Modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
Modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
Modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
Modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage - bad religion, Modern man 1990
So I was listening to against the grain this week and this song jumped out at me. It’s 30 years old now and yet it fucking nails humanity more so now then it did back then. I think that watching kiss the ground and sacred cow this week really brought it to the fore. Humanity really has lost all idea that we are apart of something bigger, that we are supposed to be apart of this biosphere, this ecosystem, that we are in-fact, nature ourselves and that we are not above it, or that we are not smarter/cleverer than Mother Nature. If you’ve not seen these films yet they are surprisingly hopeful looks at how we can combat and reverse climate change if we go back to looking at how ecosystems and microbiomes really work...I.E. in the macro. Knowing that life has cycles which include death is key to this, knowing that we are a part of those cycles is also huge. We cannot avoid death, there is no life without it. We cannot just hope to use new science gadgets to get our way out of this climate emergency, we have to go back to treating our selves and the earth as one. Science is INCREDIBLE and has and will do so much for the planet but people’s use of it has and is also destroying the world and taking our minds further and further away from nature on a daily basis. These two films go on to discuss how using regenerative agriculture to draw co2 out of the atmosphere into the soil using ruminant animals/crop rotation, non-till farming and other methods to do so can help to save the soil under our feet. I implore you go watch these programs. The whole move within society of moving towards “quicker and easier” or “healthier and healthier” foods has not only had a massive detriment on the earths soil (hello monocrops) and climate but also our evolution as a species. Or should I say dysevolution. The world of smoothies/shakes/juices/avo on everything (for those that can afford it) or white bread/white rice/highly processed beige food/ convenience convenience convenience has had such a huge negative impact on the human skeletal structure too. Soft/easily eaten food has meant that that we no longer work the jaw to the degree it should be used, which has meant a loss of muscle building and shaping around the Mandible (jaw) and masseter. This has caused a recession and narrowing of the jaw. Those crocked teeth you dislike so much that you wanna spend a fuck ton on to get straighten? Yip, poor eating habits from practically birth leading to a vicious cycle of mouth breathing pushing the jaw further back. The scary thing is that this causing a closing and narrowing of your airway and makes breathing through the nose HARDER. It creates flaccid airway tissue meaning snoring and sleep apnea are more likely. This could end up proving fatal as the increased risks of diabetes and heart disease from sleep apnea isn’t insignificant. We are dysevolving in a way to make us more slack jawed, anxious, tired, groggy headed, less metabolically able to cope with the stresses the modern world places upon us pushing us towards a more unhappy society with shorter fuses. and yet no one sees it. The Morden man, so evolved, the pinnacle of natural selection? Or as Greg sang 30 years ago
“Modern man, evolutionary betrayer,
Modern man, ecosystem destroyer,
Modern man, destroy yourself in shame,
Modern man, pathetic example of earth's organic heritage”
We are organic nature personified. Try to remember that. Breath through your nose and eat proper whole foods (maybe including some great local grass fed/finished 🥩) that make you chew for a decent amount of it. Your anxiety and stresses might just thank you!
If you want any of the papers which back up any of the statements in this blog please feel free to shoot me a message and let’s get some good discourse going.
