Here is the accompanying photo. That's a lot of hair.
Posted on 01/07/2008 8:46:19 AM PST by AngelesCrestHighway
FLORIDA CITY, Fla. — Walking into the small Florida City warehouse, Blair Blacker pauses to survey the towering pyramid of canvas bundles, each about the size of a punching bag, that contain the stock-in-trade of his business: human hair. About 15 tons of it on a recent day, imported from China, neatly pressed into mats and ready to ship to farmers and nursery growers who swear by the horticultural benefits of Blacker's hairy wares. "If you had told me when I was flying combat helicopters in Vietnam that one day I'd be sitting on 30,000 pounds of human hair," said Blacker, a retired Army colonel-turned-entrepreneur, "I'd have said you were crazy." The mats stored in southern Miami-Dade County are part of a world marketplace for human hair. Uses range from the obvious, such as false eyelashes and wigs, to the more obscure: it's a common raw-material source for l-cysteine, an amino acid frequently used in baked goods such as pizza dough and bagels. China and India exported more than $154 million worth of human hair last year, according to United Nations trade statistics. They are Blacker's main suppliers. "It's not processed or dyed like a lot of hair we have here," said Blacker, whose own hair is silvery and neatly cropped. The product, marketed as SmartGrow, is effective in keeping out weeds, and has even shown signs of increasing yield in crops like tomatoes, according to University of Florida scientists. "It's really exciting. The first trial was just outstanding," said Aaron Palmateer, an associate professor of plant pathology who has conducted tests on the SmartGrow product at UF's Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. There is an admitted yuck factor to using hair in lieu of herbicide, but Palmateer points out that common agricultural methods can be similarly unappetizing.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
What about angel hair pasta?
Yet another reason to make your own pizza.
EW!
“”And we’re going to help the world go green.”....Green for sure....when I ralph my pizza!”
Go green? Yeah, SOYLENT GREEN.
Ew!!!
Is this cannabilism? Let me go check the definition of the word to see if hair qualifies.
This actually works. I collect it from my barber when I go in to get a haircut.
A side benefit is that it also keeps mice and moles from chewing down other plants before they emerge. They don't generally bother tomatos, but they wreak havoc on some vine crops such as squash and cucumbers.
“Soylent Green is people”..
I’m down with that....but what the H is the pizza angle??
Well, cannibalism is defined as the consumption of human flesh by another human, and flesh has several alternative definitions, some of which include hair.
Conclusion: Hair in pizza might be cannibalism.
I wonder if I can sell the stuff that accumulates in my shower drain.
That could be called a bathscum pizza? I guess the next thing will be a hairball and pinapple pizza?
From the original post: “it’s a common raw-material source for l-cysteine, an amino acid frequently used in baked goods such as pizza dough and bagels”
somewhat unappetizing I would say... I don’t know that it necessarily means making your own would do any good (is it in the flour used, or the other powdered ingredients, the yeast???).
No wonder we have to import it. I’m having a massive crop failure on my head.
Great post, for the headline alone
When used in the soil around plants it releases a large amount of nitrogen which helps leaves grow. This would be a good use for it. Recycling instead of putting it in dumps.
As far as using it in pizza - what is this, Soylent Green?
Hair has value? I will ask for a “take out bag” for my hair next time I visit the barber. When they ask why, I’ll just say, “for the pizza”.
Here is the accompanying photo. That's a lot of hair.
Wouldn’t this technically be hair derivatives, not actual hair? Do any of the alternate definitions of flesh include derivatives?
Good Lord, that’s just sick.
All this crap in the stores - imported “healthy” foods - ersatz is what it is. Screw that.
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