Biosolids, the Uses and the Problems

So what happens with our wastes once we flush the toilet? This is something that almost no one wants to even think about, for obvious reasons. Every year human biosolids generate a huge amount of waste. What can we do with the waste? Of course we could just dump it in a landfill right? There can't be any use for our waste can there?

Yum.

Well surprisingly there can be. After the water leaves our toilets, it goes through the sewage drain and eventually gets treated and cleaned. The water then gets reused, but what of all the solids that are in the water? Well some smart people once upon a time ago discovered that feces are a good source of nutrients for plants. That's right, our biological waste is used as fertilizer for plants, specifically the ones that we eat. Well it isn't that bad. The government has imposed strict rules involving fruits and vegetables being treated with biosolids. Fruits and vegetables can only be harvested 15 months after being treated with biosolids, and animals have to wait at least 5 months before they can graze on an area treated with biosolids. The government is supportive of using biosolids as it greatly decreases the amount of waste in landfills and incinerators. It is also beneficiary for the farmers, who instead of paying huge amounts of money for  synthetic fertilizers can get biosolids for almost nothing.

Yum.

The main cons of this practice are many, but the government describes them as "negligible". They say we shouldn't worry about the potential health hazard, or the unknown composition of these solids, or the possibility of soil contamination, or the possibility of crop infection. There are many reasons to raise an eyebrow over biosolid uses, but I really believe that if we do find a problem with it, then it will already be too late to take action as we have been using this method for a long time. The government should definitely put more money into researching this method, just to reassure people that this method of fertilizing won't jeopardize our health!
Who supports the use of biosolids? Many organizations and groups, most of them farmers who might just want to save some money.

• Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
• Ontario Ministry of the Environment
• Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
• Agricultural Groups Concerned about Resources and the Environment
• American Water Canada Corporation
• Association of Local Public Health Agencies
• Ontario Association of Sewage Industry Services
• Ontario Clean Water Agency
• Ontario Federation of Agriculture
• Ontario Forest Industries Association
• Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association
• Rural Ontario Municipal Association
• University of Guelph
• Water Environment Association of Ontario
   
  Many of these agencies are provincial agencies. This obviously shows that the province is showing interest in expanding this project. Maybe we should go along with it. If the government wants to pay for something why not take it right? There are many unanswered questions about the use of biosolids, which hopefully one day the public will be better informed about, but as for now since there haven't been any identified health risks I believe using biosolids might be a good way to improve the farming industry. It seems that we are stuck in the mind set of human waste being unsanitary and disgusting-which is true in most cases- but I think that it's time to turn things around and go in a new direction using human biosolids!
  
  
  Sources:
  http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/nm/nasm/sewbiobroch.htm
  http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Sewage-Sludge-Pros-Cons.htm
  http://www.sencer.net/Outreach/pdfs/DCSymposium08/Posters/LUbiosolids.pdf
  
  
  Blogs commented on:
  http://philipsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/
  http://melissasbioblog.blogspot.com/
  
  

Healthy Technological Advances!

The men that discovered Insulin.

      With a growing population, we need to be more efficient in dealing with illnesses. Luckily with out growing population, we are achieving a growing scientific knowledge, and we are getting better at making it help us out with every day things. Health science has been a huge field in the recent years, but let's start early on with an incredibly important discovery.

 Insulin!

Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod won Nobel prize in 1923 for the discovery of insulin. This scientific advance saved all diabetes patients. Before the discovery of insulin, diabetes, or the failure of the pancreas to control sugar levels, was a fatal illness. The insulin was modified and isolated in a U of T lab, from where it became a life saver all over the world.


Cancer Controlling Hormones

Dr. Huggins

In 1966 the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was presented to a certain Dr. Charles Brenton Huggins of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Mr. Huggins had done some very important research at Harvard University that led to the discovery of cancer controlling hormones. This was the first time anyone had been able to control cancer by using chemicals. Dr. Huggins' research on prostate cancer changed forever the way scientists saw the behavior of all cancer cells and for the first time brought hope to the idea of treating advanced cancers.


Colon Cancer

In 1996, researchers at the Sick Children's hospital discovered the gene responsible for colon cancer. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Canada.

Overall, you can see that Canadians are very up to the task of discovering important medical advances. This is just a tiny fraction of what has been discovered in Canada over the past century, and I'm sure we'll see a lot more in the future!


Sources: http://www.canadianmedicinenews.com/2007/11/canadas-greatest-medical-research.html
http://www.usrf.org/news/010308-huggins.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/274842/Charles-B-Huggins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin#History
http://www.coloncancercanada.ca/fastfacts_coloncancer.php

Blogs commented on:
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http://caitlincosgrovebioblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/importance-of-various-technologies.html#comment-form

Agricultural Demand: How long can it keep up?

It's the year 2011, and there are about 6,900,201,659 people living on earth (U.S. Census Bureau). Aside from air, the two other most necessary things needed for human existence (water and food) are shared unevenly. Water as we know, cannot be produced. The best thing we can do is share it evenly. Food however is another story. This is where the agricultural industry comes into play. Agriculture has been the main source of food of our ancestors for thousands of years. The convenience of agriculture allowed large towns and cities to arise because of the assurance of food (unlike hunting). New techniques were being discovered as time progressed and agriculture had become more and more sustainable.

The ancient Egyptians relied on agriculture.

The industrial revolution brought a new player into the agricultural game. Chemicals and eventually genetic modification. These allowed plants to grow at unforeseen speeds and was able to suffice the sudden population boom. 

In the late 1700s, a British politician and economist named Thomas Malthus made what was a very bold statement at the time, saying that one day the world's population growth would over power the agricultural productivity causing global disaster. His theory has  since been called the "Malthusian Catastrophe".

Thomas Malthus

 In today's world there are many examples of food shortages. Africa is probably the most known one. The land in Africa is simply infertile or the climate is too harsh. In other countries the main agricultural issue is urban expansion. Acres of farm land each day destroyed and used to house the rapidly growing population. The EU has seen this as a problem and has directly began to address the farmers.  The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the European Union's driving force behind farmer support. About €55bn (2008) was spent to fund this initiative which accounts for about 40% of the EU's budget. This program gives farmers incentives to stay with their agricultural lifestyles rather than give up their farms. The EU is planning to direct more money into rural development to support the farmers and their trade. This gives us hope for the near future. The CAP is to be readdressed in 2013, and with today's food prices going up like mad, we will for sure see many positive changes involving agriculture!

Sources:
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/worldhis.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_malthus
http://ec.europa.eu/news/agriculture/081119_1_en.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture

Commented blogs:
http://philipsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/genetically-enhanced-agriculture-step.html
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