The Origin of Feces: What Excrement Tells Us About Evolution, Ecology, and a Sustainable Society

Description

Dung beetles and the girl on the airplane -- What from the tongue falls -- The list of ingredients and an inventory -- On the Origin of Feces -- Turd of endearment : what excrement means to animals -- MapQuest to diarrhea : the fecal-oral route -- Hercules and all that crapper -- The other dark matter -- Making sense of excrement's wicked complexity -- Know shit : a way forward.;An entertaining and enlightening exploration of why waste matters, this cultural history explores an often ignored subject matter and makes a compelling argument for a deeper understanding of human and animal waste. Approaching the subject from a variety of perspectives-evolutionary, ecological, and cultural-this examination shows how integral excrement is to biodiversity, agriculture, public health, food production and distribution, and global ecosystems. From primordial ooze, dung beetles, bug frass, cat scats, and flush toilets to global trade, pandemics, and energy, this is the awesome.