Read 'n' Seed 2: First half of "How to Shit in the Woods"

 I am actually reading two different shorter books as opposed to one longer book so I will be making two posts on "How to Shit in the Woods" and two posts on another book. My first post on this book will cover the first four chapters; Anatomy of a Crap, Digging the Hole, When You Can't Dig a Hole, and Plight of the Solo Poop Packer. These chapters bring us through the first 65 pages of the book.

The first four chapters of "How to Shit in the Woods" by Kathleen Meyer were extremely entertaining and also educational. I have never read a book that used this kind of language and pretty much told things the way they are (i.e. the author does not use fecal matter or bowel movement to describe feces, instead poop, shit, crap and turd are used.)

The main idea that is represented in this book is how to properly crap in the wilderness, however in doing this the author presents many of the hazards and risks that are associated with thousands of years of crapping by millions of different species.

I was not aware of many of the problems that "shitting" in the woods can create. The proper decomposition of feces in order to prevent water contamination was the most urgent issue presented in the book thus far. I will share with you some of the problems and illnesses caused by pooping outside:

• Epidemics related to improper decomposition of poop are starting to become much more common. 
• According to the Federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention no surface water is guaranteed free of the microscopic organisms that parasitic diseases. 
• The most common disease associated with fecal matter is Giardia. "Giardia is spread by 'fecal-oral' transmission, meaning some form of infectious organism is shed in feces and enters a new host of victim by way of mouth. p.17"
• Giardia is also now becoming more common in preschool and day care centers. In this setting Giardia can be easily eliminated by hand washing. 
• Another disease that is becoming more common with improper disposal of crap is Cryptosporidium. This disease became more known in 1993 when it had an outbreak affecting 400,000 people in Milwaukee. Again much like Giardia this protozoan is spread by fecal-oral transmission and is passed between humans and animals.
  

All of the problems above can be avoided by the proper disposal of "shit." The author talks about "packing-it-out" when venturing out into the wilderness to avoid adding to the poo problems in today's society. This book also touches on improper disposal of poop in landfills and the detrimental affects it can have on earth.

I never knew that pooping outside was such a big issue. I am interested in reading further into this book and learning more about poop and the contamination of water.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!!