As a long-time fan of E.O. Wilson, I have read several of his books and follow his ongoing work at his
Biodiversity Foundation.
I have particularly enjoyed one of his latest books,
"The Meaning of Human Existence." For me, it gave me the peace that comes with understanding more about why we are all here on this one small planet--one of hundreds of billions (or trillions) of planets in our universe. Just last week, one of his quotes caught my attention:
The only solution to the Sixth Extinction is to increase the area of inviolable natural reserves to half the surface of the Earth or greater. -- E.O. Wilson
My immediate reaction. I would add that the ONLY possible way of sufficiently increasing those inviolable natural reserves is by moving rapidly in the direction of a plant-based diet for humans.
I often hear scientists, philosophers and various experts talk about what "needs" to happen. But, as an engineer and former business executive, I prefer to take it one step further and talk about
HOW. In this case, I summarized the HOW on one small sheet of paper. It's all begins with leadership, vision and teaching everyone the whole truth about food.
My Vision for Returning to Harmony on Earth
As people everywhere begin to learn the whole truth about their food choices, millions will start replacing most, if not all, of their animal-based calories with healthier and "greener," plant-based alternatives. As we begin working on the "demand" side of the equation, markets will quickly respond, people will begin getting healthier, the cost of healthcare will plummet, water will become more plentiful, trees can be planted on the freed-up land and our fragile ecosystem will begin to heal.
Eventually, we must also deal with overpopulation, over-consumption and the excessive burning of fossil fuels--but those tasks will take many decades, if not centuries. Taking URGENT action NOW with our food choices can buy us the time we need to address them all.
Forget colonizing other planets. The future of our species depends on learning how to live in harmony with nature on mother Earth.
