Eating dirt
Scientists have discovered that chimpanzees, other animals and even some humans eat dirt in order to meet a dietary need. It has to be the right kind of clay, a spoonful of blowdirt won’t do anything useful for you.
The question came up on a recent broadcast of Quirks and Quarks on CBC radio.What surprised me was that it surprised anyone.
Any country kid who has watched a chicken pick up stones for its crop or a deer nibbling at a salt lick knows there are nutrients underfoot.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
My sister got in all kinds of trouble one time by serving her little friends a yellowish concoction whose basic ingredient was mud.What caused the trouble was she thought mud looked a little blah so she fetched some eggs from the chicken house and mixed them in. Our parents were not amused about the loss of eggs that could have been sold at the candling station.She and her friends didn’t suffer any noticeable ill effects other than the severe parental wigging.
Kaopectate, a product for regular fellows, apparently has a clay base. You can get it at your local pharmacy but when you go, take money. Chimpanzees are smarter. When they have a stomach upset they head to a cutbank where white clay is showing and grab a few mouthfuls. Perhaps the pharmaceutical association should lobby the government to pass a law against this unfair competition.
I have been instructed to tell you that you cannot expect to cure all your ills by spooning in garden soil. I would especially recommend you don’t try my garden soil because just last year I dug in a load of cow manure.
