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Garlic is now an existential emergency and threatens US national security. (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 53 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Communist China’s growth practices are well-documented in the public domain, from cooking blogs and home magazines to YouTube videos and documentaries. These practices include such offenses as fertilizing garlic with human feces and forms of sewage, growing garlic in sewage, bleaching garlic to make it appear whiter and cleaner to the eye after its growth in unsanitary conditions, and stripping the root end from garlic before it enters U.S. markets as to make it appear more appealing and also to comply with U.S. laws regarding prevention of soil-borne diseases and contaminants.

God forbid Communist China ... complies with our regulations?

[–] [email protected] 56 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

These practices include such offenses as fertilizing garlic with human feces and forms of sewage, growing garlic in sewage

From https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/you-asked/it-true-garlic-china-grown-human-feces-and-watered-urine

there is no evidence that garlic in China is fertilized in this fashion. In any case, there is no problem with this, human waste is as effective a fertilizer as is animal waste. Spreading human sewage on fields that grow crops doesn't sound appealing, but it is safer than you might think.

That would be my guess too at first glance. What do they think manure is if they're grossed out at sewage? As long as it's treated properly to reduce pathogens then it's just "ew yucky I don't like the real world".

[–] [email protected] 41 points 11 months ago (1 children)

God damn Americans are so divorced from the source of their food. I thought it was common knowledge that manure is a natural fertilizer.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Isn't “the Martian” an American movie?

[–] [email protected] 36 points 11 months ago

Maybe Americans would be okay if Matt Damon shat on their garlic.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago

They spray fields here with pig shit regularly it’s how salmonella gets into the bagged salad

[–] [email protected] 23 points 11 months ago

Tons of fertilizers are processed biosolids. Granulite and Milorganite are common brands.

People freak out about the bacteria, PFAS, or pharmaceuticals that it introduces into the food supply, but it's not substantially different in quantity from animal waste which is the only other source used at scale.