Manipal Monk: Some valuable lessons from planet Earth

Earth

If we are created along with the creatures, plants and Earth, let us look into the functions of the earth and perhaps we will see how they affect and reflect upon our lives.

If we use agriculture as a major example of man’s interaction with the earth, we find that 98 per cent of the production of food utilises harmful chemicals to control weeds and pests. Weeds and pests are like the miscreants and terrorists in society.

30 nostalgic photos of manipal 1997 to 2001When this weed returns it is generally stronger and more resistant to that method of containment.

The solution to weeds in a garden can also be controlled by cultivating the topsoil when the weeds are very young and by planting a nourishing crop that will smother the weeds and retard their growth.

The drive to maximise productivity on a farm (in life) leads many to use the fastest acting and most widely available tools and inputs. Very little consideration is given the long-term damage that this route causes.

This overall economic approach to life (farming) is a part of the reason that a farmer will create an ideal situation for pests to thrive and then hit the pests with a chemical agent. This chemical warfare is as indiscriminate as a terrorist attack, killing useful insects along with the problem ones. The pests return stronger and more resilient. They have fewer insect enemies and the environment that encourages their existence has not changed.

Pests thrive in areas that are densely planted (populated) and generally sterilised of natural enemies. Single-crop production systems also encourage pests, as the environment is starved of biodiversity. Pests are also very active where there is a lack of the correct nutrients in th plant or soil. Healthy plants resist diseases and pests.

In society, our single-crop production system is like the housing and employment choices faced by the working class. The ghettos are densely populated and even rural homes are overcrowded.

There is a form of agriculture that depends on the natural balance of nature and the introduction of positive insects to control the pest. There are farmers who use biological controls that interfere with the breeding capabilities of particular pests. There are even sticky coloured traps that attract the pest away from the plant. In most cases, a combination of subtle approaches works well.

In society these techniques could be things like putting a violent offender in a boxing ring with a well trained boxer who beats the tar out of him every week for six months.

The need to make economic gains, even if it is just to pay for a car, holiday or new outfit, means that many parents do not have the time, money or understanding to give healthy nourishment for their children.

Many children do indeed grow fast and big, as the food they eat is grown, but many are also very weak and sickly and do not have a long shelf life. Many youth today lack character and enthusiasm and live on external appearance (brand name). The same is true of foods grown with artificial fertilisers.

There are countless comparisons within nature and agriculture that show our existence. You can think of some for yourself and on your own level, you may sort out a troubled area of your life.

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