Cabbage Hill Fertilizer is a US company producing organic, animal-free fertilizers, with the aim of promoting soil health, composting, community gardening, and food justice.
Cabbage Hill was founded by Erin Riley, who previously started an edible landscaping company in 2009. After beginning to mix her own fertilizer blends, Riley began to question where the animal inputs came from. She discovered that the components of organic fertilizer often originate from slaughtered animals, meaning that “vegetables aren’t vegan”. Furthermore, these components may be declared “certified organic” even though their origins are often unregulated.
In response, Riley decided to develop a range of animal-free fertilizers. The products are made from plant-based agriculture by-products like soy, corn, seaweed, and alfalfa, along with minerals such as rock phosphate and sulfate potash. Humic and fulvic acid are added to promote healthy soils and mycorrhizae.
Cabbage Hill has faced some unexpected challenges along the way, such as being surveilled by the Department of Agriculture for creating an animal-free fertilizer. Similar to the dairy lobby’s attempts to prevent the word “milk” from being used for plant-based products, Riley claims that “Big Ag” is attempting to restrict the use of terms such as “compost”, “organic”, and even “farm”. Despite this, Cabbage Hill has continued on its mission to produce truly organic and ethical fertilizers.
“Creating functioning ecosystems”
The use of plant-based fertilizers is becoming increasingly popular; for example, Germany’s Biocyclic Vegan Agriculture Association works to raise awareness of the advantages of organic vegan farming, and certifies producers that meet its strict standards. Co-founder Axel Anders told vegconomist that avoiding animal-based fertilizers does not lead to any reduction in yields.
Similarly, the Netherlands’ No Shit Food Movement has created a new sustainable standard using exclusively organic and vegetable-based fertilizers. The process is climate-neutral, reduces water use, and can help to tackle over-fertilization.
“At first this [fertilizer] was a nice option for my vegan and vegetarian clients, but over time I realized we all deserve a safe garden fertilizer that embraces real organic standards,” said Riley. “No one wants the detritus of animal suffering and their unregulated inputs in their gardens. This is the beauty of creating functioning ecosystems at your home or community. You can do it your way.”
