Think that irradiation is the answer to gastrointestinal woes? Think again! According to Kent Sepkowitz, what Americans really need to do is “ingest more excrement.”

Read all about it…

While munching on manure is anything but appetizing, I’ve certainly been swayed by the numerous articles that blame everything from allergies to drug-resistant strains of bacteria on our obsession with cleanliness.

For that reason, I will now eat food that I’ve dropped on the floor whereas I used to throw it away or scrub it thoroughly. And I’m slightly less paranoid about food that has been in “the danger zone” than I used to be.

This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2007.

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Former contributor Suzanne Podhaizer is an award-winning food writer (and the first Seven Days food editor) as well as a chef, farmer, and food-systems consultant. She has given talks at the Stone Barns Center for Agriculture's "Poultry School" and its...