The Organic Myth Is Not Noble

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Although this deviates from the topic of treating developmental disorders/mental illnesses, I will write down my thoughts as it is a frequently discussed subject.

Nature is neither an enemy nor an ally

Natsuki Ikezawa is a writer with a background in science.
Even though he has a science background, he writes pure literature themed around nature rather than science fiction.

He wrote in an essay,

“Nature is neither an ally nor an enemy to humans. It is simply indifferent.”

I strongly empathize with this way of thinking.

Being moved by the beauty of mountains and oceans is a human indulgence, and whether or not that is sacred or noble is likely irrelevant to the mountains and oceans themselves.

Humans can receive many blessings from nature, but at the same time, they have also suffered great harm.
(Even without citing examples like major earthquakes, there are plenty of plants growing in the wild that will kill you instantly if you eat them.)

Furthermore, no matter how much humans manipulate molecules, recombine the genes of plants and animals, or sometimes trigger nuclear fission, I believe that is allwithin the scope of natural phenomena.

This is because human activities are born from nature.

What you eat makes you, but

As a cynical logician, I often think:

The saying “You are what you eat” is true, butso what?,

If what you eat undergoes a chemical reaction called digestion and is resynthesized into part of the human body, it is a completely different substance than it was before it entered your mouth.

Atoms have completely different properties when their bonding partners change.

For example, table salt is sodium chloride, but sodium itself is a dangerous metal that ignites just by touching the air.

It is a dry and sterile way of thinking, but that is one of the reasons why “supplements are the best for replenishing vitamins and minerals.”

In other words, the human body can distinguish between harmful and harmless (to a certain extent), but it cannot distinguish between nature and everything else,

because there is no point in distinguishing them.

Even without bringing up chemistry, the food that enters our mouths has been continuously improved through selective breeding alongside the history of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Gluten can be a cause of developmental disorders/mental illnesses, but wheat that grew in nature has a significantly lower gluten content.
(This is called ancient wheat.)

Some people turn to organic food for disease treatment or health maintenance, but even if it is pesticide-free and organically grown, modern wheat is harmful (to some people).

The dangers of pesticides and food additives are merely an added extra.

If you want to live by consuming only things that humans haven't touched, I think you have no choice but to seclude yourself in the mountains and live a self-sufficient life.

The antonym of "nature"

…Based on what I have stated above, the concept of "organic" is fundamentally meaningless.

As long as you live as a human, it is impossible not to put things that humans have touched into your body.

But that is nature in a broad sense.
Because humans themselves are a part of nature.

You might say, "Then there is nothing in this world other than nature (=matter)."

But things other than matter do exist.
They certainly exist.

It is the text you are reading.

The screen of your smartphone or PC is matter, but the information it conveys exists only in individual minds and cannot be touched or verified.

Receiving information, understanding it, and changing your actions.

Isn't that the most human activity of all?

When I was recovering from depression and returning to society, I made mindfulness a habit, but not out of spiritual belief.

I felt a certain potential in the ingenuity of those who came before me, tried it, felt the effects, and then customized it for myself; that is how it went.

It is mere ingenuity based on knowledge and experience, without a shred of spiritualism.

If you or someone close to you is suffering from a developmental disorder or mental illness and you cannot bear it, gather information, take action, and change the situation.

Unlike nature, which is there and does not move, humans are beings that try to move forward.

This magazine, "Let's Become Neurotypical!", is written with that kind of thinking.

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