Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Dieter Brand <diebrand@yahoo.com>]

Hi Paul,

Our thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.  And thanks 
for maintaining this list all these years.

Dieter

--- On Fri, 7/23/10, Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:

> From: Tradingpost <tradingpost@lobo.net>
> Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Using Human Waste
> To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Friday, July 23, 2010, 6:17 AM
> 
> Yes, in normal living we're exposed to pathogens all our
> lives.
> 
> It's been a rough week with my wife/partner in hospital
> here, and my daughter taken off life support in FL today
> leaving a nine month old baby.
> 
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> 
> 
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
> 
> On 7/22/2010 at 12:33 PM Dieter Brand wrote:
> 
> >I absolutely agree, pathogens are not a problem. 
> I have used our
> >humanure for nearly 10 years and never had a
> problem.  I let it compost
> >with dry leaves, saw dust, soil, grass, weeds or
> whatever is available. 
> >After a few months it turns into crumbly soil that
> smells as good forest
> >soil (probably because of the leaves).  I usually
> wait for two years
> >before I use it on root vegetables or things like
> salads that are eaten
> >raw just to be on the safe side.  I would never
> use night soil from other
> >households or from the city because people consume all
> sorts of
> >pharmaceuticals and pour chemicals down the
> drain.  I even separate the
> >toilet paper because of the bleaching agents.  
> >
> >The human body and our surroundings contain billions of
> microbes, most are
> >beneficial, a few are potential pathogens when the
> conditions are right,
> >but our immune system even needs these potential
> pathogens to build its
> >defenses.  There is only about half a dozen of
> dangerous pathogens like
> >tuberculoses that are always harmful, but most of these
> have been
> >eradicated in the West.
> >
> >Dieter Brand
> >Portugal
> >
> >
> >
> >--- On Wed, 7/21/10, John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net>
> wrote:
> >
> >> From: John D'hondt <dhondt@eircom.net>
> >> Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Using Human Waste
> >> To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing"
> ><livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
> >> Date: Wednesday, July 21, 2010, 10:15 PM
> >> 
> >> In my experience I think that pathogens are not at
> all a
> >> problem. We have a septic tank overflowing into a
> small
> >> water purification area. I have seen all kinds of
> animals
> >> drink from that water at different places and not
> one sign
> >> of disease has been seen.
> >> Under good circumstances pathogens are eaten out
> of a
> >> living by an overwhelming mass of non pathogens.
> The only
> >> way you can select for pathogens is by using man
> made
> >> chemicals that often kill off the others. And
> onfortunately
> >> that is the paradigm we have been fed with our
> mother's
> >> milk. Don't try to kill bacteria for you will fail
> and don't
> >> be too clean so as to keep plenty of non pathogen
> species on
> >> standby.
> >> 
> >> The water that comes out of the wetland shows no
> signs of
> >> nitrate or phosphate loss. It is clear and even in
> little
> >> pools no algae show up.
> >> 
> >> We harvest plants like comfrey and bullrush there
> and maybe
> >> 10 more species for animal food. Again never seen
> a problem
> >> and how could it? Pathogens are not taken up by
> plants in a
> >> cold swamp to be transported to an edible part.
> That simply
> >> does not happen.
> >> john
> >> 
> >> > Several people on the list have mentioned the
> use of
> >> human waste for agricultural purposes. I'm
> interested in
> >> what peoples experience has been with this and
> what kinds of
> >> precautions people are taking to break the
> pathogen-human
> >> cycles in order to avoid disease transmission. The
> World
> >> health Organization has done a lot of work on this
> and their
> >> guidelines are available online.
> >http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wastewater/gsuww/en/index.html
> >> > 
> >> > This appears to me to be one of the crucial
> linkages
> >> that will have to be established in a steady state
> economy.
> >> Nutrient recycling is a fundamental ecosystem
> >> function/service which must be integrated in the
> closed
> >> human-earth system. Of course pathogens have
> evolved to
> >> exploit this system and we have to assure a
> reasonable level
> >> of safety.
> >> > 
> >> > Phil Bunch
> 
> 
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