When it comes to food microbiology, we often view pathogenic microorganisms as if they are against humans. However, this perspective is narrow and overlooks the vast history of life on our planet. This article will offer a different perspective and place the relationship between microorganisms and humans in the context of the history of life on Earth.
Consider the history of life on Earth to be a year. Life first emerged on Earth 3.8 billion years ago, equivalent to January 1st.
Photosynthetic cyanobacteria appeared in April, eukaryotes in June, fish in November, and life on land also in November. The dinosaurs appeared around December 10th.
The ancestors of cows and pigs appeared 54 million years ago, or at midnight on December 25th. Humans, in comparison, only emerged a million years ago, or at 9pm on New Year's Eve.
And in terms of the history of bacteria, a century is just one second, with the 20th century being equivalent to 20 seconds of countdown.
This analogy shows that humans are relatively recent newcomers in the long history of microorganisms. We often have a human-centric view of the world, but when viewed from the perspective of microorganisms, it becomes clear that they do not have humans in their sights.
To further illustrate this, think of microorganisms as high school students. As new students arrive, such as eukaryotes in May or dinosaurs in November, the microbes may not even be aware of the recent arrival of humans at 9pm on New Year's Eve.
In conclusion, when we broaden our perspective and understand the history of life on Earth, it becomes evident that a human-centric view of microbiology is biased and limited.
