An alliance of farmers, bikers, truckers, a detective and scientists across the political spectrum is pressuring the Trump administration and Republican leadership to stop using toxic sewage sludge as fertilizer on farmland. Sewage sludge frequently contains PFAS, or forever chemicals, that pose health risks to farmers, residents, livestock, and water supplies and have destroyed farms. Members report illness, foul odors, and suspected links to rare cancers, prompting investigations and legal action. Efforts include a criminal probe in Texas and a Massachusetts lawsuit that could lead to a nationwide ban on sludge application.
An unlikely alliance of farmers, bikers, truckers, a detective and scientists from across the political spectrum are working to pressure the Trump administration and Republican leadership to rein in the use of toxic sewage sludge as fertilizer on the nation's farmland. Sludge often teems with Pfas, or forever chemicals, which present a health risk to farmers and the public, and have destroyed farms and contaminated water across the country.
We can all sit down and agree that we and our children shouldn't be fed literal poison, said Dana Ames, a Johnson county, Texas, detective who is organizing the group. In Oklahoma, farmer Saundra Traywick lives in an area where she says toxic sewage sludge is spread as fertilizer. Her family and animals get sick, and the potent stench can be unbearable.
Ames said the alliance has a real chance of success because it includes everyone from liberal scientists to people on the far right they are willing to set aside political differences for the fight. The American people are smart once we figure out what's occurring, we have a whole lot more in common than we don't, and this is a basic human right, said Ames, the Texas detective. We all deserve safe and clean food and water.
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