Have you read, heard, or seen the use of untreated human sewage by farmers in the production of food? Have you heard, read, or seen farmers explaining how untreated human sewage is a source of organic matter in the soil? Or have you been in an argument with a farmer trying to convince you that untreated human sewage is good for crop production and improves crop yield? The focus of this practice is to reduce cost and at the same time increase profit. This could be a sharp practice that could pose a grave consequence on the safety of the food.
There are some myths we need to correct especially at the farm level, and the use of untreated human sewage to increase productivity is one of them. The worst I have heard was the use of fresh human sewage and ploughing it into the soil for crop production. Untreated human sewage is not fertilizer in that state; rather, it is a risk factor for some illnesses and could lead to fatal consequences. This is because untreated human sewage (even treated sewage sludge) contains some harmful chemicals and microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria, etc, and actively live in the matter (even some survive the high temperature or heat) and this could be transferred to harvested crops, which poses great harm to the final consumers. Also, the sewage sludge could contain diseases such as Hepatitis A and E, Giardia, E. coli, Cholera, and norovirus amongst others and this can be transmitted through food (especially produce consumed fresh).
This practice needs to be discouraged in totality as it does more harm than good. Using human sludge should be criminalized at all levels, and farmers need to be sensitized to the negative impacts of this practice on the food system; especially the increase in the chances of unsafe food being distributed. Our food should be our medicine and not a weapon of destruction to our bodies. Let us brace up to ensure that good agricultural practices are adopted at the farm level as well as food safety not being compromised because of increasing profit. Let’s not forget that untreated human sludge is not a fertilizer that should be applied to the soil.
