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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Dear fellow gardeners,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I wrote to Cedar Grove compost with my concerns
about Cedar Grove making compost with meat scraps collected from
Seattle yard waste. I've attached the response I got from Cedar Grove
Compost flak, along with my response to her email. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Thanks for your
patience if you waded through this correspondence. <SPAN
class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I promise not to
send such long emails again. Someone I met at the Green Festival said that Cedar
Grove wasn't really organic now since it processes yard waste from yards where
people make liberal use of pesticides like Weed 'n Feed. Is anybody on this list
a master composter? What bad stuff can survive the hot composting Cedar Grove
uses on yard waste? Now that I've cancelled my yard waste service, what do
I do with nasty weeds like dandelions? My compost pile isn't hot enough to kill
the seeds. I thought I'd just put them in my garbage can, which is seldom full.
</FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Susan </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><SPAN
class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><SPAN
class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=453442018-15042008><SPAN
class=453442018-15042008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Cedar Grove's
response:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Thank you for taking time to write out
your comments on the subject of meat and dairy items being added to Seattle's
curbside compost collection program. We are confident that our technology
successfully converts normal protein sources into a beneficial source of
material for growing plants, minimizing water usage, minizing chemical usage,
and controlling erosion.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Under no circumstances do we accept any
"recalled" or "bad" food products from the food supply into our composting
program. We depend on the work of the USDA to ensure that such items will not
make it to mass distribution or will be recalled should they even suspect an
issue.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>When recalled, they are banned by local
haulers, cities and counties from the compost toter and do not come in to Cedar
Grove for processing.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>We truly appreciate your support for
Cedar Grove in the past and moving forward. We invite you to take a tour of our
Everett site to learn more about our operational practices and the Quality
Testing we are continually doing to ensure we produce an earth-friendly, WSDA
registered organic product. Let me know if you or any guests would like to do
that, and I will set it up.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>Thanks again for your
comments.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2>Susan Thoman<SPAN
class=453442018-15042008>, </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>Director of Business Development and Marketing Cedar Grove
Composting</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2>206.832.3083 DID<SPAN
class=453442018-15042008>, </SPAN>206.832.3183 Fax<SPAN
class=453442018-15042008>, </SPAN>206.755.8309 Cell phone<SPAN
class=453442018-15042008>, </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><A
href="http://www.cgcompost.com"><U><FONT face=Arial
size=2>http://www.cgcompost.com</FONT></U></A></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2><SPAN class=453442018-15042008>My
response to Susan Thorman at Cedar Grove: </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=453442018-15042008>Susan,</P></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left>
<P><FONT size=2>Thanks for your prompt reply. Given the fact that the USDA has
been broken for most of the Bush administration (see "Fast Food Nation" by
Eric<SPAN class=453442018-15042008> </SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2>Schlosser) how
can you possibly rely on that agency to ensure safety in the American meat
supply?</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The USDA does not prevent ranchers from feeding cow meat to
cows, which is a major way that Mad Cow Disease develops. The USDA does not
inspect meat slaughtering practices often enough to prevent e.coli from getting
into the meat supply.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>The USDA is understaffed, underfunded, and directed by the
executive branch to impose as little regulatory "burden" as possible on the meat
industry. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>You faith in the USDA is touching, but misguided. Even if the
agency verifies a food product as safe or organic, it may still make us sick.
The federal standards for certification of organic food produces are far below
those of the State of California, which, I believe, has the highest standards in
the U.S.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Don't hide behind a corrupt federal agency that has failed to do
its job for almost eight years. Don't pretend that USDA approval means that your
compost will be safe or organic. Once the yard waste you turn into compost is
tainted with ANY meat products, your compost will be unfit to use in an organic
garden.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>I am still appalled and shocked that your company would even
contemplate collecting yard waste that contains meat scraps. The urge for
greater profit on your side, and lower landfill costs on the part of the city of
Seattle illustrate the law of congruent greed.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>I will make sure every state agency, watchdog organization,
organic food store, hardware store, etc, knows that Cedar Grove Compost plans to
sell dirty, non-organic compost and claim that it is organic.<SPAN
class=453442018-15042008> </SPAN></FONT><FONT size=2>If you put meat in
your compost, I will never buy your product again, and I will tell everyone I
know to avoid your product.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=2>Susan Helf</FONT></P></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B>
urbancropcircle-bounces@lists.sustainableballard.org
[mailto:urbancropcircle-bounces@lists.sustainableballard.org] <B>On Behalf Of
</B>Sooz Appel<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, April 14, 2008 5:32 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop Circle<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [UrbanCropCircle]
Cedar Grove and meat in compost<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I encourage people who are concerned about the new
compost with meat products in it to address their concerns to Richard Conlin <A
href="mailto:richard.conlin@seattle.gov">richard.conlin@seattle.gov</A>
He is the City Council person who is promoting zero waste and pushing the City
to add more programs to get us there. His aide is Sara Nelson <A
href="mailto:sara.nelson@seattle.gov">sara.nelson@seattle.gov</A>
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Also, at the Seattle Public Utilities (the City
dept which oversees all recycling, compost, etc.), contact Marcia Rutan
who handles community recycling efforts. She can direct you to the right
person. <A
href="mailto:marcia.rutan@seattle.gov">marcia.rutan@seattle.gov</A>
Or Carl Woestwin <A
href="mailto:carl.woestwin@seattle.gov">carl.woestwin@seattle.gov</A>
Carl is a long-time Tilth person, who really cares about the quality of
compost.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sooz Appel</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=urbancropcircle@lists.sustainableballard.org
href="mailto:urbancropcircle@lists.sustainableballard.org">Sustainable Ballard
Urban Crop Circle</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=urbancropcircle@lists.sustainableballard.org
href="mailto:urbancropcircle@lists.sustainableballard.org">Sustainable Ballard
Urban Crop Circle</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:08
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [UrbanCropCircle] Cedar
Grove and meat in compost</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Yeah, <BR><BR>I went to the recent workshop with Ann Lovejoy,
and she was saying they seem to be getting a little too big to handle their
compost without meat... it's a bit clumpier than before.... and we don't want
compost with less than fully composted meat-- bleah (I'm a veg too.) Besides
the veg bit...<BR><BR>I'm wondering if we can see if they have some guidelines
and standards that we can get for their planned meat inclusion, and if they
will have a non-meat options (doubtful if they allow everyone to include
meat.) I just wonder if they are really
ready.<BR><BR>Alison<BR><BR><B><I>Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop Circle
<urbancropcircle@lists.sustainableballard.org></I></B> wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">Hello
fellow urban gardeners,<BR>Sky is a great source of soil. I miss the soil
one could get from Denny Hill<BR>fuel at 90th and Aurora. Did you know you
can get Ballard Tree Service &<BR>most other tree services to dump the
contents of their closed trucks into<BR>your driveways? You can get yards of
free wood chips for composting<BR>ornamentals. <BR><BR>I wanted to let you
know that the City of Seattle is encouraging homeowners<BR>to put meat and
other animal products into the yard waste containers<BR>starting in 2009. I
am afraid that meat-tainted Cedar Grove compost (made<BR>with City of
Seattle yard waste) will contain e.coli and possibly prions<BR>(Mad Cow
disease.) Cows are forced to be cannibals and eat food up of other<BR>cows.
I don't want to risk of using soil that contains prions that may
cause<BR>Mad Cow disease. <BR><BR>I've written to the City and to Cedar
Grove Compost. I would never THINK of<BR>putting animals meat scraps in my
compost. I'm a vegetarian and an organic<BR>gardener. I'm considering
canceling my yard waste contract with the City and<BR>never buying Cedar
Grove Compost again. What do you all think? <BR><BR>Susan Helf
<BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From:
urbancropcircle-bounces@lists.sustainableballard.org<BR>[mailto:urbancropcircle-bounces@lists.sustainableballard.org]
On Behalf Of<BR>Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop Circle<BR>Sent: Saturday,
April 12, 2008 10:22 PM<BR>To: Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop
Circle<BR>Subject: Re: [UrbanCropCircle] Welcome to the UCC
Group!<BR><BR>Rhonda,<BR><BR>Sky nursery in Shoreline on Hwy. 99 has good
prices on dirt. When I was<BR>buying dirt for my tiny garden plot/patch, we
filled up the back of my<BR>neighbors pick up truck with dirt and got a good
bulk price. They have a<BR>backhoe and just dump it in for you.<BR><BR>I am
also excited to have other gardeners to talk with and learn from. I
am<BR>learning as I go and am having a lot of fun with my little patch of
earth.<BR>Swanson's Nursery has been really helpful and they often have
Master<BR>Gardeners on hand to answer questions.<BR><BR>Lisa<BR><BR><BR>On
Fri, 11 Apr 2008, Sustainable Ballard Urban Crop Circle
wrote:<BR><BR>><BR>> Welcome everyone to Sustainable Ballard's Urban
Crop Circle Gardening<BR>Group!<BR>><BR>> I don't know about you, but
I'm really excited about having folks to talk<BR>to about gardening. Even
though I've read books and dabbled with planting<BR>things over the years,
this year I'd like to really plant a garden. To that<BR>end, Jim and I are
installing raised beds on the side of the house with the<BR>most sun. The
next step is bringing home the dirt, and if anyone has<BR>suggestions for
what kind of soil and where to get it from, I'd
appreciate<BR>it!<BR>><BR>> Do let me know if you have any suggestions
for this group. It really<BR>belongs to all of us. If you have questions, or
answers!, feel free to post<BR>them here.<BR>><BR>> Thanks,
Rhonda<BR>><BR>>
_________________________________________________________________<BR>>
Going green? See the top 12 foods to eat organic.<BR>>
http://green.msn.com/galleries/photos/photos.aspx?gid=164&ocid=T003MSN<BR>>
51N1653A<BR><BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>UrbanCropCircle
mailing
list<BR>UrbanCropCircle@lists.sustainableballard.org<BR>http://lists.sustainableballard.org/listinfo.cgi/urbancropcircle-sustainable<BR>ballard.org<BR><BR>_______________________________________________<BR>UrbanCropCircle
mailing
list<BR>UrbanCropCircle@lists.sustainableballard.org<BR>http://lists.sustainableballard.org/listinfo.cgi/urbancropcircle-sustainableballard.org<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>UrbanCropCircle
mailing
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