Every surface around us is covered in bacteria, according to Rob Dunn, a professor of applied ecology at North Carolina State and in the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen. In his book, “ Never Home Alone: From Microbes to Millipedes, Camel Crickets, and Honeybees, the Natural History of Where We Live,” Dunn explains that we are, in fact, surrounded by countless creatures that are invisible to the naked eye.
If you were to take a journey through your home with a microscope in hand, “It’d be like going off in a ship, like Darwin traveling the world, and every time you came around a corner, you’d come across something new,” Dunn said.
Germ theory brought to our society greater awareness about health and hygiene and cures for what were once life-threatening diseases. However, over time, there has also been an increased fervor about getting rid of bacteria, sometimes to our detriment.
Not all bacteria are harmful, Dunn says. He explains that when we season our food with salt, the flavor comes from square-shaped bacteria that have been present in the salt crystal for hundreds of thousands of years. As for yogurt, it is produced from the bacteria bulgaricus, which was once existed in the gut of a human being.
While germ theory did help us identify and tackle species that can cause us harm, over time the narrative has morphed into exterminating all germs and microbes, Dunn says. He believes the shift began after World War II when the language and sentiment of the battlefield moved into our homes. Pesticides and antimicrobials began to be used as weapons against the microscopic lives in our living spaces and the need to control and sterilize our homes came to define our modern sense of hygiene. Companies were able to tap into consumers’ fears and sell products that promised to kill all forms of germs, both harmful and benign.
The hyper-fear of germs has led to some unintended consequences. Bacteria that harm us are only a tiny minority of all the species around us. “When we try to kill everything, we are more likely to favor the harmful species,” Dunn says, “and that sets us up for all sorts of problems.”
The use of household products that claim to kill 99 percent of all germs, is the “ideal recipe” for speeding up evolution, according to Dunn. He says we are creating an environment that promotes the evolution of the surviving 1 percent. Similarly, the increased use of antibiotics has led to the evolution of a new resistant species of bacteria.
Dunn believes it is time to change the conversation and to imagine a different kind of future, whether in terms of urban planning or how we live our daily lives, where not all germs and microbes are viewed as villains and we begin embracing their beneficial aspects.
Nadia Lewis an intern at Innovation Hub.
