Would you eat food fertilised by human waste?
Polls
18th January 2023
A STUDY has shown that growing food with products taken from human wee and poo is safe.
Most of the nutrients needed to help plants grow can be found in human wee and poo. Urine has high levels of important elements like nitrogen and potassium, while poo has nutrients that are good for soil. The study used human waste fertilisers to grow cabbages. They wanted to see if they grew as well as those using more common fertilisers – ones made from chemicals or manure (animal poo).
Another important thing to check was if it is safe, as wee and poo can contain harmful microscopic organisms or traces of drugs and medicines that someone might have taken. The results found that using the wee fertiliser was best, and just as good as a more common fertiliser. A mix of wee and poo was second best, and using just poo produced the smallest amount of cabbages.
It was also found that the risk from using human waste as fertiliser was low. Dr Ariane Krause, lead author of the study, said that fertiliser which came from wee had “huge potential” as a fertiliser in farming. She wants to see more of these recycled products used in the future, as they are better for the environment and cause less pollution than some synthetic (not natural) fertilisers. The full study was published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science.
15 Comments
eleran · 2 years ago
Compost is made from similar stuff like that I personally don't see the difference
fatdogslim · 2 years ago
I would because if it makes it grow better and its washed in the preparation then yes!
tiger.star · 2 years ago
This does seem gross, and I don't think I would eat any food fertilised by human waste. It would be very good for the environment though, but I would worry about risks of human waste too.
first@news · 2 years ago
NO! Because there is a lot of STUFF in our stools
first@news · 2 years ago
STUFF like gross microbes and there is a low risk of getting ill but it's still a risk.
rumdumdum · 2 years ago
Eww of course not what if something goes wrong with it
yellowlion · 2 years ago
It is great for the environment and it is like normal food, so why not?
aces10 · 2 years ago
Although it may sound disgusting and unhygienic, if it has been proven to be safe, I think it should be acceptable. As long as the fruit and veg is washed properly, I would be happy to eat it. Plus, it would be a lot better for the environment than other synthetic fertilisers.
lolokaro · 2 years ago
I think it’s going to take a long time for people to trust this and the thought of it really disgusts me I’m not gonna lie so I don’t think many people will go through it but maybe though generations it will become more normal and people will accept it. However, they shouldn’t cover or lie about it because they should respect that some people don’t feel comfortable (like me) to go through with this
axolotl- · 2 years ago
Yes I would, because it is just the same as normal animal waste, scientists say it is good for the environment and it is safe.
splashy10 · 2 years ago
It’s a little bit gross for example if you hadn’t washed your vegetables properly you would be eating human poo! 💩😬🤢🤮
potterwolf · 2 years ago
It’s a risk to our health! What if someone’s poo seemed fine but made a COVID pandemic! It might also ruin the taste of the food.
breezy · 2 years ago
N-O that means no!It would be absolutely GROSS 🤢
woldhouse · 2 years ago
I personally think it is great but seems diiiiiiiisgusting to be eating human virtualised food.
mimi365 · 2 years ago
OMG!! No way I would eat something fertilized by human waste!💩