The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World out of Balance by Dan Egan
I grew up on a small dairy farm in the ’60s, and after college I purchased a 160-acre farm in the thumb of Michigan and farmed it organically for 45 years. I have come to believe that my grandchildren can have access to high-quality food if they so choose … but without high-quality water they could be “dead in the water,” so to speak.
In The Devil’s Element, author Dan Egan focuses exclusively on the element phosphorus (P) — number 15 on the periodic chart — and how vital it is in every living cell on earth. As farmers, we know about phosphate fertilizers and how to use them; as consumers, we have heard a lot about how phosphates are affecting our lakes and waterways. But Egan brings to light the history of phosphate, from its discovery in Hamburg in 1669 to how it was cycled in ancient times and how it is used today.
If you remember from high school chemistry class, phosphorus in its elemental form reacts differently than the phosphate compound that we use in farming. It was termed a “bringer of light” because it combusts at room temperature — the reason it was used in war as a flare or bomb, while also being used in rat poison, fertilizer or feed supplements on our farms.
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