Eating+Poop

King James

It seems the chickens eschew fresh manure, so he waits three or four days before bringing them in - but not a day longer. That's because the fly larvae in the manure are on a four-day cycle, he explained...and making their eggs unusually rich and tasty. (343)

"Birds follow and clean up after herbivores, eating insects off their poop" (206).

Let's eat poop! Don't worry, of course it's tasty. Well your not actually eating poop. Poop represents the overall complexity of animals at farms, which grow produce that we end up eating. So what happens is, the chickens eat from the grass, then ends up pooping on the grass. Then cows, hens, and pigs eat from the grass. These several animals provide produce that we use, such as milk, eggs, and meats.

OK, so why must we eat foods nourished by poop? Well a chickens poop is a natural fertilizer for the soil. It contains nutrients and a great amount of hot nitrogen which is main factor in nourishing the soil into producing grass. The chickens poop becomes nutrient rich from the grub it eats. Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, explains, "It seems the chickens eschew fresh manure, so he waits three or four days before bringing them in - but not a day longer. That's because the fly larvae in the manure are on a four-day cycle, he explained...and making their eggs unusually rich and tasty".This specific time in letting the larvae transform allows a third of protein for the hens that eat them, which then produces tasty and healthier hatched eggs. It is also through this all natural process where the nutrient rich poop can sustain itself as a natural fertilizer to the soil, and then to the grass, and then ending in the animals, which we eat. This natural fertilizer is also money conservative and does not provide harmful factors to our environment.

Farmers today are too focused on producing food faster. Our agricultural society emphasizes money and quantity over quality by using chemical fertilizers instead. Chemical fertilizers have a faster affect, but they cause plants to become increasingly vulnerable to diseases, and drain plants of their proteins which allow us as consumers to become healthier and creating healthier diets.

Our modern society is slacking in natural fertilizers such as poop. Healthier produce created from natural fertilizers are rare to find in this same society. Ok so lets start using poop as a natural fertilizer, since it is cheaper than chemical fertilizers. Well it's not that easy. It takes time, time that farmers believe just aint needed to create money. So are farmers going to change? Is it possible that our agricultural society will sacrifice some dollars for healthier produce and healthier citizens?

Its up to you. You decide on what foods you eat. Before you purchase your next meal and foods, ponder about if you want healthy nutrients from poop or food that has been drenched in chemical fertilizers which makes you more susceptible to disease. The price of a healthy food may cost a little more, but is your health more important than your money?