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The Story of P(ee) in which phosphorus, a substance present in every living cell, is being used up and flushed away
Wed 17 Feb 2010 10:46pm
By Melinda Burns, February 10, 2010 Miller-McCune Magazine
“P” is for phosphorus, the stuff of life, and “p” is for “peak phosphorus” by 2030, ecologists say, unless — presto! — pee can be turned into gold through modern-day alchemy....15 million tons of phosphorus is mined yearly to grow food, but 80 percent never reaches the dinner table: It is lost to inefficiency and waste...Farmers use too much fertilizer and it runs off the land, polluting streams, lakes and oceans. Industrial agriculture does not plow crop residues back into the soil after the harvest. In some countries, consumers throw away a third of their food, even when much of it is still edible.
Mature animals, including humans, excrete nearly 100 percent of the phosphorus they consume. But only half of animal manure — the largest organic and renewable source of phosphorus — is being recycled back onto farmland worldwide, studies show. And only 10 percent of what humans excrete is returned to agriculture as sludge or wastewater...Ideally, researchers say, cities will become phosphorus “hotspots” of urine and feces that can fertilize the surrounding farmland. Sweden for example, plans to recycle 60 percent of its phosphorus back into agriculture by 2015. Two Swedish cities presently require all new toilets to separate urine for use on local farms. The nutrients in one person’s urine are believed to be sufficient to produce at least half and potentially all the food requirements for another person.
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Stearns Farm CSA Community Supported Agriculture Kathy Huckins, Farm Manager Preserving the historic Stearns farm as a sustainable garden while providing locally and naturally grown food in partnership between the land, the farmer, and the community. |
Revision 1. Last edited Wed 17 Feb 2010 10:46pm by TomYelton |
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