Should a Vegan use Earthworm Castings?

Question

Earthworm Castings are commercially sold as an organic fertilizer. They are the excretions left behind by worms after they finish digesting the organic matter. They do this naturally in your garden and lawn, but they are being commercially exploited the way honey bees are. What do you all think?

Answer 1

I don't see why not. I do. The worms would be there anyway. From what I've read, those are some very happy worms. Eating and pooping all day. Sounds like the perfect worm-life. :)

Answer 2

That is such a sticky question! As a vegan I would wonder if all the stuff in the commercially prepared bag of earthworm castings was really just castings and not bits and pieces of dried dead worms also in it. It would be applicable that some worms would be still connected to the castings when the castings were harvested (just like some bees are killed in the harvesting of honey - commercially that is).

I would just avoid the task of finding this out by just using some other fertilizer (cottonseed meal is a good alternative that I use in my own organic garden, plus the compost that I make myself).

Answer 3

The commercial worm farms use huge screens to separate the worms form their castings. I've seen a special on it. It looks kind of rough. I'd rather be a honey bee then a worm in a farm like that.

BTW I'm a Honey eating vegetarian, but I thought I'd give my two cents on this topic. I've used compost from earthworm castings too.

Answer 4

OK, I am a vegan and I keep worms as a way to keep down the amount of waste our family contributes to the landfill. As an added bonus, my worms make wonderful castings for my garden and my house plants. I don't know about the big commercial worm farms, but I can tell you that I carefully pick out every worm AND the worm cocoons that contain baby worms not yet hatched when I harvest the castings and return them to their happy homes in my worm bins.

It would seem to me that other worm "farmers" would try to save the worms unharmed if not for the worm's sake, but to keep expenses down by preserving the worms they have and future generations of worms. I imagine that in large commercial worm farms there is a certain amount of "collateral damage" done, but I don't know for fact as I have never seen any first hand.

I have happy worms! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Answer 5

But if it already occurs naturally, then in some cases, it is not necessary to buy them commercially whether you are a vegan or not. So in that context, vegans especially don't need and won't have buy them.But I suppose, it is really up to the individual to make the choice one way or the other.

Answer 6

I did a lot of research on this question...I was not able to find anything on Google that directly correlates to it however.  I can say this though...Composting is a wonderful thing.  Unused food doesn't need to go to waste.  

If you made your own compost you could add your own worms.

When I have my own yard I plan to compost.  

Other than that I really don't know about the EC.  I never even thought of that before...Peta hasn't even written anything about it.