Not only can you dig yourself some dirt from your backyard, but in places like Loachapoka, Alabama, stores actually sell white dirt for consumption. Kaolin, a white powdery clay, is used in making a wide variety of products from paints to plastics to paper. It is also the main ingredient in Kaopectate, the diarrhea medication.
Dirt often contains important nutrients such as zinc, copper, potassium, phosphorus and iron. In fact iron is what gives Alabama clay its red hue. The physiological need for extra nutrients is an explanation for why many pregnant women crave the dirt. Also, white clay is a bulky filler that can extend bread and other staple foods during times of famine. The tradition of geophagy, widely practiced in Africa, spread to the United States with the advent of slavery. In fact plantation owners thought the practice so heinous, they devised mouth locks to prevent slaves from eating dirt.
Unfortunately, dirt-eating is not always the healthiest of pastimes. It can lead to constipation, anemia and liver and kidney damage. In fact recently the potential dangers of eating dirt made the news in Alabama. PCBs produced at a Monsanto plant (makers of herbicides such as Roundup) in Anniston contaminated the surrounding neighborhoods. And many of the residents now have the pollutant in their bloodstream. A possible explanation for the exposure is the popular tradition of snacking at the neighborhood clay bank.
Even with the dangers, dirt-eating will continue to thrive. It is a time-honored tradition that even Plato wrote about. So get out your salt and vinegar and fry it, bake it or eat it straight from the garden. You never know, you may become the next dirt connoisseur.
An interesting book to check out on the subject is The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography by Terry Jordan.
And for your viewing pleasure, may I suggest a little film about eating dirt on inetfilm.com, www.inetfilm.com/movies/drama/geophagy.html. Mmm…mmm…good.
Please kids, don’t try this at home.
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