Within the new work we would like to make a step towards organic materials such as compost, and research and discuss the implications of consuming humxn-made soil on personal health and community health. We hope to open up discussion of the safety surrounding consumption of organic materials, and the complexity of cultural understanding, spatial awareness, environmental awareness, and personal desires surrounding this.
Photo by masharu
We work on developing a bio-design and food design project which would explore the possibility of production of humxn-made soils with the primary purpose of eating them. The natural soil from, for example a deciduous forest, will hold imprints of thousands of years of species interaction, it will have formed through the years of decomposition with the help of insects, worms, and other micro living systems. The humxn-made soil holds different components, and could be considered a safer way to ingest earth, due to the considered lack in microplastics and heavy metals that may have contaminated non humxn-made samples. It is also important to consider that within an age of industrialization and increased speed in production, as well as a push for chemical convenience in agriculture, many non-organic materials such as pesticides may be added to earth, and increase the gap between manufacturing and sustainability.
Compost is made from the breakdown of materials through the consumption and excretion of those materials by other organisms. Compost is mostly high in fibre and may contain potassium and nitrogen from the breakdown process. Its properties make it different from soil, and therefore a suggestion of why it has its own labelling and used as a fertiliser. Involvement in the production of soil could encourage liberating circumstances of working with nature, in particular the introduction of wormeries (a purposeful high density of earthworms in compost bins) in order to speed up the process of breaking down the organic waste. Interspecies interaction must play a heavy part in the exploration of self-made soils, therefore I will need to request workshops and consult with other practitioners about exploring the other life forms involved in this process.
We are exploring production of new soil meant especially for eating, through investigative and creative principles I will document the outcomes and processes of this. The act of making compost plays into the engagement with creating soil, soil that is documented to be sufficient in nutrients and minerals. One may assume that it is unsafe to consume material waste that has solely (specifically with compost) been broken down by other organisms such as fungi, worm, nematodes, protozoa, mites and can be a breeding ground due to its humid nature for bacteria. Being able to monitor the potential outcome of the soil is one of the benefits of compost creation, although arguably it is difficult to fully monitor a natural process especially when it is outdoors and is vulnerable to contamination.
We are learning how to manage a worm hotel as a composting site, observing the worms and how they break down waste materials. I will learn a lot more about this process during my research and collaborations, and find out about the benefits and restrictions of working with worms during the composting process, as well as consulting with others on whether it would be safe to consume a worm heavy made compost.
Ongoing compost experiments. Photos by masharu.
What can ingestion of Compost tell us about its properties?
Much of research on soil health has also been connected to the health of humxns and animals, this can be reduced to the similarity in microbiomes that exist within our bodies and that also exist within our environment. Many researchers, and in particular health researchers, are studying the humxn microbiome and dysbiosis (an imbalance in the gut) and what can be implemented to reduce microbial imbalance. It is argued that certain nutritional foods are needed, but many also believe that healthy soils hold the answer to digestive health and that introducing these properties in reasonable amounts can improve our bodily balance. The Human Microbiome Project, an organisation in Maryland, United States has deduced that the humxn gut microbiome and soil microbiome has the same amount of active microorganisms, and that these were likely to have evolved in tandem; ‘the same molecules are used for the health of a plant in soil and our own gut; it must be a very ancient system that’s been preserved’
Humxn activity in agriculture has disrupted these systems, and have caused a lot of damage to the soils through pesticides and monoculture farming practices. It is arguable that by developing our own healthy soil systems through compost, we can rebalance disturbance in our health and the health of our environments.
