A long term response to dealing with Covid 19 virus.

 The Corona 19 virus has disrupted the life of societies around the world like nothing I have seen in my life. The repercussions will have a great impact on the worlds ability to function as it has leading up to this pandemic. I am not an epidemiologist or even a pathologist, but I know something about dealing with diseases in nature. Disease problems are indicators of an imbalance. In dealing with such a problem you must first examine the factors that allow it to become so prevalent. To begin with, it helps to understand how they operate. Viruses are less common than other parasites. Viruses are a lot smaller than bacteria and fungi. They consist of a genetic material, like RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein in a fat coating. If you wash the virus molecules with soap you render it unable to survive. This is why it is important to wash with soap when exposed to it. Unlike bacteria or fungi, it is a total parasite. It cannot replicate or live long without a host. Bacteria and fungi can grow without a host. Viruses cannot. So it needs to be more aggressive to live. Being highly contagious helps with that. Some viruses have been used to disinfect bacteria in labs. So it spreads rapidly yet is very fragile.   There are two factors that favor it's development in human society.
  The first one is finding the right environment. If I grow a large crop of one plant it is more susceptible to whatever pest targets that plant. This is why I stay away from growing a monocrop. I have been in cattle feed lots and large chicken houses where there is a dense population of one species. This is a ripe environment for whatever parasite targets that group. I have seen many situations where people congregate inside subway stations or events or even in downtowns that closely resemble a feed lot or chicken house on a much larger scale. Considering how our cities are designed, I am actually surprised an epidemic of diseases are not more common. The way we design cities is that we pave over nature and fill it up with structures for high density human occupation. Living in South East Asia was incredible to see so many people in such close proximity. A diversity of species favors a balance in nature. This balance supports resilience. This is a rule for growing using agroecology. So if our cities were allowed to invite in more nature like parks and pedestrian beltlines this would help. The way cities are presently designed is not a healthy environment to live in. This is a hard sell to real estate venture capitalists. The disconnect with nature is part of the disfunction of modern society.

  The second factor is the internal environment, that being our bodies. The primary role of diseases in nature is to cull out weakness. This is what plagues and diseases did in ancient history. It kept human population growth controlled. In my work I grow healthy plants because they have mechanisms that ward off diseases. Modern medicine works with allopathic methods that treat symptoms only. Preventative medicine is a word that is thrown around but rarely used in treating health problems. Most people who have died from covid 19 had underlying health conditions or were elderly. That is a troubling thought since I am a senior citizen. Being healthy is not about taking probiotics. It is about eating foods that create abundance in your body. I wonder how much soil I eat while I am munching on carrots during work. I have been growing my own food for 4 or 5 decades. So health is a lifestyle. The changes of this pandemic needs to be a wake up call. Our society and the way it is structured needs a paradigm shift if this is truly a wake up call. This is not something you buy but something you do. Realign your priorities. Develop wealth beyond money. People want this to end and to get back to normal. Yet change is inevitable and constant. This is a good time to restructure how you spend your time to develop a healthy environment that supports diversity and symbiotic relationships with nature. Connecting with the earth connects us with who we are.