How fungi are going to change the world
Individual project research (2)
In a previous entry, I was discussing how fungi allowed all life to develop on land. In this post, I will expose how fungi are a source of hope to change the decaying tendency and (hopefully) save the modern world.
Fungi are part of our cultures, and that, since the begging of humanity (we could talk about the stoned ape theory, but it’s not the topic of this entry). Archaeologists have found objects that prove that mushrooms have been utilised for different purposes in many areas over the world, for thousands of years. Appreciated for its nutritional values, its ability to start a fire, and its curative properties.
Fungi have also played a vital fundamental role in the formation of our modern societies: which all began with agriculture. Thousands of years ago, humans were already using yeast to make bread, cheese, and beer, exploiting its fermentation properties (transforming glucose into ethanol). Yeasts are still of significant interest today; they are one of the most frequently used model organisms in genetics and cell biology studies, notably in the studies of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
All these properties and yet, fungi haven’t exposed all their capacities; fungi could help in the conservation of endangered bees. Pollinators (like bees, butterflies, ants, certain birds, and other insects) are of major importance to the well-being of the ecosystem; they are one of the main reasons plants can reproduce, and therefore, produce oxygen. Alongside climate change, pesticides, and pollution, bees are also victims of viruses and parasites. Scientists have tried using fungus with anti-viral properties on infected bees, and the mushrooms would grow on the pests and kill them without harming the bee. This experience could revolutionize the conservation of western bees and allow them to continue exercising their essential activity.
Another ecological issue that was raised by the artist Jae Rhim Lee in her TED Talk (2011) is our body disposal methods. A human body would accumulate 219 different toxins throughout its life: from endocrine disruptors to heavy metals, disorders may arise, but the real problem is the environmental impact of our death. Culturally, we would cremate or bury a dead body, but cremation releases all these dangerous toxins directly into the atmosphere, and classical burial pollutes the ground. The solution she proposed is ecological and straightforward: ‘The Infinity Burial Project.’ She will need fungus capable to decompose a body, kill the toxins and provide these nutrients to plant roots. For this, she designed a ‘Mushroom Death Suit’ embedded with toxin-eating mushrooms spores.
Not only ecological, the concept of being ‘eaten’ by fungus and ‘recreate’ life is wonderful. It ‘reunite the body with the earth and the ongoing cycle of life’.
Her idea is now concrete; she founded Coeio™, a California-based green burial company that fabricates these organic Infinite Burial Suits for humans and pets.
Fungi are a big hope for sustainable innovations; yeasts were found to be able to transform organic matter into biofuels, and other fungus are an efficient renewable resource that could become a widely used sustainable fabric to replace polluting industries like dyeing and tanneries (which are both in the top 10 of the most polluting industries worldwide). Start-ups (like Mylo™ or MycoWorks™) have succeeded in creating mushroom leather from mycelium and building materials such as foam panels or furniture from agricultural wastes conditioned by mycelium.
Fungi could be a biological and sustainable solution to pollution; specific species are notably known to break down dangerous compounds such as mercury or arsenic and biological contaminators such as E. coli. Mycoremediation is a technique used to purify contaminated water by passing it through marine-friendly oil-sucking mycelium mats to eliminate undesired toxins, pesticides, and heavy metals. It is a significant innovation that can help us protect and clean fragile lands and marine environments.
‘The only way to have an exosystemic view of nature is by looking at the organisms that connect us all. No other organisms on Earth connect plants to animals or bacteria to plants, like fungi do. Mycelium has the answers to saving our planet.’ (Stamets et al., 2019)
Fungi are everywhere; we are co-inhabiting with these organisms every day; we find fungus’ citric acid in every fuzzy drink, they are used to produce perfumes, dyes, and sunscreens. Fungi are fascinating, all the dietetic, curative, and environmental benefices we make from them. Scientists have described a little over 100,000 different species of fungi while estimating that there may be as many as 3.8 million. So about 3% only; imagine all the things we have yet to discover. The exploration and discoveries of that kingdom seem endless yet fundamental. Griffiths and Grob declared (2010) ‘the knowledge that we believe may ultimately be crucial to the survival of human species.’
Human has always had the thirst of discovery and the unknown. We are impatient to explore the universe, travel to Mars, and see what the universe has to offer us. Maybe, the answer to our questioning and environmental distress can be found nearer than we think; perhaps the solution is right in our backyards. We believe we know everything, but in fact, we know so little. We are part of nature. We are not above it, although we are living a predatory relationship with nature — we are depriving other organisms of their resources by continually expanding our desire for power and benefice — we should not take the environment for granted, we should try to look after it and see what it has to offer us in exchange for protection and awareness. ‘It is essential that we protect old-growth forests and the biodiversity of their ecosystems because they have within them fungal species that could be critical for human survival’ (Stamets et al., 2019).
Sources:
- Griffiths, R. and Grob, C., 2010. Hallucinogens as Medicine. 6th ed. [ebook] Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc., pp.76–79. Available at: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/26002307>
- Khachatourians, G., 2003. Fungi In Food Technology. Mycology,. [online] Available at:<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267978777_Fungi_In_Food_Technology_An_Overview>
- Sheldrake, M., 2020. Entangled Life: How Fungi Make our Worlds, Change our Minds & Shape our Futures. New York: Penguin Random House LLC.
- Stamets, P., Pollan, M., Weil, A., Griffiths, R., Harman, J., Simard, S., Sheppard, S., Sheldrake, M. and Furci, G., Ross, M., Money, N., Shavit, E., 2019. Fantastic fungi. Saint Rafael, California: Earth Aware Editions.
- Mohammadi, S., Saberidokht, B., Subramaniam, S. and Grama, A., 2015. Scope and limitations of yeast as a model organism for studying human tissue-specific pathways. BMC Systems Biology, [online] 9(1). Available at: <https://bmcsystbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12918-015-0253-0>
- Moore, D., 2013. Rise of the fungi. Fungal Biology in the Origin and Emergence of Life, [online] pp.157–179. Available at: <https://0-www-cambridge-org.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/EC20BB13B8B2D02CA8494848BC968F77/9781139524049c12_p157-179_CBO.pdf/rise_of_the_fungi.pdf>
- My Mushroom Burial Suit. 2011. [video] by J. Lee. United States: TEDGlobal.
- Orlowski, T., Reynolds, H. and Elewski, B., 2020. Lichen Planopilaris Associated with Spray-on Sunscreen. SKIN The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, [online] 4(1), pp.62–63. Available at: <https://jofskin.org/index.php/skin/article/view/603/pdf>
