I would be a liar to state that I don’t indulge in Poppi- the prebiotic drink- not the flowers that produce opium. I see the low calorie count and “healthy claims” (which I ignore because I know any drink in an aluminum can is not meant for human consumption) and see as a “healthier” alternative to the pops like Coke and liquid acid- 8/10☆.
Healthy or not, prebiotics are a stable in human consumption of natural substances. However, there can be some argument between what is deemed as natural in the modern age.
When Diane Ackerman states that “Sometimes we forget that nature also means us.” And compares humans to wild animals in how “Termites build mounds; we build cities.” She makes the claim that “All of our being – juices, flesh, and spirit- is nature.”
As much as I’d hate to agree with Diane. Her vision of human life as nature alongside the underdeveloped wildlife is hard to argue against. Definitions of nature exclude any creations of mankind, but is mankind not a creation of nature itself?
The “artificial” products created by mankind, stem from the ingredients provided by the natural world. The harmful chemicals in processed food/drink (like Poppi) are also a product of the environment, twisted and modified in ways that are observable in the wild. I think birds nests are a good comparison, in how both humans and birds collect wood and matter to manifest structures that wouldn’t exist without the desire for comfort.
In technicality, these birds take away space from other animals, but not in a manner as quantifiable as man does. However, quantity is by no means what defines nature, nor is the harmfulness towards other species and environments.
People find unnatural entities as matters that aren’t supposed to be (especially when they are harmful), however in the world we deem “natural”- there are cataclysms we deem regular. Wildfires and floods are harmful (and damaging to environments) but are not deemed irregular- so why must the effects of humans be classified as such. In addition, many naturally created toxins by plants and venomous creatures damage the system of any unfortunate animal, so why do the chemicals we create and consume not fit under such?
This is a conversation that cannot be summed down to a such short blog. So, I must cut it here.
It is with much epiphany that I recollect my feelings in how mankind and all of its heinous creations are a part of nature. Being such, the problems “created” by man are simply an enhancement of already existing issues within our ecosystems.
just like your other blogs, they are all beautifully written. You bring up a good point of everything being naturally found, but we humans take it and modify it to our liking. This topic like you said can be talked about forever and that multiple conclusions can be made.
ReplyDeleteI think this was nicely written! The idea that you brought up of artificial products coming from the products of the natural world was pretty eye-opening. I think this topic could be talked about forerver!
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