Vivism and Microbes ("Microbivism")
(© photo)
"Respecting life and well-being of microbes, to a degree as large as possible" Intro We cannot see them, the fourth kind of living beings apart from humans, animals and plants. But we know they're there; in the air, in the water, in the soil, as good as anywhere. They're that small that man can only see them by use of a microscope. They're "microspopically small" and therefor called "microbes". One of the most occuring kinds of them are Bacteria. We also know a lot about the important functions microbes have, among others in and outside the human body. Vitamins for instance are bacteria; living beings who's function inside the human body is among other things to bring minerals from consumed foodstuff to the specific organs where they are needed; (such as Calcium to the bones). Because man cannot see them he hardly knows them. For instance has he got no experiences that showed him that they have emotions or feel pain, like he does have with animals and plants. But it's quite plausible to derive from the fact that all bigger kinds of living beings have feelings the presumption that this is a general characteristic to all kinds of living beings, including the smallest and invisible ones. One might even say that if they wouldn't have feelings they wouldn't be able to carry out their functions, because they wouldn't have the sence needed for that. For they are certainly not simply programmed robots, made out of dead material and thriven by artificially generated energy. Respecting life and well-being of microbes in general Naturally there's relatively little on Earth that threatens life of microbes. For instance is there hardly any fire or heat that kills them. Furthermore it's true that microbes finding themselves in natural foodstuff seem to be killed by gastric acid in the course of digestion, but one can very well say that in fact as a result of this natural chemical merger they live on in a different shape. So nowadays it are nearly always unnatural causes, generated by man, that lead to the death of microbes. The main ones are fire and heat, caused by humans. People once started making fire by clutching fire stones against each other. But they couldn't be aware then of the fact that in this way they killed big numbers of living beings that are very important in the system of nature. In a way many of those folks' descendants still aren't aware yet, although by now it's known that where fire is made, big numbers of microbes that naturally find themselves in or upon the basic fuel that is used, are burned alive. In fossile fuels for instance, (that even have been produced by microbes) many of them are living their natural life. But in or on organic materials that (basically) are used as (bio-)fuel, such as wood or plants, it is no different. Other microbe 'enimies' are chemical products such as soap, biting cleaning liquors and conservatives. But as none of them can be produced without fire being made, all by all it's especcially fire that shouldn't be made any more in case man wants to respect life of microbes as well. Just imagine, no fire being made any more would mean: no more production of steel and plastics; so no weapons around any more, no new chain-sows to destroy even more of the "lungs of Earth' , no more cars that kill about a milion people each year, no more airplains with their main contribution to the greenhouse-effect, and no chemical pollution of water, soil and air any more. Furthermore no use of drugs, alcohol and tabacco any more. Only pure natural life, with fresh fragrant air, with silence (exept for the natural sounds), without most nowadays kinds of danger, without all that now is bringing this planet closer and closer to abyss. All this as a result of just the fact that man will have started to also respect life of the smallest living beings there are around. Sparing microbe lifes in practice In all day life there are many things one can very well do different or leave behind in order to spare big numbers of microbe lives: a) Less or no home- and other heating. One can allways wear sufficient (for instance ski-) clothes. But also this can be an essential argument to aim for living in the 'own' climatological circumstances, where one naturally doesn't need any heating (nor cooling). b) Consumption of in principle only raw food. This doesn't only save many microbe lives, but turns out to be very healthy moreover. c) Reducing use of electricity as far as possible. Electricity coming from the outlet is made by use of fire for the most past. So the less electricity one uses, the less microbes one indirectly kills. For instance inside the house one can do a lot of things that nowadays usually are done by electrical devices, by hand; (such as grinding). d) Reducing use of fuel as far as possible. A bike uses no fuel at all, a motor-bike and a bus or a train (per person) notably less than a car. Traveling by airplane one uses several times as much per mile as by car. e) Reducing use of soap as far as possible. Most of the wash can very well be done by first socking it for a day and then finishing it; all in unheated water and as far as possible by hand. Of course followed by line-drying it. f) Reducing use of alcohol as far as possible. Alcohol kills microbes and that's why it's also used as an antiseptic. This means, than if one doesn't want to kill microbes, one doesn't use alcoholic drinks. Otherwise many microbes inside the body, such as vitamins, are killed, so that they cannot carry out their function any more; among othe B12 vitamins, that are important for the right functioning of the brains, which shows in a decreased reactive power and/or the uncapacity, to walk straight on after a conciderable use of alcoholic drinks. Alcoholics are known to have a serious deficit of B12 and other vitamins, which declares their mental and fysical weekness. g) Reducing use of conservatives as far as possible. In preserved foodstuff there mostly are no microbes around any more; they have all been killed by added conservatives to prevent that they break down the food the natural way which results in the unedibility of the food. Therefore eating pickled, frozen, rayed, and even salted food, means that one indirectly has killed many microbes. Those who for this reason don't use salt or vinegar any more know what a positive effect this has on their health and as a result understand that it is not without reason that in many cases of illness one has to follow a saltless diet. h) Reducing use of antiseptics and antibiotics as far as possible. Antiseptics and antibiotics kill microbes. So in case one in principle doesn't want to cause this effect, one reduces use of these means as much as possible. In stead of antibiotics for instance in many cases one can use probiotics. Probiotics don't kill both the 'good' and the 'bad' bacteria, but support the good ones, so that they can carry out their healing function, despite the presence of the bad ones. Thus cleaning a wound for instance can be done very well by use of just clean spring water. Respecting well-being of microbes in practice Although it may seem hopeless to also respect well-being of microbes in all day life, some ways in which this might be done can be mentioned anyway. a) Warming up liqours and foodstuff as little as possible. It's a generally known fact that for instance microbes inside a liquor are killed only when that liquor is heated to more than a certain number of degrees; mostly the so called cooking point of 100 degrees Celcius. This however doesn't take away that these little beings before that critical number of degrees is reached already possibly or most likely suffer in a proportional measure from the increasing heat. Therefore Vivists and other Microbists in principle don't heat liquor or foodstuff at all, and in case an exception is unavoideble just as little as possible (e.g. to a maximum of 30 degrees). b) Taking care microbes get enough oxygen. One of the differences that occur between the many separate kinds of microbes is that certain kinds of them need oxygen, while others don't. Presence of the first mentioned aerobic microbes in for instance a (partly) empty plastic bottle sometimes shows when that bottle is closed and after a while starts being dented. The cause of this phenomenon indeed is in the fact that those microbes are using up more and more of the oxygen inside that bottle. No need to say that they must feel more and more uncomfortable in that situation before eventually dying (suffocating) when all oxygen inside the bottle is used up. So respecting (life and) well-being of microbes includes taking care as much as possible that enough oxygen can get into one's bottles and other hermetic closable containers. For that purpose it often is enough to either loosen the cap ot the cover a bit or make a tiny hole in it. ---------- A few arbitrary informative links: http://www.scq.ubc.ca/microbes-and-you-normal-flora/ http://textbookofbacteriology.net/normalflora.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_human_flora
----------- © Copyright Nicolas Pleumekers (Founder and president of the Nature Protection Foundation) |
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