Talk:Night soil

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[edit] NPOV

"This is sometimes used as a political football to further an agenda. For example, some on the right of the political spectrum in the United States have used the fact that people have gotten sick from vegetables imported from Mexico to argue against NAFTA and even illegal aliens, although the latter relationship is tenuous." - I am removing this comment, I don't know the specifics of the cases the author of this comment mentions, but the way he injects a political dimension into this article without any context seems inappropriate. The comment also reflects the author's bias.

- As the author of the above, I can categorically state that I have no such biases, but I have heard such biases expressed, particularly on talk radio. I'll go through the logic. Many on the right think NAFTA is a bad idea. Because E-Coli outbreaks from human feces make people sick and create news and because night soil is used for fertilizer in developing nations, the idea is therefore floated that NAFTA is a bad idea because it impacts the health of Americans negatively. Despite the fact that I personally think NAFTA might not be the best idea in the world, this is an incredibly weak argument. I won't edit the comment back in because politics isn't particularly encyclopedic. KellyCoinGuy 02:48, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

This doesn't sound like a neutral point of view, nor does it really sound like it's appropriate for this article: "It is contrary to the principles of sustainability to dispose of human waste byproducts in landfills. It is irresponsible to dump sewage into rivers, lakes and oceans."

Furthermore, it is not really coherent. It first says that Night Soil is the practice of using human waste as fertilizer. Then it says Untouchables remove Night Soil. Are they removing the practice? --SVTCobra 00:58, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I've redefined the scope of the article. Elle _{vécut heureuse} ^{à jamais} (Be eudaimonic!) 18:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] what it is

Anyhow, I was reading this interesting page by a museum on toilets [Internation Museum of Toilets] which makes frequent references to Night Soil or nightsoil. Not knowing what "exactly" was meant, I naturally came to Wikipedia. For now, I will assume that it means "human shit" whether produced at night or day. --SVTCobra 01:13, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Hi, I think night soil is the substance, not any practise of using or disposing of the substance. I think it can be put in other words eg night dirt dirt from soiled or dirty. The dirt was and is still removed at night at places where development has not progressed that much.. Gregorydavid 06:21, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

It's called "night soil" because "night" is a good euphemism for anything that is necessary but needs to be discreet...(plus the fact that the coolies collected the night soil at...night, not a good idea to be carrying feces in the street in the hustle and bustle of broad daylight, you know). Elle _{vécut heureuse} ^{à jamais} (Be eudaimonic!) 18:00, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] heavy metals

If heavy metals in our doo-doo are bad, then how did it get into us in the first place? Explain!

They're probably more heavily concentrated as fertilizer. Elle _{vécut heureuse} ^{à jamais} (Be eudaimonic!) 18:03, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

They mostly come from industry. Big sewage plants are more necessary in cities, and cities have factories in them too. Tweeq 06:26, 12 February 2007 (UTC)