[ravenstine]

It makes me wonder if we aren't using human waste properly.

I'm being serious.

We don't absorb all of the nutrients and calories that we consume, partly because we are overnourished (our bodies might spontaneously combust if we utilized every single calorie we ate), so there's plenty of leftovers in our feces. Does it ever get recycled for use in agriculture in "developed" nations? (I can't think of a word for that which isn't now a faux pas)

[edflsafoiewq]

Yes it does.

> Biosolids are solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process and used as fertilizer. [...] In the United States, as of 2013 about 55% of sewage solids are turned into fertilizer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosolids

[ravenstine]

I guess I was using the wrong keyword. That's pretty amazing!

[overcast]

Milorganite does just that! Comes from the Milwaukee sewage treatment.

[phonethrowaway]

humanure is a thing

[bluGill]

IT very much is. Just be careful, it is also full of harmful bacteria that you shouldn't eat. It is very useful fertilizer but needs to be properly cared for or you could poison whole cities.

[baybal2]

> It makes me wonder if we aren't using human waste properly. I'm being serious.

Such "Organic Farming" been taking lives of millions from communicable diseases every year in South Asia in China until the advent of synthetic fertilisers.