Title (eng)

Phosphorus as Pharmakon

Various Stories about Phosphorus, the Earth System, and the Anthropocene

Description (eng)

The human relationship with the chemical element phosphorus is ambivalent. Phosphorus is essential to all life on Earth, circulating through rocks, soil, crops, animals and every cell in our bodies. Yet it is also used in bombs, contributes to the pollution of aquatic ecosystems when overapplied, and is associated with extractivism and colonialism. This thesis examines the various pathways of phosphorus to understand its relevance within the Earth system, and to explore where, when, why, how and by whom it is misused. The metaphor of phosphorus as a pharmakon – a substance that can be both a remedy and a poison – provides a starting point from which to examine the history of human interference with the phosphorus cycle. Industrial agriculture and the modern extractivist mindset have turned phosphorus into a pharmakon that is still life-sustaining, yet often deadly. Case studies of Lake Erie and the Baltic Sea demonstrate that the overapplication of phosphorus causes toxic algae blooms and dead zones in water bodies. Morocco, the Western Sahara and Nauru have become sites of environmental and social injustice due to phosphate rock extraction. Phosphorus is employed as a tool for reflecting on the impacts of human activity on the planet and for imagining possibilities for transformation. Following phosphorus into the realm of soil illustrates how rhizosphere interactions naturally form efficient recycling systems of nutrients that maintain balance in ecosystems. Promoting these interactions and recycling phosphorus through the use of manure, compost and human excreta is key to sustainable phosphorus management. Agroecology and organic farming are two systemic approaches that require alternative social structures and policy action. These approaches promote careful and reciprocal relationships with phosphorus and nature, offering possibilities to heal its disrupted cycle and thereby contributing to environmental and human health.

Type (eng)

Master theses

Study plan

Cross-Disciplinary Strategies (Master)