Are humans parasites?

[Reality vs Adventure]

Definition of a parasite: an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or at the expense of its host.

Earth is our host. It provides everything we need to survive healthy and bountiful. Humans destroy entire ecosystems. We annihilate forests. We pollute water, air, and top soil. We drive animals to extinction. We dig deep for resources such as oil and metals. Instead of protecting our host we look for another planet sustainable for life that we can destroy. We are almost viral in a way because we change the DNA of crops, animals, and pretty much anything we can get away with without any remorse of the consequences. 

We don't give anything back. Only take take take like the parasites we are. I believe there are different strains of humans. Most are parasitic. Even those with a conscious still contribute to pollution and the poisoning left behind from industry due to consumerism. Unfortunately, the parasitic strains of humans will lead to the demise of us and our host. 

But yes, by all definition humans I believe are parasites. Do you know a parasitic strain of a human? Can you argue humans are not parasites? 

 

[The Blackangel]

How much I wish I could argue this, but it’s a sad fact of reality. Homo Sapien is a disgusting parasitic virus. It looks to destroy due to its greed over a fictitious value of a piece of cotton fiber paper and small pieces of metal. 
 

To paraphrase a Cree proverb:

Only when the last tree has been cut, and the last fish has been caught, and the last river has been poisoned, will we realize that we can’t eat money.

[Reality vs Adventure]

13 minutes ago, The Blackangel said:

To paraphrase a Cree proverb:

Only when the last tree has been cut, and the last fish has been caught, and the last river has been poisoned, will we realize that we can’t eat money.

That's a pretty good quote; I'm still laughing at your 666. That's like 2 intertwined snakes falling through your roof. And it's happened to me!!!

[Lord Saru]

To speak out of the scientific angle of things, parasite is an organism that lives off the nutrition it derives from another organism that has the capacity to produce food. In the strictest sense, earth is only a host and not an ORGANISM that can produce food for itself. 

But philosophically, yes, just like us, every other organism are parasites. 

[bomb]

Human being can be like a parasite sometimes. They like to take advantages of what they are benefiting from someone. But if one stand well and be vigilant one can always get ride of them if one should get they are taking advantage of what they are offered.

[Reality vs Adventure]

On 9/28/2020 at 3:03 AM, Lord Saru said:

To speak out of the scientific angle of things, parasite is an organism that lives off the nutrition it derives from another organism that has the capacity to produce food. In the strictest sense, earth is only a host and not an ORGANISM that can produce food for itself. 

But philosophically, yes, just like us, every other organism are parasites. 

I wasn't referring to us as being parasites philosophically because scientifically we are like parasites. We are somewhere between a multicellular organic parasite and a simple viral parasite. The host of a virus is a cell where the virus attacks the DNA and changes it to provide the function of the virus. Earth is that cell on a much larger scale. Humans populate that Earth 'cell' and change its DNA for our purposes such as modifying foods, animals, insects, and other humans. We have only begun to see the scope of what our future will hold by changing the natural DNA functions. So a host doesn't have to produce its own food as long as a virus is considered a parasite. 

And I don't believe every other organism are parasites that aren't already classified as one because they aren't out there genetically modifying things or leaking hazardous wastes into the environment they live in. 

 

4 hours ago, bomb said:

Human being can be like a parasite sometimes. They like to take advantages of what they are benefiting from someone. But if one stand well and be vigilant one can always get ride of them if one should get they are taking advantage of what they are offered.

That is more of a philosophical parasite.

[Empire]

Humans are just one of the many organism on Earth. In order to exist, we, like most of the others, survive at the expense of other organisms. If we push this too far out of balance, we will cease to exist, as have many organisms before us. The planet, however will be just fine in the long run. It got along fine before us, it will get along fine after us.

There is nothing inherently evil about parasites. They are just doing what they must in order to survive. Successful parasites don't kill all their hosts. Whether humans can be successful on geological time scales has yet to be determined.

[Reality vs Adventure]

27 minutes ago, Empire said:

Successful parasites don't kill all their hosts. Whether humans can be successful on geological time scales has yet to be determined.

While that is true, I believe some major things can happen during our generation or the one after. First effects of us messing with nature's DNA and the large use of pesticides is that we will lose biodiversity that plants need to survive. And the pesticides create super bugs that will annihilate major crops. Top that off with the decreased bee population to pollinate due to those pesticides and plants that don't produce fertile seeds. That will have a major impact on the global food supply as well as wildlife and insects. That's the first and most immediate stage that I believe we will see happen. 

[StaceyPowers]

On 9/28/2020 at 1:03 AM, Lord Saru said:

earth is only a host and not an ORGANISM that can produce food for itself. 

Perhaps the ecology qualifies as a superorganism though?

[SAKE]

Maybe we are.. what if that's actually the case. But we just can't accept the fact because who wants to be identified as a parasitic entity