In reality, however, sludge is everything you ever washed down your kitchen sink in the suspicion or knowledge that it was poisonous. Sludge contains industrial waste products, like heavy metals, and it is full of various toxic materials. Criticism and consternation greeted the USDA's proposed organic standards, even among growers and merchandisers who were glad to see the government finally endorsing organic as a production method. One large organic grower warned of the need to continue struggling for a national organic standard with high integrity. We are absolutely opposed to these practices in organic agriculture and processing, and believe strongly that they should be left out of the final draft of the national organic regulations.
Organic farmers provide an alternative.
On any level playing field, the alternative would win and agribusiness knows it. The food and biotech industries want to keep animals in intensive confinement in factory farms to make huge profits. Confinement operations need a place to get rid of the massive amounts of raw manure they produce. This would be an immensely profitable arrangement for agribusiness and the biotech industry. Hence, they want to establish genetic engineering and the use of raw manure on food crop fields as part of an organic regime.