultural technology.

 

During World War I (circa 1918) with high

military standards for physical and mental

fitness, 31 percent of all the young Americans

called for induction into the armed forces

were rejected as unfit. For World War II (circa

1943) the rejection rate was over 50 percent,

so the standards were lowered to a point

below that of 1918. This lowering of standards

lowered the rejection rate to 41 percent.

During the period between 1948 and 1955,

which included the Korean War, the physical

and mental standards were lowered even

more, yet the rejection rate of young men

between ages eighteen and twenty-five

climbed to 52 percent. More than half the

young men of our nation who were called for

military duty were rejected. How can we call

ourselves "healthy"?

 

Any nation with a drug industry flourishing as

well as ours certainly cannot claim good

health!

 

Chapter 8               In Conclusion

Every creative act involves . . .

a new innocence of perception,

liberated from the cataract of accepted

 

belief.

—Arthur Koestler, The Sleepwalkers

 

Life on earth is divided into three major

categories: plant, animal, and protista

(organisms that display a combination of

plant and animal characteristics). Of the

roughly 1,250,000 life species almost three-

fourths are animal with the remaining one-

fourth made up of plants and protista. The

sea, which covers 71% of the earth's surface,

probably contains 90% of all life. This is true

because of the extent of the sea surface and

the fact that the sea averages two and one-

fourth miles in depth, with some places

measuring seven miles deep. Forms of life

can be found throughout the ocean

including the lowest regions, whereas life

forms on land are generally found in the

upper foot or so of soil. Even land birds and

other flying animals must trace their food

and life cycles to the soil.

 

When looking at ocean life, one is

immediately impressed by the fact that in this

71%, of the earth's surface there is no cancer,

hardening of the arteries, or arthritis. A whale

carries around tons of fat and lives in an

environment of salt solution, which makes

one wonder if the medical advice of low salt

and low fat diet is, indeed, justifiable. Ocean

trout do not develop cancer, while a large

percentage of fresh water trout over five

years of age have cancer of the liver. It

should be noted, however, that a few years

ago an ocean trout was found with cancer of

the liver. Its habitat was the mouth of the

Columbia River where a quantity of

carcinogenic chemicals had been poured.

The fact remains that it is very difficult to find

any species on land that does not have

cancer, while animals living in the ocean

are without cancer. Some animals, of course,

are more resistant than others, but the reason

for this is unknown. The guinea pig is one of

the rodents most highly resistant to cancer.

The toad is more resistant than the frog. The

guinea pig and the toad keep their thymus

gland throughout life, but whether or not this

is the reason for their resistance is unproven.

 

As a university student, I became interested

in these mysteries and decided that I would

seek a reasonable explanation for the

presence of malignant disease in fresh water

and land animals as opposed to ocean

animals. Much time and money were spent

traveling, studying, and dissecting sea life.

The study ranged from South America to the

Pribilof Islands, and included whales and

seals. In dissecting many of these animals, no

malignant disease could be found; in fact,

no tissue suspected of malignant disease was

seen.

 

At this time it occurred to me that if there

were some way to nourish land animals on

food that contained all the essential

elements, it should make a difference in their

resistance to disease. Diet must be the secret.

Ocean water contains a complete spectrum

of elements, whereas soil and fresh water do

not. Plants in the ocean can select any and

all the elements they need to grow. In turn,

ocean animals feeding on these plants

easily obtain their element requirements and

thus better disease resistance. If ocean

animals can establish their resistance

through diet, I feel that land animals can also

obtain this resistance if the food which they

consume has been grown with all the

necessary elements available.

 

To accomplish this end in the early days,

seawater was trucked into the Midwest and

applied to soil considered adequate for

growing cereal grains. This, of course, was an

expensive method of securing the complete

range of elements from the sea, so we

immediately began to look worldwide for

natural locations, where the seawater

becomes landlocked and total evaporation

takes place. The largest deposits were found

in Mexico, with others in countries of South

America and some in Africa. This complete

spectrum of elements from the sea we have

designated sea solids, and when used

hydroponically our method is labeled

"Seaponics."

 

We began using these complete sea solids in

growing large quantities of cereal grains for

feeding animals. Sea solids were applied at

the rate of 1000 to 2,200 pounds per acre to

half of the fields, while the control half

received only the customary fertilizer. At

harvest time corn smut, rust, and other cereal

diseases were significantly reduced in the

experimental fields. Disease resistance had

been fixed in the plants by the use of this

complete elemental diet. The next step was

to see if the resistance could be transferred

from plants to animals.

 

A first animal experiment was carried out on

C3H mice which get spontaneous cancer of

the breast. These cancers are most probably

due to the so-called Bittner virus. We hoped

that by using sea solids-grown food we could

build resistance to the virus or cancer: The

C3H mice were divided into two groups. The

control group was fed on regular cereal

grain, while the experimental group was fed

cereal grain raised on sea solids-treated soil.

The results showed that instead of getting

spontaneous cancer in 90% of the animals as

the control group did, the experimental

animal figure dropped to 55%. The second

generation born to parents fed on sea solids

food produced cancer in only 2% of the

population!

 

We also tried the special feed on

transplanted malignancies (sarcoma) in rats.

The sea solids-fed rats showed high

resistance to the transplanted sarcoma. A

transplant would die off most of the time, but

occasionally it would take. After growing for

a while it, too, would die off. This success

occurred in over 90% of the animals treated

with the sea solids-grown food.

 

Rous sarcoma was tested in chickens using

the two kinds of food but we were unable to

discover any difference in the death rate

between those fed treated and untreated

foods. This sarcoma kills in a hurry, sometimes

within four days; and we felt that probably

the physiology of the chickens was not

changed enough in this short period of time

to show any difference in this experiment.

 

Other animals were fed sea solids-grown

food and did well. Dairy cattle were raised in

this manner, but no statistics were kept as to

production or quality of milk. However, it is

interesting to note that if a bundle of corn

stalks containing a mixture of sea solids-

grown corn and untreated corn was offered

to the cows, they would nuzzle through the

bundle and always eat the sea solids-grown

corn first.

 

These experiments were continued for three

to five years. It was found that the bony

structure of cattle and horses fed on sea solids

grain was better. This was also true of

chickens. Eggs of experimental chickens

would be larger than those of the chickens

fed on controlled food. The difference was

evident from four to six months of age. These

experiments show that changes can be

transferred from plants to animals.

 

In studying those human populations where

malignancy is rare, it was found that the soil

in which the food was grown contained all

the essential elements for optimum growth. In

other words, the soil appeared almost like a

spectrum of sea solids. In these areas, for the

most part, there is very little egress of water to

the sea and the elements are usually washed

down from the mountains and highlands into

the valleys by rain or melting snow. These

elements are not carried away by water,

erosion, or by man. They remain to be

utilized again and again.

 

We are not so fortunate in the United States

and in most of the world. Daily we are losing

elements due to loss of soil through erosion

and population growth. It has been stated by

good authority that a 120-acre farm passes

the city of St. Louis every twelve hours. This, of

course, is dissolved in the waters of the

Mississippi River. When one thinks of the large

rivers on earth, such as the Amazon or

Euphrates, one realizes that the amount

washed into the ocean is, indeed,

impressive. To try to reclaim this material from

the ocean must be a priority, and as time

goes on, it will be even more imperative.

 

The encroachment of cities on agricultural

land is also an important factor to consider

when thinking of the land available for the

production of food for humanity. This invasion

of arable land multiplies the need for some

sort of reclamation procedure to obtain more

land for food production and more food from

that land.

 

There are several avenues available to us to

reclaim and improve our soil and food

production. Each choice is dependent upon

the amount and condition of the soil and the

need and availability of food.

 

The first avenue is to use sea solids on the

remaining agricultural land. Sea solids return

to the soil elements lost through over-

cropping and generally poor cropping

techniques. Past experiments indicate that

the amount of food produced with the sea

solids is generally increased. The plant can

grow at its full potential, and production is not

reduced due to disease. More importantly,

the food produced is a better quality.

Double-blind taste tests show that foods

raised with sea solids were rated better

tasting than foods raised without sea solids.

Past experiments also indicate that sea solids

can improve disease resistance in plants and

that these plants can in turn increase disease

resistance in the animals that consume the

plants.

 

The second way is to substitute hydroponics

for land where the soil is completely

incapable of food production. One can

produce ten to fifty times the amount of food

per surface area in hydroponics than can be

grown on soil. This is especially important in

areas that have little or no arable land and

large populations to feed. Since nature uses

71% of the earth's surface for hydroponic

growth, it does not seem too farfetched to

consider growing much of our edible food in

this manner. In hydroponic culture, one adds

nitrogen and phosphorus to complete sea

solids. In soil culture, this does not have to be

done, because the application of sea solids

promotes the growth of azotobacter (or

nitrogen-fixing bacteria), and there is

enough potassium and phosphorus in the

ocean water if one gets the complete sea

solids. There is more nitrogen fixation in the

ocean than in any place on land, and, of

course, this is due to the fact that the ocean

elements are ideal media for azotobacter

nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

 

The third avenue is to rebuild soil that is

incapable of production. Just adding sea

solids to sand will not make the sand more

productive. There is nothing in the sand to

prevent the sea solids from being washed

away when water is added. Some soils are

too hard for plant roots to grow in, and still

other soils hold too much moisture and

smother a plant. In all the examples, it is the

condition of the soil that affects its

productivity. To return the soil to its proper

physical condition, organic farming has to

be reintroduced, or in many cases

introduced.

 

Today the organic farmer is more concerned

with what is present in the fertilizer bag than

with what is absent. Commercial fertilizers

generally contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and

potassium, plus a few microelements. Many

elements needed by a plant are not returned

to the soil by using chemical fertilizers. On the

other hand, in organic farming many

elements are replaced if the unused portion

of the plant is returned and allowed to

decompose to its inorganic elements. In

addition, the organic farmer is also

concerned with the undisclosed content of

the commercial fertilizer. A bag of 10-10-10

commercial fertilizer by volume contains

70% of some unknown material. This material

may contain substances that can build up in

the soil and eventually make it useless.

 

Today's organic farmer knows his chemistry

and realizes that plant fertilizer must be

broken down into its inorganic elements

before it can be utilized by plants. The

organic farmer realizes that the giant

commercial farmer, specializing in one type

of crop and using only commercial fertilizer,

is destroying the soil's ability to produce food.

If this process continues, the soil itself will be

ruined and lost through erosion. To prevent

this and reclaim soil already destroyed,

organic farming methods must be utilized.

 

It should be noted that the three avenues can

be employed in combination. Sea solids can

be used in the soil and in hydroponics.

Hydroponics can be used in areas with poor

soil conditions, and the unused portion of

plants produced hydroponically can then

be returned to the exhausted soil to help

build it up again. Soil structure can definitely

be rebuilt through the application of organic

farming methods.

 

At one time the soil and the oceans were

probably very similar in elemental content.

Through the centuries, increased populations

have put a strain on agriculture to keep up

with the demand. This has led to a farming

technology that tries to increase production

on the reduced amount of available soil,

with an inferior product as a result. Plant

diseases are more prevalent than ever

before and modern agriculture's answer is to

manipulate a plant genetically to produce

more and to be resistant to disease.

 

But in this process, it appears we are losing

something. Food quality and taste have

declined. Diseases not seen earlier in

humans are developing, while others long

known to man continue to increase. Some

diseases thought to be controlled or extinct

are reappearing. Yet the oceans don't seem

to have these problems. Even on land

different people in different areas of the earth

have lived longer and are healthier than the

rest of us. Why? The answer would appear to

be diet. Not what we eat so much as what

elements are in what we eat.

 

In order for man to continue to live on earth,

he must make some fundamental changes.

He must look to the oceans of the world as a

source of needed elements. These elements

must be returned to the soil so that better

quality and more healthful foods can be

produced. Man must stop the destruction of

the soil. This will require basic changes in our

agricultural system. The large commercial

farms will probably have to be broken up

and smaller regional farms using organic

methods will take their place. Most

importantly, the population growth of the

world that has pressured our agricultural

system to its present state must be controlled.

The population of the earth must be

stabilized or all our efforts will be for naught.

As the agricultural system changes,

hydroponics can help take up the slack so as

to prevent mass food shortages and

starvation.

 

We have the means and ability to make

these changes. We need now only the desire.

 

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