The solution concepts developed by the ZEIS Institute for Ecological Education to reverse the civilizational system in the current situation of an evolutionary dead end are subject to constant adjustments. In the meantime, however, essential key points have emerged, partly thanks to some good suggestions made within the framework of the ZEIS funding program.
The description below starts with brief summaries of the three most important steps for an orderly ‘emergency brake’ identified on this basis. This is followed by a reflection on the foreseeable effects of these three steps. Everything is outlined as an ideal scenario in order to demonstrate that, at least in theory, it would still be possible to quickly defuse the situation, which is already at an advanced stage. Whether the chances of adequate implementation are perhaps very slim, or whether such implementation could only become realistic after a partial collapse of the civilizational system, is not taken into account. Finally, there are a few important comments.
Here are the main steps, each in their ideal form:
1. Expansion of scientific descriptions of the previously unconsidered physical laws of nature in ecological structures and their inclusion in the center of physics. This applies in particular to the natural law of free evolution and the regular degrees of freedom in ecological structures. These must be moved to the center of empirical physics as new main fields and treated there with the highest priority. The disciplines of biology, including ecology, are less suitable for this. They have historically been excluded from physics, widely recognised as the “premier league” of the natural sciences, which is why systematic observation and empirical methodology are insufficiently applied there. In addition, parts of biology today are strongly influenced by the agricultural industry.
2. Identification and start of the dismantling of the currently most harmful effects of agricultural methodology as a pattern that runs counter to the physical laws of nature in ecosystems. Since sufficient empirical studies are already available on this subject, animal husbandry and the animal husbandry industry can be recognized as by far the greatest harmful factor in agriculture and even in the entire civilizational system.[1][2] Rapid dismantling would not lead to undersupply or nutrient deficiencies, especially in industrialized countries, so this is the logical starting point for an orderly reversal of the evolutionary dead end. Steps to systematically defuse the problems surrounding “crop plants” and to stabilize them as humanity’s essential food source must be taken in parallel.
3. Systematic education of new generations about the previously repressed physical connections and laws of ecological structures from the first year of life. Priority should be given to teaching about vertebrates. This topic is particularly easy to understand and, moreover, animal husbandry is the greatest factor causing damage. Both freedom as a physical regularity in ecological structures and the contradictory subjugation of “farm animals” must be explained in an age-appropriate, realistic, and intensive manner. From the first year of life onwards, this can be done using picture books, for example. Subsequent curricula must continue to focus on progressive education about the physical orders in ecological structures. With increasing age, this must also include the foreseeable highly complex challenges surrounding “useful plants.”
Now a summary of the expected effects:
Re 1: By incorporating the previously ignored physical laws of nature within ecological structures into the center of physics as the “premier league” of the natural sciences, there will be a rapid expansion of these sciences. The regular degrees of freedom in ecological structures and the laws of free evolution will thereby broaden and deepen people’s world view. Among other things, this will automatically have a significant impact on the priorities set in schools and universities, as well as on people’s individual behavior.
Re 2: A rapid reduction in the production of animal-based foods will immediately result in far-reaching relief for the Earth’s ecosystem. In addition to other damage caused by livestock farming, it accounts for the majority of global agricultural land use and the largest share of pesticide use (in feed production).[1][2] The collapse of insect populations, for example, which are the largest fraction of the Earth’s animal kingdom, could thus be slowed down or even halted. In addition, the reduction of agricultural animal husbandry will reduce the harmful consequences of psychological repression processes, thereby freeing up intellectual and other mental capacities that were previously tied up in this area.
Re 3: Fundamental ecological education aimed primarily at adults is unlikely to be sufficiently effective, as the firmly established components of their world view – similar to the ingredients of a finished cake – are difficult to change. If, on the other hand, children are taught about ecological structures in a realistic way right from the age of one, they will develop a realistic and positive worldview. In addition to many other beneficial behavioural changes, a strong tendency to reject food from animal husbandry will develop already in the first years of life. This will be transferred to the adult level through emotional mechanisms (protective instinct). These mechanisms were observed and empirically described as a cross-generational transfer from children to adults, using the beginnings of the student movement ‘Fridays for Future’ as an example.[3]
And some few final remarks:
It would be very important for the process step under point 3 that adults do not try to influence it with their worldview. If, for example, attempts were made to overlay the beginning process in new generations with religious or ethical concepts or to influence it with nutritional philosophies such as veganism, this would inevitably distract from the understanding of the physical laws surrounding the regular degrees of freedom in ecological structures and free evolution. This statement is not intended as a criticism of any existing world view. But only if realistic education about the physical interrelationships of ecological structures is provided without distraction will the new generations automatically develop a fundamentally stable and positive world view. Their understanding of many worldly contexts will expand and deepen far beyond that of general adults even during childhood. They will then automatically make their own stable and positive decisions, for example with regard to their consumer behavior. To achieve this, they do not need to be influenced or even indoctrinated, but simply provided with straightforward, realistic environmental education.
[1] https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/479/publikationen/globale_landflaechen_biomasse_bf_klein.pdf
[2] https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Internationales/Thema/landwirtschaft-fischerei/tierhaltung-fleischkonsum/_inhalt.html
[3] ifo Institut. https://www.ifo.de/DocDL/sd-2022-05-andres-etal-fridays-for-furture.pdf