I’m no scientist, and I’m not even close to being a major in any science course, but a thought struck me a few days ago that really made me think. I’m not sure if the implications of that thought are positive or negative. It just got me thinking.
The craziness started when I saw the commercial for one of the documentaries of GMA 7, the one where poverty in the Philippines is the topic. What’s new, right? It’s all about the poor resolving to eating janitor fish to address their hunger. As with any other documentary, it all looked sappy and seems to be invoking either pity or epiphany. I had an epiphany all right, but not the one the show has intended to invoke.
Instead of feeling sorry for the family who was eating janitor fish instead of the regular types of fish, I thought they were much more evolved than us. I mean, okay I’ve been watching Big Bang Theory A LOT more than I should, and I have no idea where the thought came from or why it did, but it did anyway.
Isn’t it a mark of evolution when a species develops something new due to necessity or reduces something because it’s useless? In this case, the family developed a stomach for eating janitor fish due to the necessity to eat. I mean, okay the reason for the “development” is poverty and hunger, but hey it’s evolution. And somehow I don’t think it’s too bad of an idea. If you look at it (hard enough) from a more positive perspective, it shows us how strong the human race is, capable of adjusting to his environment, no matter what the reasons for his adjustment may be.
It’s all evident in other animals, so why can’t we look at being able to eat janitor fish as a positive thing? The giraffes have long necks to be able to reach to branches that other animals can’t. The leopard, cheetah, and other fast runners have a flexible spine and leg muscles that give them a better chance at capturing their preys by being able to run fast. Ant-eaters have a long snouts with thick skin and large claws so that they will be able to eat ants easier while protecting themselves from all the biting the ants are doing.
When you really strip all the crap out of it, it all boils down to one thing. Survival. And the primary thing we need for survival is food. All the other animals are proof that evolution has, indeed, made them (and us) what we are because of what we eat.
