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Re: [compost_tea] Re: BIG MONEY FOODWEB?
Hi Allan -
You asked if I have had any buy-out offers since I'm the "James Brown of the Foodweb". It is kind of you to compare me to someone as well known as James Brown, I appreciate the compliment.
I've had some fairly surprising offers. All of them related to someone wanting me to be less-than-honest about products.
I had someone try to distract me from not-so-good testing results on their product by offering to buy land in Hawaii for a research farm that I could run. It was tempting, but I would never have been comfortable.
If money was what I wanted, if that was all that was important to me, I'd be working for Monsanto, or Ciba-Geigy, or any number of well-funded companies. It's not like lures haven't been dangled.
I was once asked what dream I had not managed to fulfil yet in my life. They kept insisting there had to be some unfulfilled desire of mine not related to work. Being the suspicious character I am, I invented something outrageous, just to see how they would respond. So I said, "I'd like to be one of the pioneers in the first moon colony."
At the time, I was forty-something, well on the way to the 5 decade mark, and acceleration in a space ship to escape earth's gravity would probably kill me. There's no way I would be allowed to go on a moon mission, and truth be told, I don't think I'd really want to go.
But this guy said to me, "I can arrange that. If there's a moon mission, we could get you on it."
I was stunned. There's no way he could make that come true, and he knew it. I said as much, but he said he'd make sure I got my wish.
I knew then that this person was just a smooth-talking con artist. He'd promise me anything to make me dependent on him. He promised to obtain something no one could possibly obtain for me. Quite an interesting ploy, wasn't it? If I had believed him, would I be honest about problems with his product?
Probably not, huh? Sneaky, huh?
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I think about throwing in the towel every once in awhile when people insult me by suggesting all I want is to make money. It really annoys me when they think twist me saying "data are needed", into something I never said, like --- "you have to test with my lab".
I do not ever say "you have to test with my lab", but people trying to distract others from seeing that solid data are needed like to smear someone like me by putting outrageous words in my mouth.
We need appropriate data to answer the question. Sometimes it means we have to have data about total and active bacteria and fungi. Sometimes it means having brix data. Sometimes it means trying out paramagnetism. Sometimes it means sending samples to a USDA lab, and sometimes to University labs.
You send samples to the place that gives you the info you need. Do not mistake me saying "need data" with "use my lab". I don't operate that way.
But I am learning how to spot snake-oil salesmen. These guys use a couple common approaches to distract un-suspecting people and escape the scrutiny they don't want focused on them and what they are doing.
One approach is to attack someone else. Or insinuate wrong-doing, or hint at less than ethical behavior. Wave a non-existent "expert" around to support one's opinion. Less negative approaches are to get the person dependent on you. Make a promise and keep stringing the victim along.
Here's another example from my ever-growing list:
SFI did some testing on a product. I pointed out a problem. The other company and SFI went back and forth on the results, and the other company finally dropped SFI as a testing lab, because I wouldn't lie about the results. One of the employees of that company has since told me that their president told the employees that I "had been chasing the company president and trying to get him into a sexual relationship."
Now, I had hugged the guy on occasion to say hello and good-bye, but nothing more sexual than that. I've never even kissed the guy. We went out to dinner a few times.
I figure what he is doing is distracting his employees from the real problem by accusing me of questionable behavior. He says I was chasing him, and he refused to have anything to do with me, so that's why I won't approve his product. His explanation covers up the real reason, which is that his product doesn't measure up to the standards.
People who give data, state facts, are blunt and don't fool around getting to the point are threats to snake-oil salesmen. When explanations are fuzzy, incomplete, non-existent, filled with arm-waving, no data, no solid information, then beware. Sure signs that there's a slippery slope ahead.
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In a recent post, someone implied that I was just trying to increase sample flow to my lab by suggesting some experiments that would include testing with my lab. By suggesting that I am behaving in a less than ethical manner, the person distracts others from the research that needs doing.
Why would someone attack me for suggesting solid science? Why try to imply there's something wrong with me suggesting that we should run samples through my lab? Because I had the audacity to suggest that his favored explanation for using brix might not be valid.
Hum, let's see. Attack and distract. Get people arguing instead of getting the data we need.
Can we all agree to side-step this distraction, and keep focused on the research that needs doing? &n &np;
1. Make a good tea (#1) with lots of good organisms in it, and make a poor tea (#2) with poor organisms in it.
2. Measure brix in plot 1, plot 2, plot 3 and plot 4 just before applying the tea.
3. Apply tea #1 to plot 1 and check brix. Apply yea #2 to plot 2 and check brix. Apply water to plot 3 and Check brix. Apply the nutrient mix to plot 4 and check brix.
4. Check leaves to make certain the tea did or did not get applied correctly.
5. Check brix through the remainder of the day to document different responses.
No matter what mechanism is suggested, and whether people agree with the wording on the hypotheses or not, data will allow us to state what the relationship is for the plants in these conditions.
Instead of attacks, let's have solid information.
Any volunteers?
Thanks for all your patience -
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
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