Should waste water from beef plants be used to water corn?

[The Straight Story]

Beef plant legislation sent to Senate

PIERRE, S.D. (AP)--A beef plant being built at Aberdeen may be allowed to dispose of its wastewater by supplying it to farmers who irrigate their corn.

A bill permitting Northern Beef Packers to do that without getting special permission later from the Legislature cleared the House 67 to 1 Feb. 11, sending the plan to the Senate.

South Dakota voters approved a ballot measure in 1990 that requires the Legislature to decide if disposal plans for large amounts of waste, including wastewater, are environmentally safe and in the public interest.

HB1148 would exempt the NBP plant from that mandate.

http://www.hpj.com/archives/2008/feb08/feb25/BeefplantlegislationsenttoS.cfm?title=Beef%20plant%20legislation%20sent%20to%20Senate

[flvegan]

1. Beef plant? Beef grows on trees?

Does that mean beef is vegetarian?

*head explodes*

:rofl:

[The Straight Story]

2. I have a hamburger plant

I wanted the cheeseburger one but they were out.... :)

[flvegan]

4. Could you get

a separate cheese plant? Hopefully they'd both be ripe at the same time!

[RC]

7. Naa, this beef plant is an insider, like bush.

[Vincardog]

3. What could be the possible harm of dumping millions of tons of Hormones and Anti-Biotic on our food

It is not like we could have drug resistant germs spread through the whole food chain or anything.

[TomInTib]

5. Invitation to disaster.

Ask those legislators if they would mind drinking one glass of that water every day.

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. Pathogens can't get from roots to fruit.

It seems to me that only if you spray something contaminated on the ripe corn cobs is there a chance of contamination.

[Agony]

8. Asking for trouble...

There are a whole host of unknowns in this one. The article is a little sparse on details, however...
In this case the irrigation is probably by center pivot or linear move systems that launch the irrigation water 25 ft in the air with who the fuck knows what in it (E.coli, nitrogen, liquid brains, antibiotic residue, hormones). The possibilities for groundwater contamination are probably as much of a concern as for the corn itself. You can't supersaturate a field with crap like this and expect there to be no eventual consequences. For example, dust and dirt with encysted E.coli could conceivably contaminate the corn during harvest operations...

Oh yeah I forgot! this is just corn for ethanol production so whatever...

[lurky]

9. E Coli, anyone?

When all that tainted lettuce was recalled last year, it had been contaminated by runoff water from nearby livestock operations, IIRC.

[Bucky]

13. On the new pennies it's gonna say E Coli Unam

[Generic Brad]

15. This could be a good thing

If the corn in everything makes us fat, the e coli from the beef will sicken us to the point where we won't feel like eating. It potentially sounds like perfect harmony.

[Mike03]

10. Of course not, but what do we do about it???

How do we not give up?

[GaYellowDawg]

11. Mad corn disease?

I'd be interested in knowing if the prion that causes mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is taken up into plant tissues.

[RaleighNCDUer]

12. "Beef plant" meaning 'slaugherhouse'?

That wastewater, contaminated with blood and flesh and all the hormones and antibiotics and steroids and everything else that goes into making the modern steer?

I should hope not.

[blues90]

14. I am not afraid of dying , however there are ways I prefer not to go

Just the word waste and especially wastewater are enough to make my head spin and my stomach tighten .

Why not , just dump everything long past all hope or caring into the food supply , why not pipe it through a special pipe to our sinks and toilets and showers , one faucet labled toxic run off and one drinking water .

Beside we all need a good dose of every drug known to mankind each day perhaps the two will somehow balance up the other , some toxic swill with ecoli and all the anti-biotics in the corn to fend them off .

what the hell , everything is cool , nothing here to worry about .

[Kat45]

16. All I can say is WTF??!!

What's wrong with people?

[lonestarnot]

17. E coli... No we shouldn't