The “Natural = Safe” Myth

A lot of people around the globe often sing the praises of natural things; they even go further to encourage their usage above all other things, especially artificial ones, and I can't help but agree with them that natural things are awesome, be it in food, medicine, or even transportation, making it one of the best measures for living a peaceful and healthy lifestyle. However, does the encouragement of natural things mean we should entirely ditch artificial ones despite knowing fully well that most of these artificials were created for our own good? Well, in this article I'd be stating my opinion on these and many more.

You see, the truth is that the importance of natural things can never be overemphasized, especially when we compare the quality of life back in the days when we had no artificial inventions or things to now that they have occupied all of our industries in agriculture, medicine, transportation, and the like, to name but a few. The noticeable changes are a reduction in the quality of life and life expectancy, an increase in illness, and the introduction of more and more diseases that cut human life short. So when you take a critical look at this, you won't have a choice but to agree that natural things are the greatest of all time that we humans need.

However, it's worth noting that while all of the above are understandably right, we must also recognize the fact that the demand our world has today is not half of what the ages of humans in the past had, as the world has now increased in population, which has brought about an increase in demand for everything, be it food, healthcare, transportation, and the like, and if we didn't evolve and delve into all of these creations, humanity might have gone into extinction a long time ago due to starvation and the like.These artificial inventions gave us hope and a future whereby we now have fertilizer that fast-tracks food production; we even have automobiles that move us from one place to another, compared to back in the days when we depended on our legs or animals to move from point A to point B.

Understandably, I know these fertilizers have side effects that contribute to our declining health, but they're a necessity. Thankfully, we now have manure that is more organic, but that doesn't mean we can't use these things. On the other hand, for example, how many of us would prefer to travel by foot from your country to another because you want to go natural, or would prefer to travel by camel or horse from Africa to Europe because you're team natural? While it's great, It doesn't mean we'll neglect artificial inventions that are making lives better, such as automobiles like cars, airplanes, and the like. While we recognize they emit toxic waste, we should look for ways to curb that rather than outrightly stop their usage, just like how we now have solar- or electric-powered automobiles.

It's worth noting that something being natural doesn't mean it's good, and I'd prove it with a point, one of which is the snake venom. We all know it's natural, but does that mean it's good? Absolutely not; in fact, exposure to it for too long without treatment can lead to death. The same goes for some spiders. That's for animals. In the aspect of nature's minerals and elements, we all know mercury and those natural elements are toxic to the nervous system, and under the plant oleander, although beautiful, every single part of it is poisonous, and even castor beans contain ricin, which is said to be one of the most dangerous natural toxins, as I learned from a movie I watched.

Talking about if artificial can replace natural things perfectly, I'd say no, we still need natural things to survive. In fact, most of the artificial things being made are extracted from natural things mixed with chemicals and the like, so I don't think it's possible. And also I don't agree with those who feel like we should only use natural things, especially in this age and time where we've got loads of demand. I think we should find a middle ground for both, where we strike a balance for their usage, for the greater good of humanity in job delivery and health.

All photos are taken and edited on canva.