Geophagia (pronounced /dʒiəˈfeɪdʒə, -dʒiə/) (also known as geophagy (pronounced /dʒiˈɒfədʒi/))[1] is the practice of eating earth or soil-like substrates such as clay or chalk. It occurs in non-human animals where it may be a normal or abnormal behaviour, and also in humans, most often in rural or preindustrial societies among children and pregnant women.[2]:33 Human geophagia may be related to pica, an eating disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) characterized by abnormal cravings for non-nutritive items.[3][4]