Human Culture and Health

Human Culture and Health has long been a debated topic.  How much does human cultural influence have on environments?  Due to the rising epidemics of obesity, and heart diseases worldwide, science is taking a much closer look at the influence of human culture upon a variety of consequences that before now seemed unexplainable.  The following quote from a book, which hopes to make people more aware of their own cultural footprint illustrates this point.

This is Hope: Green Vegans and the New Human Ecology                                      

By Will Anderson – His statement follows:

“I have witnessed the near tripling of Earth’s population since I was born, the loss of ecosystems and species, the unspeakable malice we inflict on others, and the searing reality of human poverty in many places on our planet. While working on campaigns to stop our cruelty toward wild and domestic species and the decline of ecosystems, I found that these issues are connected. Our responses to them are woefully inadequate because we are failing to challenge our beliefs and behaviors that cause this harm.”

An article by Susan Daugherty of National Geographic Magazine on August 14, 2014 confirms what author, Will Anderson, is so passionately trying to tell his readers: that the connections between our planet’s ecosystems and human beings cannot be ignored any longer.

Ms. Daugherty wrote about the studies of a young researcher named Christopher Golden. His research in Madagascar and other regions in Africa have documented that the health of our planet is “People Linked.” Questions posed in this article are:

 “What does an endangered lemur have to do with a malnourished child in Madagascar? How does deforestation in Indonesia affect a Singapore businessman’s cardiopulmonary system? Why could a marine conservation area improve a woman’s health oceans away?” Golden’s findings should be a wake-up call for all who value their own health, as well as the health of our planet (the only one we have).  You may or may not need to copy (Control C) and paste (Control V) the link into your browser.

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140814-emerging-explorer-christopher-golden-madagascar-ecology-epidemiology-ngfood/

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