[USCC] (no subject)

Tue Jun 19 16:01:34 CDT 2007

Rufus,

I like grapes, but I'm not sure I understand what you mean about my comments 
being "over the top".

What is the purpose of wine? Do people really need to get drunk to enjoy 
life? What sort of perverse "culture" is that? One that is sold to US by 
unethical business people, no?

Here in Eugene, Oregon, as throughout this totally decadent "land",  they 
have a huge wine and beer trade as not so well a huge tobacco trade and of 
course all sorts of  "soft drinks" some with the most unbelievable listing 
of poisons as ingredients. These are all opportunity costs relative to 
production of food and alternative fuels (in that order) for a world that 
will be increasingly hungry and fuel starved.

Then there is the issue of packaging that I alluded to... Packaging creates 
waste, and the waste must go somewhere, right? Grapes and perhaps raisins 
can be produced and delivered with a relative minimum of packaging. Wine and 
the other drinks, as well as packaged foods, candies, nuts, gum, tobacco 
products, paper products and the myriad of extraneous and bogus quality crap 
that now floods the AmeriKan "marketplace" can not. I don't know enough 
about the soils and climate in wine country to suggest replacement crops. Of 
course, the agribusiness and maximizing packaging industries bank on such 
lack of knowledge and would most likely use that situation to make us think 
that there are no alternatives. It would be wise to move toward regional 
self-sufficiency in all areas. Such would allow us to eat more healthily, 
greatly reduce packaging waste, create  more equitable, sustainable 
communities with quality of life as the goal rather than the mindless 
miserable consumption of the "standard of living" paradigm.

What we need is the commitment as a culture to allocate resources as such. 
We also need an educational system dedicated to such a strategy in the 
interests of the people, not the agribusiness and other commercial 
interests.

I'm all in favor of maximizing the composting system. I have no doubt that 
grapes like most if not all crops are "ripe" for the application of compost. 
We need to move beyond the talk and start implementing the changes which I 
have discussed.

Perhaps you can help us move in that direction.

Thank you.

Workin' for peace and cooperation,

Mike Morin

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chaney, Rufus" <Rufus.Chaney at ARS.USDA.GOV>
To: "Compost Discussion List" <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 10:27 AM
Subject: Re: [USCC] (no subject)

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> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Dear Listserve participants:
>
> First, I think Mike's comment is a little "over the top". Grapes and
> wine are valuable agricultural products. And grapes respond well to
> applications of compost. We should not bite the hand of a customer.
>
> I was surprised by Kuter's comment that DE may be harmful; this may be
> true but I don't know it from other sources. I think DE is still used in
> filtering fruit juices at many location. I once advised about issues
> where the DE and filtration byproduct was hauled to farms and land
> applied in orchards or other land. In a northeastern state. Lots of
> juices were being filtered with DE at that time. And the direct land
> application was regulated like a biosolids project with plant available
> N limits.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rufus Chaney
> Beltsville, MD.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com
> [mailto:compost-bounces at mailman.cloudnet.com] On Behalf Of Mike Morin
> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 11:31 AM
> To: Compost Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [USCC] (no subject)
>
> Wineries, eh?
>
> Good luck with your Dionysian, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Hirohito
> Nazional
> AmeriKan endeavors.
>
> Composting is good, but what, for example do we do with all the wine
> bottles
> and the myriad of other packaging trash that this ridiculous decadent
> supply
> side Fascist "culture" produces?
>
> Workin' for peace and cooperation,
>
> Mike Morin
> Compost maillist - compost at mailman.cloudnet.com
> http://mailman.cloudnet.com/mailman/listinfo/compost
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