In a New York Times article, the question of whether eating dirt is harmful is addressed, which can be found here. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we eat about a “spoonful” of dirt before we die. We eat a little bit of dirt everyday, through uncleaned vegetables, dirty hands and many other ways. Sometimes, children eat dirt without knowing any better, yet they have not shown any negative health effects and grow out of their habit.

I found this article interesting because, in Psychology class the eating disorder pica has been mentioned a few times. Eating non-food items is seen as abnormal and strange in our society. Eating large amounts of non-food items can lead to health complications such as intestinal blockage. When we step back and look at the larger picture, we eat about a “spoonful” of dirt throughout our lifetime, yet we do not see this as an abnormal eating disorder because the amount consumed is minimal.

The important thing we should realize is that everything that we eat has to be eaten in moderation. In today’s society, we categorize food as healthy and un-healthy. Paul Rozin, a psychologist, developed a fallacy for the food ways of America. Americans believe that there is a black, unhealthy, and white, healthy, idea on food. In reality, most foods are in a gray zone. Americans assume food is either good or bad, not focusing on perfect portions. Eating dirt is just one example that everything we eat has to be consumed in conservative portions to prevent any ill effects. All foods are considered nutritious, whether it is a piece moist chocolate cake or a bowl of fresh garden salad. Everything we consume has to be eaten in reasonable portions to prevent any harmful health issues. This example of moderately eating dirt helps to clarify that all food is acceptable to eat but, portion control needs to be monitored.