Why can't I eat dirt?

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Here’s the dirt on dirt:

Believe it or not,  in some cultures, eating dirt is actually okay.  It may have some very healthy ingredients, like the minerals that help plants grow.  Please don’t take that as an invitation to run to your backyard with a spoon though!  There are some very good reasons why you should not eat dirt.

The biggest reason is that you can’t be sure what makes up dirt.  It’s got lots of gross stuff in it like animal waste (also known as “poop”) and chemicals like pesticides that are toxic and used to stop weeds and bugs. You don’t want those in your stomach.

Dirt can make you sick too because lots of germs can live inside it.

After those reasons, if the texture is still really appealing, you can crush up some cookies in a bowl and maybe even put a gummy worm inside of it to add a realistic touch.  Just avoid the actual dirty stuff.

Healthy Things in the Ground

Not all things that we dig out of the dirt are bad too eat.  Some very tasty foods only grow underground.  Some of the most popular of these are potatoes and carrots.  Have you ever thought about how they grow?  There isn’t a potato vine or a carrot tree.  These are both types of roots!   

Both grow well in many different areas, so if you’re interested, ask a grown-up to help you plant a garden.  When they’re ready to be eaten, you’ll have to dig these vegetables up!  Make sure you wash them off first because you don’t want to accidentally eat any dirt!