{"id":3074,"date":"2008-06-14T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2008-06-14T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-367309-1145705.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=3074"},"modified":"2008-06-14T06:00:40","modified_gmt":"2008-06-14T12:00:40","slug":"in-praise-of-poop-rediscovering-the-wonders-of-cow-manure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sustainablog.org\/articles\/in-praise-of-poop-rediscovering-the-wonders-of-cow-manure\/","title":{"rendered":"In Praise of Poop: Rediscovering the Wonders of Cow Manure"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cowCall me crazy, call me crude, but I have to say that there is nothing<\/em> quite like the smell of cow manure.<\/p>\n

That scent is so rich, so savory, so earthy, so pungently sweet that just one whiff seems to bury you in an olfactory pleasure dome. And if you keep basking in the aroma, you may well feel driven to grab a pitchfork, plop a straw hat on your head, stick a blade of grass in your mouth, and head on out to the fields. This is especially true on those oh-so-humid mornings in the peak of summer, when the air is so moist and dense that you almost have to put on scuba gear. But any old day is a great day for cow poop.<\/p>\n

I confess that I am no connoisseur of creaturely caca, but I would bet that none can compare with the quality of a cow\u2019s. Horse manure comes close, but it pushes pungency at the expense of sweetness, plus it is not very good for fertilizer. The feces of fowls is not even in the same league; it is far too acrid, not to mention slimy and sticky and all around offensive. Elephant excrement is similarly versatile (for example, it makes a great alternative source for paper<\/a>), yet so far it lacks the time-tested dependability and widespread availability of cow dung; pachyderm poo is thus still an exotic delicacy rather than a common staple. (I cannot speak to its odoriferous character, alas.) And nobody would sing paeans to dog and cat poop. Look at how tenderly people carry those telltale plastic bags when walking their dogs–usually with one arm extended as the dog pulls the leash and the other arm, hand, and pinching fingers extended as far away as possible with the bag bobbing in the air. When it comes to the felines, we have managed to train them to go potty in specified places, cover it with \u201cfresh scent\u201d granules, and graciously shake off anything sticking to their paws. I suppose \u201cdomestication,\u201d in part, means proper toilet training\u2026or \u201chouse training,\u201d as it is called. And as for “humanure”…I am not even going there.<\/p>\n

No, the cow has no competitors when it comes to marvelous manure. And these marvels are manifold. Everyone, even the deprived city dweller, knows that cow dung makes superb fertilizer. But it is also great for much, much more:<\/p>\n