Kitchen Garden Forum

Got thinking the other day whilst sorting compost bins on what would happen if everybody gave up eating meat, how would the earth get fed?

I understand cow poo goes on the land for fertilising and is also used for growing mushrooms.

Chicken poo is good for fertilising the land.

Sheep poo not sure about but suspect it is good.

Pigs poo not good I believe as has stuff in it that can harm use humans.

When I think about it, the only animal poo I use now is from the horse although still have few chicken pellets in the shed.

I think the environmentalists are probably going overboard on this issue, forgetting that to grow and produce enough fruit, wheat and vegetables to feed an ever growing world population, we need to keep the land on which they are grown in good condition
. Whether on a small or large scale, we still need animal manure to do this and to be honest, I would rsther have my fertiliser in natural form than all the other manufactured substitutes and chemical alternatives.

We do, of course seem to have ruled human waste out of this discussion. With so many of the population now on medication of one kind or another, it,s inevitable that traces of this will be expelled theiugh poo and linger in the sewage system. I Can,t remember whether we,ve ever had a serious discussion about this on here but I think it merits one because I would certainly like to better understand the potential implications of going this route and using human sewage as fertiliser. Do we have a vastly under used resource here that could be harvested? What ACTUALLY happens to all this stuff once the sewage facilities have finished processing it? Does anybody know?

I know in days gone by, especially in the country, the contents of the outdoor privy or "thunder box" were routinely used for composting or fertilising rural vegetable patches, apparently without too much harm to humans when the resulting vegetables were eaten, although it's also a fact that in those times, most of the pharmaceutical medications we take today did not exist so I imagine human sewage was much "purer" than it is today.

An angling friend of mine tells me that the amount of medication still in the water system, even after it has been treated, is having a detrimental effect on the metabolic composition of fish in rivers and streams.

The reality is, I think, that longer term, we still can,t manage without good animal manure, and if the world gave up eating meat or chickens, the supply of animals would reduce vastly, so would the supply of manure, and our land would, over time become greatly less fertile.

As a lifelong vegetarian (well excepting my pre-primary school years), I don't see many proposals for the complete abandonment of meat but that people should considerably reduce their consumption.
The other sensible starting point is to concentrate on letting the animals just graze, rather than being fed cattle cake, growth promotors and such like. Vast areas of land is dedicated to growing crops to feed animals.
(but shouldn't we addressthe biggest issue, which is over population?)

Agree that over population is the "elephant in the room" issue which nobody wants to address because it,s the biggest political hot potato of all. But if governments everywhere started to perhaps offer some guidelines, saying might be desirably to limit your children to one child per family or reduced any benefits incentives to the first child this might get people thinking about and debating the issue. Admittedly this would affect poorer people which would be unfair but for the future this is an issue which merits wider public debate as we can't continue to ignore.it indefinitely.

Stephen wrote:As a lifelong vegetarian (well excepting my pre-primary school years), I don't see many proposals for the complete abandonment of meat but that people should considerably reduce their consumption.
The other sensible starting point is to concentrate on letting the animals just graze, rather than being fed cattle cake, growth promotors and such like. Vast areas of land is dedicated to growing crops to feed animals.
(but shouldn't we addressthe biggest issue, which is over population?)

Which could be used to feed humans.

Was it not India that offered a payment for families sticking with two children or is my memory fading

China had a go at stopping more than one child I believe.

"I know in days gone by, especially in the country, the contents of the outdoor privy or "thunder box" were routinely used for composting or fertilising rural vegetable patches, apparently without too much harm to humans when the resulting vegetables were eaten, although it's also a fact that in those times, most of the pharmaceutical medications we take today did not exist so I imagine human sewage was much "purer" than it is today."

That's an interesting thought on the drugs getting into the food chain. Wonder if the same drugs could be a contributing to the kids being fat news that is going around. Maybe the drugs used to make the animals fatter are making us humans fatter?

Regards composting human waste I remember this was done by in someone who lived remotely to enhance his soil also heard of person that has a market garden & composting toilet, only puts it on the food they eat not what is sold.

"What ACTUALLY happens to all this stuff once the sewage facilities have finished processing it?"

Thought the water companies spread this on the land after processing, usually noticed by a strong smell for a couple of when it has been done.

"Maybe the drugs used to make the animals fatter are making us humans fatter?"

Colin, I have absolutely NO evidence beyond observation and prejudice.

When cooking for vegans (I am a lacto-vegetarian) the most difficult ingredient to replace is egg. Curiously The Guardian has an article on this very subject today:- https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/18/whats-the-best-vegan-alternative-to-eggs

There is a book available called Humanure:Shit in a Nutshell by Joseph C Jenkins, which I'll admit I've not yet read. The companion book of Liquid Gold is very good...