Are Prescription Drugs on Your Menu for Dinner?

“Biosolids”—a euphemism for human waste—are being used by some farmers as cheap fertilizer, according the New York Times, but it is usually done very quietly. In most states and counties, details about where biosolids have been applied is intentionally concealed; they make it as hard as possible for the public to get that information. Biosolids can be dangerous. They may be riddled with harmful Big Pharma drugs and also personal care products. A new study shows that the animal and human drugs typically found in biosolids may, even at very low levels, interfere with important hormones that help the plant defend itself against predators and diseases. River water, similarly contaminated with pharmaceuticals, has caused male fish to develop female anatomy.