The sensitive equilibrium between food intake and crop growth has been shackled due to the erratic population growth of the 20th century. So much so, some scientists predict that in order for Earth to support the predicted 9 billion population threshold of 2050, the majority of human beings will have to switch to a primarily vegetarian diet. Now, this ‘fact’ may be sensationalised somewhat, but there is a degree of truth in their claims. Take the rising cost of meat as an example; even though – statistically speaking – meat consumption is declining in the United States, the core unsustainability of producing beef poses serious eco-problems for future generations. The energy input grossly outweighs the calorie output of much meat and dairy based food, particularly because producing meat is a water intensive operation. In fact, 80% of the fresh water reserve in the US is used in food production, so what happens to this ratio when impacted by a disastrous weather event, or the inevitable population increase? (Granted, population growth is spiking in the lesser economically developed countries more so than the Western world). Nevertheless, all it takes is for a sizeable catastrophe to shatter the fragile structure we call a food industry and humanity could be brought to its fragile knees.
The aforementioned global warming, for instance, will inevitably impact the comfortable, flawed lifestyle of the modern world – at a slower pace than The Day After Tomorrow illustrated, mind you. Take the fact that thirteen of the hottest years on record have occurred in the last fifteen years, since humans began correlating the climate in 1895. Through 1997 to 2011, these searing temperatures resulted in droughts, food shortages and fierce forest fires, thereby disturbing the unstable global food supply, exactly because of its crippling reliance on the Earth’s climate. As an example of this dependence, rising sea levels will affect the low-lying Asian rice fields, which, considering rice is the principal food for 60% of humanity, is a terrifying, well publicised statistic.
But maybe that’s just it: well publicised. Perhaps the reason post apocalyptic fiction has inundated our creative mediums today is because apocalyptic forewarnings have inundated our mediums in reality. You don’t have to look too far to find examples of the inane, slightly rational plans for the end of days. Among other examples, a web company based in Florida – scholarexperts.com – is offering a $1,000 course that focuses solely on how to survive a potential zombie apocalypse. One thousand dollars. That’s a staggering amount of money to become educated in something that derives from fiction, you may as well study dream architecture in the manner of Inception, and yet, sometimes real-world disasters can be stranger than fiction.
You may remember May 26th 2012 as just an average day, but in Miami, things were much, much different. On a Saturday afternoon, a naked man was shot and killed by police for, and I quote, ‘chewing the face off another man’. Cannibalism. On a busy highway. In front of hundreds of people. The news story became all the more profound after local authorities revealed the aggressor was ‘growling’ and continued to chew, even after being shot. Stranger than fiction indeed. The ramifications led to an electronic wildfire spreading across the internet in the vein of: was it the beginning of the much fictionalised zombie apocalypse? Are there others like him out there? And, who the hell moved my survival kit?! Hey, you’d rather have one and not need it than not have one and need it, right?
Even though the investigation concurred that the crazed attacker was under the influence of Bath Salts – a type of amphetamine that acts as a stimulant; inducing paranoia, hallucinations and an abnormally high tolerance to pain – which explains his erratic actions, the imaginative seed was still planted in society’s collective subconscious. The mass exposure to media as we know it meant this horrific story became worldwide news in a heartbeat, causing conspiracy theories to snowball and apocalyptic ambassadors to begin hording tinned foods.
Gruesome news stories aside, the point is that people are ready, almost accepting for something like this to happen. As a result, it’s often said that many of us have an inherent nihilism that warps our perspective on reality. Life is shit. It always has been shit and always will be S.H.I.T. But forget that pessimistic outlook, instead, the potential apocalypse offers an interesting return to basics for humanity as a whole. The fall of governments, the internet and the X Factor would indisputably catapult the human race back to the age of the Homo sapiens. Imagine the famous evolution chart. On the left side we have the primate which, after millions of years, began to change into the Neanderthal, who in turn morphed into the Homo sapiens and finally, the human being as we know it today. It’s widely considered that humanity has reached the peak of evolution thus far, boasting accolades of putting men on the moon and cracking the theory of general relativity. In spite of this, the vast amount of humans living today that are utterly reliant on technology is staggering. Take that away, via an apocalyptic event, and you’re left with people who can’t provide for themselves. Fast food and electricity? They’re out the decimated window. No longer can we ask Google for the answers, the apocalypse will actually force humanity to find solutions outside of their comfort zone. Hunting your own food. Rationing resources, and building a safe haven to batten down the hatches are all generic conventions in apocalyptic stories, and they echo the lifestyle of the atypical Homo sapiens.
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