McCarrison Society

Health Through Nutrition, A Birthright

Project 3. Sir Albert Howard; Compost; Human waste; Value to plants – Initial Study Viability

Mineral contents of a basket of crops have fallen between 20 and 70% over the last 50 years based on data kept by Rothamsted and reported in the McCarrison Journal, and wider data on soil mineral levels. Link

The loss of minerals and wider nutrient is crops is arguably due to a mix of:

The McCarrison Society in conjunction with others are looking at the feasibility of verifying and so reviving hardwon historic observation and knowledge by getting studies done by reputable agricultural research organisations to determine;

  • if human excrement composted on the principles set out by Sir Albert Howard will improve; plant yields, health, structure, keeping qualities and flavour,
  • if significant changes in mineral, nutrient, and antioxidant status are seen,
  • if pathogen issues can be successfully overcome,
  • if the increasing use of hormones and medications poses issues,
    and if as appears to be the case odour issues in the processes are minimal,
    with the ultimate aim of creating an environment in which those in the sewage industry, agricultural and food sectors as well as Governments might see commercial and environmental possibilities in the technology.

This New Scientist article confirms the idea is not as mad as many might suggest. Your library will probably have a copy.

flushed-with-success-human-manures-fertile-future
13 February 2013
“Flushed with success: Human manure’s fertile future
We shouldn’t pooh-pooh the idea of fertilising crops with our urine and faeces – it’s safer than it sounds and the benefits would be huge Honey-sucker trucks deliver their load to farmers, whose crops benefit big time
See more in our photo gallery: “Sewage solutions: Six alternative toilet technologies“
flushed-with-success-human-manures-fertile-future

LOCALS call them honey-suckers, but don’t be fooled by the name. They cruise through the high-tech streets of India’s newest megacity, sucking up its lowest-tech problem: sewage. These trucks empty Bangalore’s million septic tanks and pit latrines, where the majority of its 10 million inhabitants relieve themselves.

In most places, sewage trucks discharge their cargo into streams and lakes, adding to local pollution. But in Bangalore, the honey-suckers head for farms outside the city, where their stinking loads are in demand to fertilise vegetables and coconut and banana trees. The farmers pay good money for human waste; it produces bumper crops. For them, it is sweet.The honey-suckers of Bangalore …”

An Agricultural Testament

by Sir Albert Howard
Appendix C
The Manufacture of Humus from the Wastes of the Town and the Village
by Sir Albert Howard, C.I.E., M.A.

An Agricultural Testament

by Sir Albert Howard Appendix C

The Manufacture of Humus from the Wastes of the Town and the Village by Sir Albert Howard, C.I.E., M.A.
Formerly Director of the Institute of Plant Industry, Indore, Central India, and Agricultural Adviser to States in Central India and Rajputana

Small Farms Library (free)

ATapp3.html

Farming and Gardening for Health or Disease (The Soil and Health)
Sir Albert Howard – Appendix C
The Utilisation of Municipal Wastes in South Africa
J.P.J van Vuren M.Sc. (Agric.)
Small Farms Library (free)
ATapp3.html

Appropriate Technology for Water Supply and Sanitation Night Soil Composting

Night Soil Composting
By Hillel I Shuval, Charles G, Gunnerson and De Anne s. Julius
World Bank / December 1981
A contribution to the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade.

multi_page.pdf

Soil Management: Compost production and use in tropical and subtropical environments.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States
PDF (Free)

-s8930e.pdf

Soil Management: Compost production and use in tropical and subtropical environments.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States
PDF (Free)

-s8930e.pdf

Soil Management: Compost production and use in tropical and subtropical environments.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States
PDF (Free)

-s8930e.pdf

The Humanure Handbook

This is a highly thought provoking book of which I have a copy. There is free access to the book here. Given they have a PDF I presume it is with the authors permission.

humanure_handbook_third_edition.pdf

Composting toilets
An abstract from Zoe’s excellent resource . . . with lots of very useful information and links, including some of the above – thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂

“One of the least logical aspects of modern life is that of taking and purifying huge amounts of water, defecating in a large proportion of it, spending great sums of money to then try to purify it again, but never returning the nutrients to farmland, thus depending more and more on chemical fertilizers that are made and transported with non-renewable fossil fuels. To make things worse, pathogens develop resistance to the chemicals used to treat sewage and substances like antibiotics and artificial hormones cannot reliably be removed or degraded. These are the results of an irrational fear of our own excrement that leads us to do irrational things with it.” Zoe-s-Wiki Composting Toilets

Composting+toilets

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