Why is the Soil So Important for Vegan Wines?

Kiss the Ground is an entertaining documentary that helps viewers understand how we can heal the Earth by taking care of its soil first. It discusses how in order to cure our soil, we need to change our food. There is a part in the movie that explains how animal manure is part of Earth's evolution. But it's very important to understand the difference between manure that's used in the natural fertilization of the land and the way it's done in many farms today. Before mankind became greedy, animals were free to roam the earth in herds to feed (and poop) along during their journeys. This is nature and part of life. But today's industrial farming methods often include the use of animal manure from slaughterhouses and animals that are full of antibiotics and hormones. This manure is manually or mechanically put into the soil, which means it's no longer a "natural" way of fertilizing or benefiting the land.

 The animal-slaughtering industry wants to make a profit off of every part of the animal's body. This may be one of the reasons people today have been led to believe that manure is good for the soil. Because, hey, it's "organic" fertilizer, right? Let's take another example. Bone meal is often used in fertilizers that are labeled as organic. What is bone meal, you might ask? It's an organic fertilizer derived from – you guessed it – animal bones. It is typically meat bone waste from slaughterhouses that undergoes a steaming process before being pulverized into granules or powder for use as a soil amendment because it's rich in phosphorus. It also contains calcium and a trace of nitrogen. How can this be organic and rich in nutrients in a way that's truly beneficial when it comes from slaughterhouses where the animals themselves might be pumped full of chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics? At Vegan Wines, we feel you have to trace it back to the source. If there's manure or other animal-based fertilizer in the fields where your crops are grown, ask where it comes from. Always.

 Vegan Wines does more than sell our customers beautiful wines. We stand behind grape-growers and winemakers who use natural methods like green manure and cover crops and understand the balance of honeybees and other insects.

Read More: Why Vegan Wine?

In agriculture, green manure is created by leaving uprooted or sown crop parts to wither on a field so that they serve as a mulch and soil amendment. Green manure is used for the pollination of crops, to fight against unwanted predatory insects (instead of using chemical pesticides), and to help with achieving and maintaining biodiversity. At Vegan Wines, the soil is key to the heart of our mission. We are working hard to be part of the solution when it comes to making positive changes for our planet.