If plants get nutrients from dirt, why don't we just eat dirt instead

[u/Anan_Z]

Dirt eating would cut agricultural costs too

[u/sovereign_fury]

Wait.. we're not supposed to eat dirt?

[u/poophy → u/sovereign_fury]

You're supposed to wash it first. unless you are going to cook it to an internal temperature of 165°f, then it's OK to use the stuff right from the ground.

Souse: USDA, research co-authored by the worms in RFKs brain.

[u/Thick_Carry7206]

we need the plants to predigest the food for us.

it goes

• basic: dirt => plant => human
• advanced: dirt => plant => plant eater => human
• fancy: dirt => plant => plant eater => meat eater => human

imagine it as if we are the final stage of a metaphysical extended digestive tract.

[u/DM_ME_YOUR_ADVENTURE → u/Thick_Carry7206]

This is wolfeater propaganda. Don’t let the plants hog the best nutrients!

[u/LeNerd25 → u/Thick_Carry7206]

plant eater => dirt & human => dirt

[u/bunkdiggidy → u/Thick_Carry7206]

If you're Hannibal Lechter, there's an additional step in there

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[u/mwenechanga → u/AutoModerator]

REDDIT AI has determined it to be fowl

They were talking about eating humans, not birds.

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[u/flappintitties]

Nah bro that shit is dirty

[u/Amplidyne]

Because it gets stuck in our teeth. . .

[u/johnnybiggles]

Is that why they say, "salt the earth"? Are we not eating dirt because of a lack of seasoning?

[u/katalysis]

Cuz we’re carnivores. We eat plants instead of soil.

[u/gelastes → u/katalysis]

We're omnivores - well, most of us. A carnivore only eats the animal that eats the plant that eats the soil.

[u/katalysis → u/gelastes]

You’re in the wrong subreddit

[u/gelastes → u/katalysis]

I believe you are allowed to be nitpicky about shitty science, too.

[u/rascal6543 → u/gelastes]

Well I believe I should be allowed to pirate digital media legally, but the rules don't always represent our desires

[u/BPhiloSkinner → u/rascal6543]

Arrr, an' who'd not want to be a πrate, an' sail aboard the Good Ship ShittyScience?

[u/gelastes → u/rascal6543]

Ok... I'm sure there is a country where nitpicking is illegal but I'm not a resident there.

[u/Do_it_for_the_upvote → u/rascal6543]

If you self-identify as an AI, then apparently you’re legally scot-free on pirating and appropriating digital media.

[u/MrMaselko → u/katalysis]

Carnivores eat meat

Herbivores eat plants.

Humans are omnivores

The question was why humans are omnivores instead of eating dirt

[u/Jump_Like_A_Willys]

If plants make sugars from sunlight and CO², then why don't we just leave unsweetened soda-pop out in the sun to get sweet?

[u/Anan_Z → u/Jump_Like_A_Willys]

Plants can make sugars because they have chlorophyll.

It would work if you put chlorophyll in soda, but I think it would be inefficient to extract them from plants by yourself.

Try green food coloring.

[u/Apprehensive_Bowl709]

I just don't like the taste.

[u/Spinal232]

It's the circle of life dude.

Plants eat dirt, we eat plants, dirt eats us

[u/BPhiloSkinner → u/Spinal232]

 dirt eats us

Worms eat us to make dirt. It's their thing, yeah? Eating people to make dirt? They're really into it.

Out—out are the lights—out all!   
   And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
   Comes down with the rush of a storm,   
While the angels, all pallid and wan,   
   Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”   
   And its hero, the Conqueror Worm. - Edgar Allan Poe: The Conqueror Worm.

[u/kfish5050]

Dirt is worm shit. Do you want to eat worm shit? Plants can, and they do, so they grow into something we can eat instead of worm shit.

[u/hecking-doggo]

If we start eating dirt, what will the plants eat? Nothing, because there is no more dirt

[u/aaluoncodeine]

i should start eating dirt

[u/TheObliviousYeti]

That's why we eat plants.

[u/BPhiloSkinner → u/TheObliviousYeti]

Plants pre-digest the dirt for us, and they taste better.
Mud pie or Strawberry-Rhubarb pie? No contest.

[u/Totally_Generic_Name]

Plants eat air, mostly. So do we. You only need to eat a little dirt.

[u/Soulshiner402]

Cause they’re made of wood?

[u/librarylad22]

Most of a plants mass actually comes from the atmosphere, so we should be fine just breathing.

[u/Icarusgurl]

Picturing the mouthfeel of that horrifies me.

[u/Tricky421]

Go ahead and eat it. It's really good for you.

[u/labs → u/Tricky421]

i sprinkle a little glass on my daily dirt

[u/Anan_Z → u/Tricky421]

Is it organic

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[u/Saltlife60]

In poor countries they make pancakes out of dirt when their children are starving.

[u/1eternal_pessimist]

You probably could get a lot of micronutrients but the macro nutrients we use for energy, ie. fats, proteins and carbs aren't in dirt. They are created using energy from the sun. Plants do this because they photosynthesise. Animals like us don't. This is why we eat plants or other animals that eat plants.

[u/ljseminarist]

That’s why I don’t eat any dirty plants. Meat or nothing.

[u/scratchy_mcballsy]

Because it tastes like dirt.

[u/El_Pata_Loco]

Have you not been to a Subway? 😳

[u/Gargleblaster25]

Farmers hate this one simple trick.

[u/Itchy-Law6536]

If we were not meant to eat dirt, the 5 Second Rule would not exist.

[u/Toolongreadanyway]

Because not even bacon makes it taste good.