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24-10-2003, 07:22 AM

(Keith Michaels) wrote in message ...
In article ,
"Peter Jason" writes:
| From guano, ie bird droppings, therefore from a bird which is an animal and
| not a plant.
| If you want untainted phosphate you may have to make it from elemental
| phosphorus.
|
| "Christopher Green" wrote in message
| om...
| (Keith Michaels) wrote in message
...
| My can of baking powder lists Calcium Phosphate as an ingredient
| and someone told me that it is a slaughterhouse byproduct
| derived from animal bones. This is troubling to a vegetarian.
| Is it true? Are there animal-free sources for baking powder?
|
| Set your mind at rest. Most calcium phosphate in the food and animal
| feed trade is produced from phosphate rock, not bone meal.
|
| --
| Chris Green

What is the connection between mineral phosphate and guano?
It may not matter to vegetarianism, as I know all materials of the
earth cycle through animals and plants at some level, just curious..

No direct connection. Guano is used in some specialty fertilizers; it
is an important source of phosphorus in organic farming. Phosphate
rock is the common source of calcium phosphate used in food, animal
feed, and most fertilizers. Since much of it was laid down by coral
and various fossil invertebrates, I suppose it depends on how many
million years your "animal-free" horizon goes back.

Prion scares have slowed research into recycling animal bones and
sewage sludge for phosphate. Producing food-grade phosphate this way
is far too costly at this time and is likely to be the sort of
activity insurers will think twice about insuring.

--
Chris Green