Postnaturalism

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Postnaturalism is the theory of the postnatural, a term coined to describe organisms that have been intentionally and heritably altered by humans. Postnaturalism is a cultural process whereby organisms are bred to satisfy a specific cultural purpose. It can be used to read these organisms, which serve as insights into our culture by reflecting desires and beliefs prevalent at the time of breeding. This has direct implications for the evolutionary path of these organisms, [1] whittling down undesirable traits to leave only those culturally sought out. Postnaturalism argues that in so doing, humans have and continue to actively alter the evolutionary path of a postnatural organism to suit our cultural desires. The agricultural practice of monoculture, for instance, is just one example of postnatural organisms who have been bred to such an extent that the modern-day species look nothing like their pre-neolithic counterparts. The breeding of these species for this purpose can be seen to be reflected in notable diet changes during this period, [2] which proliferated during ensuing sedentism and urbanisation. [2]

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Postnaturalism is a highly selective process. For every organism that has become used in our society, there are countless more that have remained non-postnatural for whatever reason ranging from a perceived lack of future use from them or traits that make them too difficult to farm. One such example is the golden orb-weaver spider which produces a strong, light and useful silk, however they are known to be cannibalistic and thus impossible to farm on a large scale. [3]

Postnatural History

Postnatural history is defined as the "study of the origins, habitats, and evolution of organisms that have been intentionally and heritably altered by humans", which serves as a "record of the influence of human culture on evolution". [1] So termed to differentiate it from traditional natural history studies, it is the subject of a storefront in Pittsburgh, United States called the Center for PostNatural History, which builds on this concept to produce an array of displays of organisms which are all postnatural. [1]

Domestication

The commencement of the postnatural can be considered to date back to prehistoric civilisation's early interaction with wild species. Here, domestication occurred as a way of adapting the environment around prehistoric people to suit their needs and desires through a gradual process of refinement. Domestication succeeds through the heritable continuation of an organism's phenotype and genotype allowing each generation to continue on from their previous generation. In its simplest terms, domestication alters a species through survival to a change in habitat, food source, or other significant change. These changes can be sought for a variety of different reasons including physical attributes, behavioural characteristics, lifespan, and adaptability to a change in environment. [4]

It is thought human beings have been experimenting with selectively breeding organisms for around 10,000 years; over thousands of years humans have influenced many taxonomic groups, with bioengineering representing new forms of genetic information transfer, creation, and inheritance, coupled to climate change, scientists and policy makers are prioritising “ecosystem services” essential to humans, such as pollination, the replenishment of fish stocks, and a phenomenon being researched in the Great Barrier Reef being the terminal decline of coral. [5]

Selective breeding

Postnatural practices include selective breeding, a process by which humans purposefully breed certain organisms for particular biological traits. The practice was known to the Romans, [6] and has been commonly used continuing to this day. Michael Pollan argues that Charles Darwin saw this process and considered it artificial, rather than natural, selection, but in terms of evolutionary progress this distinction becomes irrelevant to the species; the change is irreversible all the same. [7] This is simply because evolution is understood to be unable to 'undo' previous changes, but, particularly in proteins, [8] continues along in a progression of its biological structure depending on what traits are required for survival. [9] [10]

Induced Mutation

Induced mutation in the context of postnaturalism is the process whereby a specific genetic mutation - usually a rare occurrence - is selectively isolated by people and encouraged to reproduce in future offspring. This differs from the general understanding of a mutation that was induced by treatment from a particular chemical agent in a living species. [11]

A good example of this is the albino rat which possesses, in the wild a notoriously fatal genetic make-up [12] making it much easier to identify to predators, a coat which drew interest in breeders so as to distinguish them from their more unhygienic-looking sewer counterparts prevalent in major cities in the 1800s. So numerous were rats in industrial cities, they became the subject of a sport based on their extermination, rat-baiting. [13] The albino rat thus became distinguished from the regular unsightly sewer rat and even became sold as pets, the owning of one as a child allegedly the basis for Beatrix Potter's book Samuel Whiskers. [12]

Genetic Engineering

Genetic Engineering can be considered to be the purposeful alteration of the genetic makeup of an organism through the introduction of genes from sources not belonging to that organism. The isolation of a particular gene and introduction of another is often achieved through the use of biotechnology more broadly. [14]

Genetic engineering is a contentious topic and even in searching for a definition, there are several alternatives available highlighting the variation in perceptions around what is considered to be the goal and process of genetic engineering. [15] [16] [17] [18] However, genetic engineering embodies much of what is considered postnatural, but doing so with the next level of technology than used in previous methods such as those mentioned in the above sections. Increased use of advanced technology allows for improved precision and accuracy of methods, and carrying out of transgenics, whilst the use of laboratories as settings is designed to prevent the release of experimented organisms into the wild unless cleared with the relevant protocols and regulations beforehand.

Concerns over postnaturalism's proliferation in monoculture

The current agricultural practice of monoculture is intricately connected with postnaturalism, particularly now much of common contemporary agricultural practice has become mechanised. This mechanisation sometimes requires universality to comply with existing tools, machines and practices, such as the breeding of chickens to be a uniform size to ensure they fit into chicken harvesting machines. [19] On other occasions rather than breed a particular species to a uniform size, some parts of organisms have been so heavily bred and altered that dystocia can regularly occur, such as with the Belgian Blue cattle whose birth canal regularly becomes constricted or even entirely blocked due to the birth canal's reduced size and the increased size of calves. [20] The result is the routine scheduling of Caesarian sections. [20] [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetics</span> Science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms

Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms. It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar working in the 19th century in Brno, was the first to study genetics scientifically. Mendel studied "trait inheritance", patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring over time. He observed that organisms inherit traits by way of discrete "units of inheritance". This term, still used today, is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural selection</span> Mechanism of evolution by differential survival and reproduction of individuals

Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Charles Darwin popularised the term "natural selection", contrasting it with artificial selection, which is intentional, whereas natural selection is not.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication</span> Selective breeding of plants and animals to serve humans

Domestication is a multi-generational relationship between humans and other organisms, where humans take control over their reproduction and care to have a steady supply of the organisms' resources. It can be argued that domestication is a form of mutualism, where both humans and the organisms are benefited. The domestication of plants and animals by humans was a major cultural innovation ranked in importance with the conquest of fire, the manufacturing of tools, and the development of verbal language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selective breeding</span> Breeding for desired characteristics

Selective breeding is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together. Domesticated animals are known as breeds, normally bred by a professional breeder, while domesticated plants are known as varieties, cultigens, cultivars, or breeds. Two purebred animals of different breeds produce a crossbreed, and crossbred plants are called hybrids. Flowers, vegetables and fruit-trees may be bred by amateurs and commercial or non-commercial professionals: major crops are usually the provenance of the professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetic diversity</span> Total number of genetic characteristics in a species

Genetic diversity is the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species, it ranges widely from the number of species to differences within species and can be attributed to the span of survival for a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolutionary biology</span> Study of the processes that produced the diversity of life

Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth. It is also defined as the study of the history of life forms on Earth. Evolution holds that all species are related and gradually change over generations. In a population, the genetic variations affect the phenotypes of an organism. These changes in the phenotypes will be an advantage to some organisms, which will then be passed onto their offspring. Some examples of evolution in species over many generations are the peppered moth and flightless birds. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biology emerged through what Julian Huxley called the modern synthesis of understanding, from previously unrelated fields of biological research, such as genetics and ecology, systematics, and paleontology.

The term modifications in genetics refers to both naturally occurring and engineered changes in DNA. Incidental, or natural mutations occur through errors during replication and repair, either spontaneously or due to environmental stressors. Intentional modifications are done in a laboratory for various purposes, developing hardier seeds and plants, and increasingly to treat human disease. The use of gene editing technology remains controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niche construction</span> Process by which an organism shapes its environment

Niche construction is the process by which an organism alters its own local environment. These alterations can be a physical change to the organism’s environment or encompass when an organism actively moves from one habitat to another to experience a different environment. Examples of niche construction include the building of nests and burrows by animals, and the creation of shade, influencing of wind speed, and alternation of nutrient cycling by plants. Although these alterations are often beneficial to the constructor, they are not always.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication of animals</span> Overview of animal domestication

The domestication of animals is the mutual relationship between non-human animals and the humans who have influence on their care and reproduction.

Any cause that reduces or increases reproductive success in a portion of a population potentially exerts evolutionary pressure, selective pressure or selection pressure, driving natural selection. It is a quantitative description of the amount of change occurring in processes investigated by evolutionary biology, but the formal concept is often extended to other areas of research.

Enquiry into the evolution of ageing, or aging, aims to explain why a detrimental process such as ageing would evolve, and why there is so much variability in the lifespans of organisms. The classical theories of evolution suggest that environmental factors, such as predation, accidents, disease, and/or starvation, ensure that most organisms living in natural settings will not live until old age, and so there will be very little pressure to conserve genetic changes that increase longevity. Natural selection will instead strongly favor genes which ensure early maturation and rapid reproduction, and the selection for genetic traits which promote molecular and cellular self-maintenance will decline with age for most organisms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetic pollution</span> Problematic gene flow ⇨ wild populations

Genetic pollution is a term for uncontrolled gene flow into wild populations. It is defined as "the dispersal of contaminated altered genes from genetically engineered organisms to natural organisms, esp. by cross-pollination", but has come to be used in some broader ways. It is related to the population genetics concept of gene flow, and genetic rescue, which is genetic material intentionally introduced to increase the fitness of a population. It is called genetic pollution when it negatively impacts the fitness of a population, such as through outbreeding depression and the introduction of unwanted phenotypes which can lead to extinction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Introduction to evolution</span> Non-technical overview of the subject of biological evolution

In biology, evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations, and evolutionary biology is the study of how evolution occurs. Biological populations evolve through genetic changes that correspond to changes in the organisms' observable traits. Genetic changes include mutations, which are caused by damage or replication errors in organisms' DNA. As the genetic variation of a population drifts randomly over generations, natural selection gradually leads traits to become more or less common based on the relative reproductive success of organisms with those traits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant genetics</span> Study of genes and heredity in plants

Plant genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity specifically in plants. It is generally considered a field of biology and botany, but intersects frequently with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems. Plant genetics is similar in many ways to animal genetics but differs in a few key areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant breeding</span> Humans changing traits, ornamental/crops

Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It has been used to improve the quality of nutrition in products for humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varieties that boast unique and superior traits for a variety of applications. The most frequently addressed agricultural traits are those related to biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, grain or biomass yield, end-use quality characteristics such as taste or the concentrations of specific biological molecules and ease of processing.

Domesticated species and the human populations that domesticate them are typified by a mutualistic relationship of interdependence, in which humans have over thousands of years modified the genomics of domesticated species. Genomics is the study of the structure, content, and evolution of genomes, or the entire genetic information of organisms. Domestication is the process by which humans alter the morphology and genes of targeted organisms by selecting for desirable traits. These genomic changes produce the domestication syndromes.

Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that occur via mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and microRNA modification. When these epigenetic changes are heritable, they can influence evolution. Current research indicates that epigenetics has influenced evolution in a number of organisms, including plants and animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of evolution</span>

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to evolution:

Assisted evolution is the practice of using human intervention to accelerate the rate of natural evolutionary processes. The goal of assisted evolution is to help species adapt to a changing environment more quickly than they would via natural selection. Assisted evolution can be used to increase food production and crop yield, as well as ensure targeted species to more quickly become resistant to existential threats. Assisted evolution has been practiced for thousands of years, often for commercial and business purposes. Assisted evolution has come into the public eye in recent years for noncommercial purposes such as species conservation. Assisted evolution for noncommercial purposes is most notably practiced in the attempt to save coral reefs from rising global ocean temperatures and other climate change related environmental conditions.

Wild ancestors are the original species from which domesticated plants and animals are derived. Examples include dogs which are derived from wolves and flax which is derived from Linum bienne. In most cases the wild ancestor species still exists, but some domesticated species, such as camels, have no surviving wild relatives. In many cases there is considerable debate in the scientific community about the identity of the wild ancestor or ancestors, as the process of domestication involves natural selection, artificial selection, and hybridization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About". Center for PostNatural History. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Richards, MP (2002). "A brief review of the archaeological evidence for Palaeolithic and Neolithic subsistence". European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 56 (12): 1270–1278. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601646. PMID   12494313.
  3. ↑ Ferguson, Cat (April 10, 2014). "Mixing Spider DNA and Goat Embryos Produces Milk With a Side of Silk". takepart. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Diamond, Jared (1999). Guns, Germs, and Steel. New York: Norton Press. ISBN   0-393-31755-2.
  5. ↑ Holt, Lauren (May 3, 2019). "Why the 'post natural' age could be strange and beautiful". bbc.com. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  6. ↑ Buffum, Burt C. (2008). Arid Agriculture; A Hand-Book for the Western Farmer and Stockman. Read Books. p. 232. ISBN   978-1-4086-6710-1.
  7. ↑ Pollan, Michael (2001). The Botany of Desire: A Plants-Eye View of the World . Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN   0-375-76039-3. the botany of desire.
  8. ↑ Coghlan, Andy (September 23, 2009). "For proteins, evolution can't go backwards". New Scientist. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ Rush, J.H. (1962). The Dawn of Life. Signet, First Printing Edition. ISBN   0-451-02192-4.
  10. ↑ Huxley, Julian (1955). "Chapter 8: Evolution and Genetics". In Newman, James Roy (ed.). What is Science? Twelve Eminent Scientists and Philosophers Explain Their Various Fields to the Layman . Simon and Schuster. pp.  277–278. ASIN B-000-0CJL3-S.
  11. ↑ "induced mutation". The Free Dictionary by Farlex. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  12. 1 2 Royer, Nichole (October 12, 2014). "The Pink-Eyed White Rat". American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Rats II: Man vs Vermin". History House Inc. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
  14. ↑ MacDonald Glenn, Linda (November 2013). "Ethical Issues in Genetic Engineering and Transgenics". American Institute of Biological Sciences. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  15. ↑ "What is genetic engineering and how does it work?". University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  16. ↑ "What Is Genetic Engineering?". Union of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  17. ↑ "genetic engineering". Tech Target. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  18. ↑ Melina, Remy (June 15, 2010). "What's Genetic Engineering". Live Science. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  19. ↑ Free From Harm Staff Writers (August 28, 2014). "17 Chicken Facts the Industry Doesn't Want You to Know". Free From Harm. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  20. 1 2 Cheville, Norman F. (1999). Introduction to veterinary pathology. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN   978-0-8138-2496-3.
  21. ↑ Educational Vet Video. "Video of Cow Caesarean Section". VetPulse TV in Practice. YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
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