Photo Credit kylita
I’ve just finished reading an excellent book on shit. Entitled
The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters, and written by Rose George, it’s an investigation of the ways in which humanity does, or doesn’t, clean up after itself. The book is a splendid blend of anthropology, sociology, economics, and toilet humour, written in a style that, above all, is clean. It’s tremendously readable, highly recommended, and after reading it, your porcelain throne will never seem the same again.
What’s the connection between food and what food becomes when we’re done with it (other than the obvious one)? Well, a BBC report, citing the International Water Management Institute, suggests that 85% of cities discharge wastewater without any treatment. And when that water gets used downstream by urban agriculture, well, you can guess the rest. Full report here. And a concrete example of poo in food in South Africa, here.