[mc32]

Pathogens reduction yes. Animal biological matter, no. Harvesting entails inclusion of many small animals and insects which get processed.

That said, it may not be a bad thing to be exposed to those byproducts of farming. Too sterile an environment (and food) can result in other problems. Obviously we don’t want to overwhelm our immune systems with pathogens but they need to be exposed to them to be ready and also to not attack our own system.

[blunte]

I don't think we are at any risk of living in too sterile an environment. If anything, the knowledge that at least 1/3 of people don't wash their hands after they poop... is just one of the lovely ways we get exposed to a lot of interesting "biological matter".

Practically everything we touch in public has someone else's complex human fecal matter on it, plus stuff from other sources.