Ecological Sanitation

Rebecca came to an interest in the idea of circular economy for organic resources through her lab’s work on mycotoxins, her international experiences through service to the McKnight Foundation Collaborative Crop Research Program, and her role as co-chair of the Cornell Atkinson Food Security Working Group.  The lab’s work on mycotoxins has explored the genetics of resistance, post-harvest management (including grain sorting and hermetic storage), and environmental determinants of mycotoxin accumulation.  While most approaches involve important trade-offs, improving soil health and fertility leads to win-win outcomes, with higher quantity and quality of food production. 

Work by a farmer organization, funded by the McKnight CCRP, on the use of human urine as a fertilizer was an inspiration to think of how the health of soils, plants and people were connected (Rich Earth Institute: Urine Use in Africa) .  Convenings conducted as part of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the Cornell Atkinson Center for a Sustainability allowed a deeper exploration of circular economy and how organic “wastes” could be regard and utilized as resources for sustainable food production (Outcomes of E-Conference on Resource Recovery from Sanitation for Food Security and Soil Health).  Rebecca is currently exploring practices of relevance to these ideas and is teaching a new course in Fall 2021, FoodCycle: Systems Thinking Toward Circular Economy for Organic Resources

Check out Rebecca’s mini-talk on the Nature Sustainability Expert Panel