Why Vermont farmers are using urine on their crops

Everyday urine use & composting

• Several commenters already use urine routinely, especially on compost piles rich in dry leaves, reporting faster breakdown and substantial compost yields.
• Others note they see little difference between rain and urine for decomposition speed, suggesting the main benefit might be moisture rather than nitrogen.
• Practical concerns arise about public indecency; solutions include peeing into jugs, watering cans, or using sheds for privacy.

Urban/suburban growing & policy

• Some frame home food production (with compost and urine) as part of reducing corporate dependency.
• Others argue systemic regulation of industrial agriculture is more important, but many see it as a both/and: personal growing plus policy reform.
• Examples include replacing lawns with food gardens, using fruit trees and native plants, community garden plots in cities, and indoor sprouting in very small spaces.
• There is support for laws protecting the right to front-yard vegetable gardens; currently only a few US states explicitly do this.

Compost science & fertilizer technologies

• Debate centers on whether compost problems are mostly C:N ratio or water/oxygen balance. One side stresses nitrogen as “crucial”; the other says most household composts already have enough N, and aeration/moisture are usually the real issue.
• Consensus: compost must be moist; urine adds both water and nitrogen. Directly peeing on plants can burn them.
• New small-scale ammonia synthesis tech (e.g., NitroVolt, lithium-mediated systems) attracts interest but also skepticism about economics and logistics compared to existing large plants and co‑op fertilizer delivery.
• Some argue healthy lawns need no synthetic N or P if clover and diverse species are allowed; gardens differ because harvested food exports minerals.

Human waste vs biosolids, pathogens & PFAS

• Commenters stress the difference between:
  • Source-separated urine (as in the Vermont project, pasteurized and stored), and
  • General sewage sludge/biosolids, which can be heavily contaminated (including PFAS) and are implicated in livestock deaths and soil contamination.
• Urine is viewed as relatively safe at garden scale; feces are considered high-risk due to pathogens, requiring careful, long-term composting if used at all. There’s disagreement: some say “never use human poop,” others point to regulated composting-toilet systems.
• Prion diseases are briefly mentioned as a theoretical concern since prions don’t compost.

Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other contaminants

• Many worry about contraceptive hormones, antibiotics, psychiatric meds, and recreational drugs in urine.
• Linked information (including from the project) suggests:
  • Drug and hormone residues in urine-fertilized crops are detectable but in nanogram/ppb ranges.
  • Estimated exposure appears far below effective doses; risk is described as negligible in cited work, though some remain uneasy about long-term, low-dose exposure.
• Comparisons are drawn to similar trace contaminants already present in tap and bottled water.

Labor, hygiene, and existing practice

• Commenters note that using animal manure has been normal for centuries; some recall septic-tank effluent being used on gardens with good yields but bad smells.
• One thread claims widespread in-field urination/defecation by migrant workers; others push back, citing required portable toilets, handwash stations, and post-harvest washing on many farms.
• Documented trafficking/forced-labor cases are acknowledged; there is disagreement over how representative they are of typical farm conditions.

Practical downsides & hacks

• Storing urine is reported to smell like a “truck stop bathroom.”
• Suggestions to reduce nitrogen loss and odor include acidifying (e.g., vinegar) or strongly alkalizing (e.g., wood ash) the stored urine, though this is discussed conceptually rather than as a standardized method.