It’s Easy Being Green

I like to compost my kitchen scraps but haven’t ever thought about composting human waste. That was until I found out there’s a new book out on the subject. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m all for living in a sustainable environment but I’m not about to start composting my waste to fertilize my vegetable garden. The idea just doesn’t sit well with me. However, some people might have an interest in the subject.

Joseph Jenkins, author of “The Humanure Handbook” will be speaking down in Prescott next week on March 12th, 7:30pm, downstairs at the Crossroads. The book Jenkins wrote talks about how human waste can be recycled using natural processes and not harmful chemicals. If you’d like to buy a copy of his book or read a free online version, you can head to his website for Humanure.

What do you think? Could you compost your own family’s waste and fertilize your vegetable garden with it? Is it a mind over matter situation? Share your thoughts.

Who knew a book investigating what exactly goes into each and every one of our meals would end up a best seller, illustrating the apparently mainstream idea that a lot of what we eat isn’t good for us. I’m talking about Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. His book investigated what goes into each and every one of our meals from a value meal at the local fast food joint to a home-cooked dinner with ingredients purchased from the natural food store.

Now Pollan has written a follow up called In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. This new book delves into scientific explanations of the diets and nutritional values of many traditional societies. Pollan’s goal is to develop a common-sense alternative to eating what he calls “edible food-like substances” that our mass produced for us on a daily basis. His conclusions is that we should continue eating but in moderation of course and add a lot of vegetation to our daily diet.

You might remember Pollan also wrote The Botany of Desire, examining whether plants use humans just as humans use plants.