[Quote from A Book (XIX)]: “When we think of human dependence on other life forms, the tendency…”
Published in
Sep 15, 2023
“When we think of human dependence on other life forms, the tendency is to think first of the plants and animals we use for food or fiber. It takes a moment to remember that the atmosphere of the planet — the air we breathe — is the joint product of the life processes of plants, animals, and microorganisms; that the soil from which plants grow is necessarily teeming with organic life; and that the human body itself supports an ongoing population of microorganisms. The environment in which any given organism flourishes is always a community of interacting life forms. This is equally true of the bacteria living in the intestine and of the squirrels in an oak forest.”
— Mary Catherine Bateson & Richard Goldsby, Thinking A.I.D.S
