SC - Roots

[Alma Johnson]

Mistress Christiana, greetings

While in pharmacy school, I happened to be tangentially involved with a
professor who was doing toxicology studies on soil samples in the New
Orleans, LA area to determine lead content in an effort to establish greater
links between lead content in soil and learning/developmental disabilities
in inner city children.  While I can hardly quote figures from memory, I can
give you the gist of what was being discovered.

 Basically soil samples from roadsides and around the perimeters of houses
were taken, and samples were also taken at regular intervals leading away
from these points, and were analyzed for the amounts of various toxins
present with emphasis on lead.  As you can imagine, roadsides maintain high
lead content from lead containing emissions, even though unleaded gas has
now been exclusively used for several years.  The stuff just doesn't
disappear.  However, a startling amount of lead is present in soil on
properties where a house had at some time in the past been painted with a
lead based paint as well.  The amounts of lead at the further ends of these
properties also showed significant lead content, as opposed to control sites
in rural areas which were away from major roadways, where the only exhaust
emmision was from the occasional piece of farm equipment, and any houses are
few and far between.  So it was advised that no food items be grown for
consumption on such a piece of property within the area defined as city.

What does this mean for you and me?  Living in the heart of downtown, I have
grown food (best tasting stuff in the world) on the back part of my lot
without worrying too much about it, but that's my decision.  Living in
Atlanta, I think the air's probably more poisonous than what little lead my
snap beans are picking up from the city soil.  I also think that eating
fresher foods, grown as organically as possible (even in city soil) has got
to be ultimately more healthful that pre-packaged or "fast" food.  But that
is MY opinion.  It is for you to make your own informed choice about what
you put in your body.  I DO suggest that anyone save the house-side garden
for ornamental items.  That is why it is also not a good idea for those who
cook with flowers to use the ones growing around the house, but to plant
special plants for food purposes.  And if there are any folks out there with
children, then that is another MAJOR consideration, for the many ill effects
that exposure can cause to the growing body and the developing brain and
CNS.

It is a shame that we have been left with this legacy of toxicity by those
who have come before us.
Probably the greatest favor we can do for those who will follow us is not to
perpetuate it.

Mistress Rhiannon Cathaoir-mor
Indiscriminate pesticide use is a whole other can of worms.

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