The Virtues of Dirt

Dirt and soil are, properly, two very different things. We confuse them - and we say soil can make you dirty. But even a little real "dirt" in your food seems to be crucial for the development of the immune system. So the current American horror of "bacteria" and "dirt" turns out to be an over-reaction to the threats to health from the real pathogens. If you eat food from an organic farm, where antibiotics in animal feed haven't made the pathogens they carry resistant to treatment, you may be better off not washing your food so thoroughly.

Don't miss this article from the NYTimes, it will be a real eye-opener for a lot of people: "...public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us." - from A Little Dirt is Good for You. And then there is the psychology of it all: “The archetypal link between dirt and guilt, and cleanliness and innocence is built into our language — perhaps into our psyches.” from The Dirt on Clean reviewed in the NYTimes.