When thinking about shit and it being used as a resource I remember this youtube video.
https://youtu.be/0tYaXBkiq70?si=qshd9gKm02ovfKxB
During the Edo period of Japan (1603-1868) poop was not just a form of waste it was also seen as a resource. While big cities in Europe had constant issues with contaminated water and dirty streets during this time, Japan had clean streets and the water was not filled with poop. Poop was seen as a valuable resource for farming as a fertilizer one that increased with an increasing population. Japan did not have a culture of meat eating like many European countries so they did not have as much animal waste as a resource so they needed to rely on people’s waste for fertilizer. This is known as night soil. The farmland in Japan was also very limited and with an increasing population, night soil helped keep the land fertile and helped produce more crops. People who collected poop created great wealth for their family but they were seen as public outcasts due to doing the dirty work of the population. This reminded me of the Strike Breaker reading as the family that recirculated waste was outcasted from society in a similar way. This was a useful and safer way to dispose of human waste as other countries would simply throw it into the surrounding waters which were then drunk from. When you collect and divert waste the water supply stays cleaner and is healthier. Using waste as a resource is something that is important to look into as we progress as it can recirculate nutrients and create less harm through our current artificial fertilizers and harmful farming practices.