# GROSS subject, but what is shit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2014, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279 "2014-06-21T10:41:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/21 "2014-06-23T07:34:07Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > As I said, they eat food from under the ground and their turds are consumed by humans and animals as “food”. It isn’t really useful to describe food we get from plants as ‘plant shit’ - plants aren’t generally trying to _excrete_ the bits that we eat - it’s most commonly one of the following: [ul] [li]Food they are making for their own use later (e.g. starches and sugars stored in tubers)[/li][li]Food they are making for their offspring to use (e.g. starches, fats, proteins stored in nuts.[/li][li]Food they are still actively consuming (the nutritional content of leaves, stems, etc)[/li][li]Food created as a bribe for animals, in exchange for a service (nectar, sugars in fruits, etc).[/li][/ul] In none of these cases, is the plant ‘shitting food’. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/22 "2014-06-23T07:47:42Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > It isn’t really useful to describe food we get from plants as ‘plant shit’ - plants aren’t generally trying to _excrete_ the bits that we eat - it’s most commonly one of the following: > [ People aren’t generally _trying_ to _excrete_ the bits they eat, they just seem obligated to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/23 "2014-06-23T07:53:04Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > People aren’t generally _trying_ to _excrete_ the bits they eat, they just seem obligated to do it. Of course they are. Organisms excrete and defecate _on purpose_, and _for a purpose_. The plant stuff we eat is (in pretty much every case I can think of\*) _ **not** _ \*excreted \*or \*defecated \*by plants. \*A case could perhaps be made for plant products such as resins that are exuded by the plant and scraped off by humans. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/24 "2014-06-23T07:55:21Z")
I mean, unless you really want to define the word ‘shit’ as a general purpose verb to replace ‘put’ - i.e. “I’m shitting some money into my savings account now”, or “Could you shit the car into the garage please?” ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/25 "2014-06-23T08:05:21Z")
Wow nobody mentioned fiber? Fiber is nature’s draino. It clears out your tubes and helps keep your digestion on track. Fiber is mostly contained in vegetables and high in certain other foods like yams and peas. The more vegetables you eat, the more fiber comes out as poop. I had an issue years ago and the doctor said to get more fiber. I looked up all the foods that were full of fiber, realized I hate most of them, and started a fiber pill regimen. The first time, I took two and they clumped together like a magic 8 ball. Doc, I said, now my poop is coming out like rocks, what happened? He said, take more. Your poop should come out easily and float. If it sinks, you aren’t taking enough fiber and need more. I upped to 4 tablets a day and then I started having the best poops of my life. I swear, I would tell my friends about what a great poop I had that day. And boy, you feel clean…really, really clean. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/26 "2014-06-23T10:24:41Z")
it’s really just a matter of perspective what humans are going to call shit. i.e. I can’t take any more of your shit. Straighten up and get your shit together. For my birthday I got a new shirt and all sorts of other shit. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/27 "2014-06-23T10:34:09Z")
This is a thread about excrement, not semantics. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/28 "2014-06-23T10:35:57Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This is a thread about excrement, not semantics. I stand corrected. thank you ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/29 "2014-06-23T10:51:31Z")
Don’t shit where you eat. Just don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/30 "2014-06-23T11:23:37Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Fallen leaves could be regarded in that way, I guess, but most of what plants excrete is CO2 (from respiration). This is wrong on multiple levels. First of all, plants do not engage in [respiration,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiration_(physiology)) they engage in [photosynthesis.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis) And they don’t excrete CO[sub]2[/sub], they consume it (and produce oxygen. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/31 "2014-06-23T11:47:01Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > This is wrong on multiple levels. First of all, plants do not engage in [respiration,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respiration_(physiology)) You’re wrong. Plants engage in both repiration AND photosynthesis. [http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/biology/plant-biology/respiration/respiration-energy-for-plant-metabolism](http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/biology/plant-biology/respiration/respiration-energy-for-plant-metabolism) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/32 "2014-06-23T12:02:02Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This is a thread about excrement, not semantics. Talkin shit, huh?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/33 "2014-06-23T12:06:08Z")
Not today ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/34 "2014-06-23T14:31:54Z")
I consider “shit” to be one of the best words in the English language. Those four letters say something that nothing else does! That word has both a useful literal and figurative meaning: I haven’t taken a shit in three days. I’ve taken enough of your shit for three days. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyUseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279/35 "2014-06-23T14:36:04Z")
Who would have thought so much could be gleaned from such a simple gross question. I do eat a LOT of vegetables so there you go. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gross-subject-but-what-is-shit/691279.md?page=1)