The Little Organisms that Could Notes from presentation “Effective Microorganisms: The Sollution to Pollution” given on July 28, 2010 by Eric Lancaster, Executive Vice President of TeraGanix (www.teraganix.com). TeraGanix is the exclusive North American distributor of EM® products, under license from EMRO USA Effective Microorganisms in Tucson, Arizona. All products are manufactured at the Tucson location.
By Melissa Breau
Prior to attending Eric’s presentation, I knew little, if anything, about Effective Microorganisms. As someone who isn’t particularly knowledgeable about science, I expected that I’d have a lot to learn – and I was right.
What is EM®?
I knew before arriving last Wednesday that EM® stands for Effective Microorganisms™, and that these good bacteria could be used in a number of beneficial ways. What I learned was that the product is primarily a combination of molasses, water and three different groups of food grade bacteria–lactic acid bacteria (used in products like Miso), yeast (which is used to make bread) and photosynthetic bacteria (one of the elements of blue cheese). Finding out that all the ingredients in the product were fairly “ordinary” significantly reduced the concerns I had regarding safety.
As it turns out, EM•1® was developed by Dr. Teruo Higa, a professor of horticulture at the College of Agriculture at the University of Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan. Dr. Teruo Higa had been an advocate of conventional farming, which relied on the use of synthetic agricultural products made by chemical companies, until he became ill from their use in the late 1960s. So he decided to find a natural alternative.
At the time, microorganisms were being studied around the world for use in water treatment and agriculture; Dr. Higa decided to try and produce a product that would work for both purposes. He experimented with mixing multiple strains of microbes in one culture. The result was EM•1®. Since then, a multitude of products are now made using the EM•1® as a base ingredient–they are collectively referred to as EM Technology®.
Particularly fascinating for me, was all the ways that EM•1® could be used. It is a liquid microbial product that can be used to promote the health of soil, plants, livestock and people; it eliminates pathogens, odor, oil and grease. It can also be used for water treatment. It is all natural (and, as mentioned above, all the ingredients are found in common household foods), and is approved for certified organic production.
How does EM® work?
Although I’m not a science-person, Eric’s explanation of bacteria on a scale was visual and very helpful in understanding what EM•1® does. In a naturally occurring system bad bacteria (pathogens) and good bacteria (beneficial microbes) each make up approximately ten percent of the system. The remaining majority (about 80 percent) of the bacteria are actually neutral. Beneficial bacteria are extremely sensitive, and the use of chemicals can unbalance that system, allowing the bad bacteria to become more prevalent. Eric put up an image of a scale–on one side where the good bacteria (EM•1®) on the other side were the bad bacteria (pathogens). In the middle were the neutral bacteria.
When one type of bacteria becomes dominant the neutral bacteria take on characteristics of the dominant type, furthering the imbalance in the environment. In other words, when one side of the seesaw becomes too heavy, it tips that direction and the neutral bacteria roll toward that side. EM•1® consists of purely beneficial bacteria, so by adding it to a pathogen-laden environment, it tips the balance back in the other direction.
Food waste and other organic matter naturally begin to rot after a period of time, creating toxins like methane (a green house gas) and ammonia. EM•1® actually works to preserve these items until the microbes in the product can break them down and convert them back into a stable form, resulting in odor and pathogen control.
EM•1® also creates a number of healthy nutrients, including vitamins B1-12, A, C and D, enzymes, and a number of trace minerals (trace minerals primarily come from the molasses).
When used for farming, this has been shown to create bigger plants with a higher crop yield. Plants treated with EM•1® exhibit increased root growth that improve drought tolerance and stability. Eric showed some images comparing products grown without EM•1® and products grown with it–there was a visible and significant difference.
In a water treatment setting, EM•1® reduces the pathogens found in the water and works to break down solid waste, while adding nutrients back into the water. It has also been shown to reduce pipe corrosion. So, it not only cleans the system, but it helps maintain it for an extended period of time.
How is EM•1® being used?
Dr. Higa’s aim was to create a versatile culture that could be used for in a wide range of applications. He succeeded. Today, EM•1® is used in over 100 countries and on every continent in a variety of ways. In addition to its role in fermenting food waste, it is being used to grow everything from grapes, pecans and peppers to flowers.
EM•1® was used after the Kobe Earthquake in Japan; after the 2004 Tsunami by the Thai Government, Thai Red Cross and Thai Military; and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to reduce odors and the spread of disease. EM•1® helped clean water and break down toxic chemicals where flooding had resulted in waste water rising to the surface. It has also been used as a cleaner in zoos (it simultaneously helps keep the equipment clean and corrosion- and odor-free), in landscaping operations, at veterinary clinics and for building maintenance; many users also drink a version of the product as a Probiotic (called Pro EM•1® Probiotic).
It is even being used in restaurants, to get rid of left over food waste. In fact, one U.S. restaurant is actually using EM•1® to clean it’s kitchens (since it eats grease and oils) and to ferment food wastes as a preparation for composting, or to use directly as a fertilizer for gardens
How does Bokashi Composting work?
Since I live in a small queens apartment, I’m not personally a gardener (in fact, I have a bit of a black thumb). So the aspect of EM•1® that most interested me was it’s use in Bokashi. This product is comparable to composting, but it works faster, smells less and requires less work.
Bokashi means fermented organic matter. A bran is made to ferment food waste using a mixture of EM•1®, molasses, water and a “carrier”– frequently wheat bran, although other materials like saw dust and rice hulls work as well. The bran, which is inoculated with the effective microorganisms, is added in layers to food waste in an airtight bucket or container until the bucket is full. The average household takes between one and two weeks to fill a bucket.
The bucket is then left to pickle for two weeks. While fermenting, the mix will produce a liquid, which can be drained and diluted and applied as a plant fertilizer
Once the bucket of food waste is fermented, the material is ready to bury at least four inches into garden bed or soil. . Urban pests, rodents and vectors are attracted to raw food waste. However, one of the advantages of fermenting food waste is that rodents and vectors do not like the alcoholic smell of fermentation. Alternatively, the material can be added to a worm bed, a compost pile or can be fed to livestock; it is loaded with beneficial microbes, vitamins and amino acids, making it extremely healthy.