Human civilization 👽 is too weak and dependent on various factors: the availability of oxygen in the right amount, suitable pressure and temperature, protection from radiation, and the constant need for food and water. The universe is so vast that it is entirely possible to imagine civilizations of completely different forms that do not have a physical body and, therefore, do not require many of the dependencies listed above.
Have you ever thought about how our civilization might have developed if the beings inhabiting our planet did not need to consume food 🥦🍳 and drink 🥤? For instance, what if obtaining the necessary energy to sustain life processes was solely dependent on our star 🌞? Can you imagine? I will try to express this thought in a coherent manner, without jumping around. So, here we go...
The most obvious thing that comes to mind and serves as a starting point for reflection is that kitchens 🏢 would completely disappear from our apartments, and possibly even bathrooms, which makes perfect sense. Our living space in an apartment would become larger, or there would be more apartments within the same building area.
Eating is an integral part of the day. Different people spend varying amounts of time on it. Some manage to eat snacks at work, while others savor every meal, resulting in breakfast, lunch, and especially dinner, taking a long time. Just as a person spends time in elevators, sleeping, and showering, they also spend time eating. Overall, people spend an enormous amount of time on meals, which, if converted into working hours, would amount to a staggering amount of time throughout human history. This time could have been enough to master new technologies 🛰 🚀, and not just one. Thus, after the absence of kitchens and bathrooms in homes, the next conclusion we can draw is that the advancement of science 🔬 would have significantly progressed compared to what we have now.
Most of the food that humans consume needs to be grown in the ground. For this purpose, large areas of land are required. Accordingly, if humans did not need food, we could use the land currently occupied by various agricultural fields 🌽🌾 for other purposes.
The absence of food and the need for it would mean that we would not have all the factories 🏭 and food industry stores.
This, in turn, would completely influence the redistribution of jobs in the market 👨🏽🌾👩🏽🍳. However, we will discuss this further.
The lack of a need for food would surely reduce the number of diseases, epidemics, and pandemics ⚕️🦠. Firstly, people would not eat animals that are themselves carriers of various diseases. Secondly, the level of hygiene for many is such that they are willing to put even healthy food into their mouths without washing 🧼 either the food or their hands. Thirdly, diseases related to poor and improper nutrition—such as gastritis, ulcers, and even some forms of cancer—would occur less frequently.
The format of celebrating gatherings 🎉🥂 would change. People would no longer have to celebrate by eating and drinking. Whether it’s New Year’s or a birthday, a different form of entertainment would have to be sought.
If people did not need food and drink, there would be no alcohol 🥃, and consequently, no deaths from alcohol intoxication.
Today, to become a successful country, it is not necessary to have a large area with fertile land. The annual revenues of giant IT companies 👨🏼💻🌐 often exceed the GDP of some countries. However, this was not always the case. A thousand years ago, wars 💣⚔️ could indeed start simply because neighbors had more suitable and fertile lands. Therefore, the absence of a need for food, even if only slightly, would reduce the number of wars.
Since we are touching on previous millennia, we should not forget that in many countries, food was used as a means of payment 💵 for a long time. One unit of goods was exchanged for another. Without food, ancient people would have initially had to invent coins and bitcoins :)
Life values and perspectives would also change significantly for people 🤔🧘🏼. Individuals would no longer have to worry about how to feed their families or which jobs are more profitable. There would likely be even more unemployed people, and this would not be perceived as sharply as it is in the modern society of any country.
And lastly, but equally importantly, our nature 🌍 would be much cleaner and healthier. Rivers, seas, and oceans 🌊 would not be filled with tons of plastic packaging and bottles. By the way, if you ask me in the modern world, where humans need food, whether I am "for" or "against" plastic and polyethylene, my answer would be unequivocally "for." And I have a substantial, detailed response with figures to back it up. Perhaps someday I will write an article about this, but that is a completely different story.
