I was watching a report on those poor souls in Western Africa and something occured to me. The water was unsafe to drink but they could irrigate their crops with it - why? Why can't the bacteria live in the water that the plants take up?
Good Question I could guess at a few answers. But without looking it up properly I risk Y Gosch coming on and making me look stupid. So I'll wait till he gives you the answer, then say that's what I thought too. Nah sod it: Could be that the internal environment of the plant prevents/restricts bacterial growth. There may be some form of antibacterial substance within the roots. So that as water and nutrients are taken in, the bacteria are killed. It may be that bacteria are taken into the plants phloem and xylem systems, but it has no effect on any part of the plant
Because A molecule of water is somewhere in the order of 0.02nm in size. The smallest bacteria in existence - phytoplasma are around 0.4µm Thus, the smallest bacterium is 20000 times bigger than a water molecule. It therefore does not follow that something able to absorb water necessarily absorbs the bacteria therein. In order to cause harm to other living things, there must be a biological mechanism for this to happen, eg proteins in the bacteria cell wall that can bind substances on the surface of host cells. Plant and animal cells are very different, so anything (like phytoplasma) that have mechanisms to infect plants, are unlikely to infect animals and vice versa. Hence the bacteria that make the water unsafe for consumption are not able to get from water, through soil, into plant and survive until the plant is eaten to infect a new host. This is why vegetarians are generally without pity for those who suffer food poisoning - the more biologically similar your foodstuff is to yourself, the more likely it is to harbour things which can harm you.
RE: Guilty (nt) I'd assumed the bacteria would be smaller than whatever unit the plants take the water up in. I'd also assumed that if they could live on the nutrients in the water used for irrigation they could continue to do so once the plants had supped it. Just shows what I know dun't it?
You know when you get food poisoning from the Indian or Chinese? It's probably the rice. They boil up a bin full before opening and reheat it as needed. Meanwhile a particularly nasty bug peculiar to rice is often having an orgy in the bin.
That's as may be but I have neither the inclination nor the willpower to give up steaks, fresh fish, bacon butties etc etc (dribble)
You've raised an interesting question there mate. The only meat I eat is fish. Where does that put me? I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for those pescetarians.
I have the willpower... ...but not the slightest inclination. If God hadn't meant us to eat meat he wouldn't have made animals out of it.
