Human Ecology
Civilisations rise and fall by how they feed themselves. The ecology of the human species changed dramatically with the inventions of farming, making civilisation as we know it possible but leaving long-term impacts on the planet. The 18th Century saw the development of modern science and the industrial revolution, which put farming on a new productive footing. The success of this means that the planet is now “bursting at the seams” with the human population. The old order, in which humans needed to be protected from Nature, has reversed, and Nature now needs to be protected from humans if they themselves are to survive and be happy.
The understanding of this; about how, where and ultimately whether humans live on the planet is Human Ecology.
Ecology is defined as the set of complex interactions between the biotic and abiotic environments. Human ecology concerns the population ecology of Homo sapiens, covering all aspects of global ecology through our interactions as one of the most influential, dominant species.
In the coming years we are going to need a paradigm shift in global agriculture. Due to our burgeoning effect on the planet as a whole, this will need to be a global, systemic shift to a more holistic view away from our current consumption obsessed, human-centric attitude. All aspects of our behaviour and interactions with our environment will need to change in order for our impacts on the Earth to rebalance.
Farming is one of the most widely impacting industries that humans have developed. Primarily, because without the production of so much food, our population would never have reached its current heights. Thats right. Food first, growth second. Lets go back to primary school geography classes and the predator-prey cycle. The graph below depicts the classic boom and bust principle of abundance driven population booms and declining population bust. The predator population booms as a result of the prey population doing well, and as the prey population declines, the predator population follows behind.
When we look at global food production, there is evidence to suggest that we could already feed somewhere in the region of 10 billion people but the issues lie in distribution rather than production. Our challenge as a species is not how to produce more food, it is how to ensure people are fed and this is an entirely different kettle of fish; returning us to our study of population dynamics and thus human ecology. We cannot look at any one problem and say we've solved the world's ills; it is all linked. Changing how we eat alone is not going to change the global mess we as a species have created. Sorry George Monbiot - its not as simple as stopping everyone from farming/eating sheep.
When talking about ecosystems with regards to farm land the term 'rewilding' is bandied about with increasing frequency, especially with the removal of payments from the EU based on simply owning denuded farmland. Rewilding is the process of allowing land to revert to its natural state. Depending on who you ask this may or may not include humans or even domesticated animals such as sheep, cows and horses. While these rewilding schemes will probably lead to beautiful landscapes of more compex ecology than a monoculture field of rye grass or maize; excluding humans and our activities would be an incomplete solution. Humans are a part of nature and encouraging that reconnection is vital for the preservation of it - we will save what we love and to love nature we need to feel like we are a part of it.
Integrating into nature once more, we humans can become a constructive and beneficial keystone species. We can plant acorns and hazelnuts like squirrels and jays. Make rivers meander, pool and slow like beavers. Spread fungal spores with our movement through the landscape like deer. We are incalculably powerful habitat engineers, as many keystone species are, but so far we have used this capability poorly and to the detriment of our environment. As a species, I have no doubt we will survive the coming hardships of ecosystem collapse. Humans are tenacious creatures. However, for us to thrive, we need our ecosystem to thrive too. We need to become a part of it again, and for that we need an agricultural revolution once more.
Commitments that may actually make a difference if we made them on a global scale include choosing to have a smaller family, choosing not to have a car which might mean living closer to an urban settlement, buying a smaller home that requires less materials and energy to build and maintain, not flying anywhere, eating only local seasonal food so no bananas, strawberries in winter or avocados from Peru, quitting the job that is only designed to keep you busy and serves zero beneficial purpose to society and causes you an unnatural level of stress. We need to change every part of how we live in order to make enough of a difference, and there are very few of us who are willing to do that. If Covid has taught us anything it is how flexible humans can be when it is really necessary. But it has also taught is how fragile our current system is; highlighting the massive inequality of experience when it comes to population stressers such as disease. There is no 'best way to save the planet', no silver bullet, regardless of what the headlines say. Taking into consideration the impacts your decisions will have on the environment is vitally important. From recycling to family size, every decision has an impact on the world we leave behind.
We have the power to make these decisions ourselves, and will be far happier about the outcome if we do so, compared to having those decisions forced upon us by policy because we couldn't face the reality of our situation soon enough. What can you do to lessen your global impact?
