
P Is for Phosphorus - danso
https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=581149776
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pkaye
Phosphorus is one of the things you learn a lot about when in renal failure.
Its something that the kidneys regulate in your body. And dialysis is not so
good in removing it. Also it turns out most natural protein sources have
phosphorus so it can build up in you. But the worst kind is the added
phosphorus preservatives which takes the body no effort to absorb. And at this
time, there is no requirements to disclose the amount on a nutritional label.
SO a lot of it is guesswork.

Typically high phosphorus is treated using binder which are medicines that
absorb the phosphorus before your body does. Most of them have ancillary side
effects though the recent varieties are getting much better.

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sevensor
It's worth mentioning in this context the sad, strange story of Nauru:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nauru](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nauru)

A tiny Pacific island, formerly covered in rainforest, now mostly desert after
having been mined for phosphate. Without plant cover, its groundwater is going
brackish. Also, Australia detains migrants there. Or rather, a private company
detains migrants there on behalf of the Australian government.

~~~
King-Aaron
> Or rather, a private company detains migrants there on behalf of the
> Australian government.

This is a can of worms which anyone who has an interest in human rights should
open and look into. What our government is doing to refugees on Nauru is
criminal.

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Jedd
Phosphorus retrieval - relocating it from relatively poor land that is
acceptable for low-density infrequent grazing, but unsuitable for intensive
agriculture - and returning it to the more intensely farmed areas of a human
habitation, is one of the key benefits Simon Fairlie describes in his book[1]
for the keeping of large grazing animals (even if they're not primarily kept
for meat consumption).

I have a very small sample set, but I've yet to meet a vegan that's aware of
the phosphorus cycle problem. The only alternative to grazing / foraging
animals (and as per TFA I'm happy to include humans in that category) is to
employ large amounts of infrastructure and energy, and it's not even clear how
long that would work.

[1]
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9251480-meat](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9251480-meat)

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danso
I couldn't find a picture of the mentioned Moroccan conveyer belt on NPR's
site, but Atlas Obscura has a few pics:

[https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-world-s-longest-
conv...](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-world-s-longest-conveyor-
belt-system-bu-craa-morocco)

~~~
caymanjim
Google image search brings up tons. I expected it to be a semi-enclosed
structure (think log flume), but it turns out it's really just an absurdly
long flat conveyor belt, carrying dust and soil more than the "ore" I'd
imagined (although some photos show more defined rocks and ore).

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kiwicopple
Peak phosphate is front of mind for a lot of commodity traders, but most end
users (farmers) are unaware or apathetic - at least in New Zealand where I
grew up. Most farmers will put an annual quota of Nitrogen, Phosphate, and
Potassium (NPK) on their farms as advised by either of the two major
fertiliser suppliers. Every 5 years or so these companies revise how much
Phosphate should be applied, increasing it each time as the efficacy of the
phosphate application lessens.

Soil is incredibly complex. Much like the human body, it has a lot of
different chemical and biological interactions. For example phosphate is often
applied with Lime (calcium carbonate), which adjusts the pH of the soil. The
soil pH has to be roughly between 6 & 7 for it to be available for uptake by
plants/roots (once again accounting for hundreds of other factors). If the
soil has pH>7 the phosphate will be "fixed" by the excess calcium. If it has a
pH<6 then its "fixed" by excess aluminium/iron. Or there is no fixation at all
and the phosphate just leaches into waterways before it can be utilised by the
plant. This is a overly simplified mechanism which has been used for a long
time in agriculture.

A more effective action than trying to find new sources of phosphate is to
change how we use the phosphate. Applying the phosphate with carbon and
organic matter is probably a good start. Carbon is good for binding nutrients
and organic matter is a biological playground for worms and fungi. Mycorrhizae
are soil fungi that form a symbiotic association with plant roots. The hyphae
(branch) of the fungus connect with plant roots and extend into the soil,
acting like extensions of the plants root system by absorbing nutrients and
transporting them back to the plant roots. A major benefit in this respect is
an increase in P uptake. In exchange, the mycorrhizae receive sugars
manufactured by the plant (through photosynthesis or other nutrient uptake).

Unfortunately there hasn't been much commercialisation of any of new
science/innovation in the fertiliser industry, for reasons I'm not too sure
(disclaimer - my family produce fertiliser so I might be biased/jaded by the
industry). Probably because we still aren't close enough to peak phosphate. It
may also be because the soil conditions have to change before they become
conducive to biology and organic matter, which would mean a "down year" for a
farmer. There are also a lot of snake-oil salesman peddling the latest magic
water that a farmer can spray on their crops for immediate results.

We need to start looking after our soil much like we look after our bodies.
Living on a diet of NPK is just as bad for soil as a human living on burgers,
coke, and fries.

