drink it

from Septic Tank Practices by Peter Warshall:

As industrialization intensified, western civilization became more and more alienated from the body's plumbing and its connection to Nature's pathways. Instead of eating, defecating onto the ground, fertilizing plants with feces and eating again, we simply reach behind our backs and pull a little chromium lever. Instead of defecating onto the earth we sit on a toilet full of good drinking water which comes from some unknown river and, after flushing, goes to some unknown destination. Instead of taking responsibility for our excrement, we are embarrassed by defecation and avoid direct discussion by substituting all kinds of diversionary vocabulary ("caa-caa" and "poo-poo" or abbreviations "Number 1" and "Number 2" or sidewise expressions like "May I be excused?")

Western civilization is caught in a paradox.