(NaturalNews) It's no secret that fracking has the potential to cause horrendous human health problems, mainly due to the fact that it contributes to air and water contamination. The issue is simply one of common sense: Drilling deep into the earth and pumping endless amounts of chemically treated water at various pressure levels is an unnatural act that can yield devastating consequences. Despite the known health risks of the chemicals involved, in many instances, crop irrigation uses fracking wastewater from oil and gas drilling, as well as wastewater from municipal sewage treatment systems.⁽¹⁾

Sounds gross, right? Yet that's just what's happening throughout California, where the process is used for crop irrigation – organic crop irrigation no less. So, organic food is being grown in the state with toxic, chemical-laden water. Thankfully, you can do your part to help put a stop to the mess by signing this Cornucopia.org petition.⁽¹⁾

Natural News reported on this topic earlier in August, click here to read that original article.

About the petition and putting an end to "byproducts contaminated with heavy metals"

The petition urges people to stand up against the use of fracking and sewage wastewater when it comes to growing organic food, citing the toxic results that occur when various chemicals merge together. It states:

Published research indicates that certain plants are very efficient in taking up chemical and pharmaceutical residues from the soil where they then can accumulate in the plant's tissue.

Recycled/treated oil or gas wastewater used for irrigation can be contaminated by a variety of chemicals, including industrial solvents such as acetone and methylene chloride, and hydrocarbons (oil components).

Sewage sludge was banned from organic use due to concerns that the domestic waste stream and industrial sewage are combined, thus rendering the byproducts contaminated with heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, and other toxins found in industrial sewage. But the use of wastewater from sewage plants is still allowed.⁽¹⁾

The question to this last sentence is "why?" Why is it still allowed? That's precisely why you need to act now and sign this petition.

Why add to California's problems?

As it is, California has enough sewage issues to worry about. As severely aged piping systems continue to carry more human waste but – due to the state's droughts – have lesser water flowing to push it through, the possibility of broken pipes spewing human waste in public areas becomes more likely. In already weakened pipes, human waste breaks down into hydrogen sulfide which eats away at the pipes.

This situation is bad enough: Why purposely engage in efforts that intentionally subject people to sewage, as is the case with irrigating crops with water from sewage treatment systems?⁽²⁾

Don't think it's a problem to human health?

A technical report on the Cawelo Water District Ponds at Kern River Oil Field in Kern County, California, (where water is "reclaimed and treated for agricultural irrigation") outlines that chemicals such as acetone, toluene, ethyl benzene – and more – exist in such water.⁽³⁾

Fracking, sewage, pharmaceuticals... don't trust the water

Couple that with the aforementioned likelihood that the water is also loaded with pharmaceuticals, and the future of organic food growth in California isn't looking too good. With irrigation from sewage treatment water comes the risk of ingesting people's antidepressants and other dangerous drugs like antiseizure medications and painkillers. Granted, it's not like you're popping these pills directly, but between people spitting in sinks and flushing meds down toilets – and a public water cleaning process that attempts to sanitize the problem away with chemicals – you're left with a cocktail of who knows what in the water.⁽⁴⁾

But sure, let's keep drilling and tampering with nature. Alter what's already been altered, then attempt to convince everyone that it's new and improved – and healthy for consumption. It's just not fair, and the pumping of chemicals into our food supply must stop. Please do your part and sign the petition to stop the fracking madness that's destroying organic agriculture in California.

Sources for this article include:

(1) Cornucopia.org

(2) NaturalNews.com

(3) WaterBoards.ca.gov^[PDF]

(4) NaturalNews.com