How long would it take for Earth to be eaten to its core?

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If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?



Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?



Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.



Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.



Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)



Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.



Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.



Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)










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  • 2




    Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
    – Joe
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
    – nzaman
    6 hours ago











  • @nzaman edited to include details.
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago










  • @Joe Edited to add details
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago






  • 5




    Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
    – StephenG
    5 hours ago














up vote
1
down vote

favorite
1












If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?



Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?



Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.



Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.



Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)



Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.



Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.



Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)










share|improve this question



















  • 2




    Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
    – Joe
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
    – nzaman
    6 hours ago











  • @nzaman edited to include details.
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago










  • @Joe Edited to add details
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago






  • 5




    Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
    – StephenG
    5 hours ago












up vote
1
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
1
down vote

favorite
1






1





If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?



Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?



Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.



Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.



Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)



Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.



Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.



Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)










share|improve this question















If the Earth was edible, and was the sole source of food for its inhabitents, how long would it take for people to eat themselves off the planet?



Assuming a biblical creation story (a man and a woman), after how many years of humans dwelling on earth would the earth be eaten to the ground?



Assume the earth starts off looking the same as it does today, with the exception being that the land is edible food, and all ocean water is drinkable.



Assume that the volume of dirt one would require for a meal equals the volume of food normally consumed by humans in real life per meal.



Assume non-ration meals (3 full meals a day.)



Assume that the waste isn't edible and piles up.



Assume oxygen is provided through the soil.



Assume that the whole earth is edible (not just the crust.)







food alternate-earth






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share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 5 hours ago

























asked 6 hours ago









TheAsh

243210




243210







  • 2




    Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
    – Joe
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
    – nzaman
    6 hours ago











  • @nzaman edited to include details.
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago










  • @Joe Edited to add details
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago






  • 5




    Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
    – StephenG
    5 hours ago












  • 2




    Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
    – Joe
    6 hours ago






  • 1




    With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
    – nzaman
    6 hours ago











  • @nzaman edited to include details.
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago










  • @Joe Edited to add details
    – TheAsh
    5 hours ago






  • 5




    Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
    – StephenG
    5 hours ago







2




2




Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
6 hours ago




Where does the, uh, byproduct go?
– Joe
6 hours ago




1




1




With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
6 hours ago





With no evolutionary pressure, they'd die off within a few generations, due to sheer stupidity. Also, what happens to waste; where does the oxygen come from; and is the entire earth edible or just the crust?
– nzaman
6 hours ago













@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago




@nzaman edited to include details.
– TheAsh
5 hours ago












@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago




@Joe Edited to add details
– TheAsh
5 hours ago




5




5




Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago




Earth will remain. Earth is a lump of matter held together by gravity. Even if you converted all the matter to human form, they'd still be just matter bound together by gravity. Earth would remain.
– StephenG
5 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
3
down vote



accepted










2100 - 2500 years



Assuming



  • An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day

  • A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family

  • Lifespan of 100 years

  • Three generations per century

  • 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume





share|improve this answer








New contributor




Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
























    up vote
    7
    down vote













    The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:



    They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.



    Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?



    If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/



    PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.



    Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).






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      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes








      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes








      up vote
      3
      down vote



      accepted










      2100 - 2500 years



      Assuming



      • An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day

      • A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family

      • Lifespan of 100 years

      • Three generations per century

      • 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume





      share|improve this answer








      New contributor




      Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





















        up vote
        3
        down vote



        accepted










        2100 - 2500 years



        Assuming



        • An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day

        • A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family

        • Lifespan of 100 years

        • Three generations per century

        • 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume





        share|improve this answer








        New contributor




        Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
        Check out our Code of Conduct.



















          up vote
          3
          down vote



          accepted







          up vote
          3
          down vote



          accepted






          2100 - 2500 years



          Assuming



          • An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day

          • A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family

          • Lifespan of 100 years

          • Three generations per century

          • 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume





          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          2100 - 2500 years



          Assuming



          • An individual consume 2000 grams of Earth each day

          • A growing population rate of 4 childrens per family

          • Lifespan of 100 years

          • Three generations per century

          • 5.97219 × 10^27 grams of available Earth to consume






          share|improve this answer








          New contributor




          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer






          New contributor




          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.









          answered 4 hours ago









          Guillermo

          461




          461




          New contributor




          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.





          New contributor





          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.






          Guillermo is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
          Check out our Code of Conduct.




















              up vote
              7
              down vote













              The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:



              They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.



              Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?



              If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/



              PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.



              Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).






              share|improve this answer


























                up vote
                7
                down vote













                The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:



                They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.



                Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?



                If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/



                PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.



                Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).






                share|improve this answer
























                  up vote
                  7
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  7
                  down vote









                  The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:



                  They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.



                  Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?



                  If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/



                  PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.



                  Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).






                  share|improve this answer














                  The limit will be when poop is high enough that people cannot dig through it to get to food. They can dump poop into ocean or rivers, but that leads us to second limit:



                  They eat away dry land (till they can no longer dig from the bottom), so time to starvation depends on size of the continent you are on.



                  Technology could help dig deeper, or move to a different continent, but why would they develop technology if food is readily available?



                  If you do assume advanced technology, the sheer weight will make food below certain depth inedible. Here is a relevant link: https://what-if.xkcd.com/4/



                  PS I vote "earth be eaten to the ground" for quote of the day.



                  Edit: they can tunnel under the poop, going deeper and deeper until the poop collapses on them, or they get so deep that dirt is rock solid. Alternatively, they can launch poop into orbit (or off planet).







                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited 4 hours ago

























                  answered 5 hours ago









                  Bald Bear

                  4,534518




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