Wednesday Walk: What is Nature?
Wednesday Walk: What is Nature?
Examining our role in nature, ultra-processed foods, and wealth inequality
Welcome to the Quarantine Creatives newsletter, a companion to my podcast of the same name, which explores creativity, art, and big ideas as we continue to live through this pandemic.
Every Wednesday, I share random thoughts and tidbits with links to let you do some exploring. I call these Wednesday Walks, as it’s the type of conversation we might have walking down a path in the woods- the topics are free flowing, sometimes related, sometimes not.
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What is Nature?
DAME Magazine publisher Jennifer Reitman (a guest on the podcast earlier this year) mentioned an interesting article from Sarah Sloat in her recent newsletter that I thought was worth examining.
The article looks what happened to the natural world in the early days of the pandemic. Because of the popularity of the “nature is healing” meme, there was a belief that a world with less human intervention may be better.
There were certainly some improvements to the environment, which Sloat cites in the article, such as global air pollution dropping. But data seem to suggest that lessening humans impact on the environment was more of a mixed bag, with some positives and some negatives.
The article looks at ways in which human intervention can benefit some animal species. Sometimes this is unintentional, like when some species scavenge on our food waste and litter. Other times, it is deliberate, in the case of establishing wildlife corridors or reintroducing a species to a habitat.
I’ve quoted from Wendell Berry a lot lately, but this gets at one of his core tenets that we are a part of nature, not separate from it. It’s easy to think of Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon as “nature,” but Berry believes (and Sloat seems to back up) that our backyards, our sidewalks, our canals, and our landfills are a part of nature too. In short, we can’t just do “human stuff” in some areas and have “nature stuff” in others; it’s all one intertwined web.
This ties in to a really interesting post recently shared by author, filmmaker, nutritionist (and also a podcast guest) Diana Rodgers. Click on the link below to click through and read her infographic.
Quoting from one part of Rodgers’s caption that ties into all of these ideas:
“The spaces we consider to be ‘natural’, ‘green’ or ‘unsullied by man’ do not exist separately from human influence, nor are human beings unaffected by the state of these spaces. Humans are biological creatures. We ARE nature.”
Made at Home
I also wanted to share a really interesting article that came on to my radar when it was shared by Wrath of Gnon on Twitter:
The article was written by a team of professors at Deakin University in Australia (Kim Anastasiou, Mark Lawrence, Michalis Hadjikakou, and Phillip Baker) for The Conversation and it looks at the role of processed foods in our diet.
The team defines ultra-processed foods this way:
“Ultra-processed foods are a group of foods defined as ‘formulations of ingredients, mostly of exclusive industrial use, that result from a series of industrial processes.’
They typically contain cosmetic additives and little or no whole foods. You can think of them as foods you would struggle to create in your own kitchen. Examples include confectionery, soft drinks, chips, pre-prepared meals and restaurant fast-food products.”
In Australia, ultra-processed foods comprise 39% of total energy intake for adults, and they are high among developed nations. Well, except for the U.S.A., where nearly 58% of adult’s energy comes from ultra-processed foods.
These foods have an effect on what we grow on farms, how we grow them, and even what our food policy looks like, so finding ways to eat less of them or avoid them altogether can lead to big structural changes.
After switching to the Plant Paradox diet about a year ago, we have spent more time creating our own foods at home. My wife has especially really risen to the challenge, finding ways to satiate our American tastes for “junk food,” while realizing that many of these foods can be made with 4 or 5 recognizable ingredients at home, rather than 10-15 from a factory. She shares recipes on Instagram if you’re interested.
What I’m Listening To
I just spent a recent car ride listening to Marc Maron interview Abigail Disney on his podcast WTF with Marc Maron.
Walt Disney was her great-uncle and her grandfather (Roy O. Disney) was a cofounder of the Disney company.
Abigail is an Emmy winning documentary filmmaker and was on Marc’s podcast to describe her latest project The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales. I haven’t seen the film yet, but after hearing the interview, it’s on my short list.
Her documentary looks at the inequality crisis in this country through the lens of the company that bears her name (she is a shareholder in the company but is not a representative of them).
Equally as interesting was to hear her story about growing up with immense wealth and privilege because of her family, how she would mask that wealth and her connections at times, and grappling with some of the uglier sides of her family’s history, including racism, sexism, and anti-semitism.
As with any Maron interview, it’s deep, intimate, and thoughtful. If you find yourself with a long trip and are in need of a listen, I highly recommend this episode.
Other Wednesday Walks
If you’d like to catch up on past episodes of the Quarantine Creatives podcast, they can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.
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If you’ve missed past issues of this newsletter, they are available to read here.
Stay Safe!
Heath