Jet Fuel in your water, Antibiotics in your Lettuce.

We had a call from a lovely chap out at Blue Knob, near Nimbin, this week. He had just had his rainwater tank tested and guess what? Expended jet fuel; kerosene, falling from the heavens above, or more accurately, the flightpath of the Coolangatta airport.

Now I read that the antibiotics fed to cattle and pigs are coming through their manure and into our lettuces, when used as a fertilizer. At this stage it's a US report only, but it's hard to believe that similar use of similarly 'laced' manure isn't happening on a daily basis right here.

A study funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, evaluated whether food crops accumulate antibiotics from soil covered with antibiotic-containing manure. Corn, lettuce and potatoes were grown in a greenhouse setting on soil that contained pig manure with a commonly used veterinary antibiotic added.

Antibiotics were found in all three crops, in both their leaves and tissue. The antibiotics also transferred to the potato tubers, suggesting that root crops like carrots, radishes and potatoes may be particularly at risk of antibiotic accumulation.

Though the researchers said the effects of consuming plants that contain antibiotics are “largely unknown,” it’s thought that the contamination could cause allergic reactions or the development of antimicrobial resistance (which renders antibiotics ineffective).

The findings certainly have implications for organic farmers, who often use manure as their main source of fertilizer.
Source: Journal of Environmental Quality July/August 2007, 36:1224-1230