Trustee Elections
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These are the original issues in this subcategory
  • LIVESTOCK ANTIBIOTICS
  • NITROGEN FERTILIZER
  • BIOSOLID FERTILIZER
Winning Issue » BIOSOLID FERTILIZER


Biosolid fertilizers, often called sludge, are made of processed sewage from municipal waste treatment facilities. This nutrient, like other types of manure fertilizer, is then applied to croplands and rangelands. About 7 million tons of dry sewage sludge is used or discarded each year. This includes 4 million tons that are used as fertilizer on farms, parks, golf course lawns and gardens. Dioxins, toxic heavy metals and harmful organisms are often present in biosolid fertilizer. The EPA has decided against regulating dioxins in land-applied sludge because it believes there to be minimal danger from it.

Sludge proponents claim that when the levels of these contaminants are low, biosolids offer legitimate help for land that is deficient in nitrogen or phosphorus. They also say biosolids reduce the costs of sewage treatment and the need for landfills.
Biosolid critics want to label all products that have been treated with sludge, while supporters believe this labeling is unnecessary.

Proposed Legislation: H.R.2064 - Sewage Sludge in Food Production Consumer Notification Act (115th Congress 2017-2018)
Prospective Sponsor: Rep. Ron Kind (WI)



Options


  • I oppose reforming current biosolid fertilizer usage policy and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA).
  • I support requiring the labeling of food that is produced on land to which sewage sludge has been applied; the labeling of poultry or livestock that were raised, or that consumed animal feed produced on land treated with biosolids, and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Ron Kind (WI) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.


Winning Option
  • I support requiring the labeling of food that is produced on land to which sewage sludge has been applied; the labeling of poultry or livestock that were raised, or that consumed animal feed produced on land treated with biosolids, and wish to donate resources to the campaign committee of Rep. Ron Kind (WI) and/or to an advocate group currently working with this issue.
There has been $0.00 pledged in support of this issue
Trustee Candidates

If elected as a trustee, the campaign committee of Rep. Adam Smith (WA) will be unconditionally awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting him to favorably consider reintroducing H.R.5737 - Voluntary Grazing Permit Retirement Act (116th Congress).

If elected as a trustee, the campaign committee of Rep. Ron Kind (WI) will be unconditionally awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting him to favorably consider either reintroducing H.R.2064 - Sewage Sludge in Food Production Consumer Notification Act (115th Congress 2017-2018), or a similar version thereof.

If elected as a trustee, Western Watersheds Project will be awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting these funds be used to advocate for reducing or eliminating livestock grazing on federal lands.

The mission of Western Watersheds Project is to protect and restore western watersheds and wildlife through education, public policy initiatives, and legal advocacy. Western Watersheds Project is a nonprofit environmental conservation group with 1,500 members founded in 1993 and has field offices in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. WWP works to influence and improve public lands management throughout the West with a primary focus on the negative impacts of livestock grazing on 250 million acres of western public lands, including harm to ecological, biological, cultural, historic, archeological, scenic resources, wilderness values, roadless areas, Wilderness Study Areas and designated Wilderness.

If elected as a trustee, the Rodale Institute will be awarded the funds pledged to this issue along with a letter requesting these funds be used to advocate for reducing the use of biosolid fertilizers and to promote organic farming methods.

The mission of the Rodale institute is to assist farmers in successfully transitioning to organic, conduct research on organic farming methods and their impact, and educate consumers on the benefits of organic for people and planet. Widely recognized as the birthplace of the organic movement. Since 1947, Rodale Institute has pioneered a better, natural, and more responsible way of farming by conducting research into the cultivation of healthy, living soils. Rodale Institute is home to the longest-running side-by-side comparison of organic vs. conventional farming practices (started in 1981), and our research focus areas include developing organic solutions to pests, disease and weeds, mitigating and adapting to climate change, and growing nutrient dense foods.
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Trustee Election - Opening Date
July 4, 2022
Trustee Election - Closing Date
July 11, 2022