ABSTRACT
Ask a developed world human to stop consuming and you might as well
ask a vampire not to suck blood. Although the urge can be temporarily
suppressed to varying degrees of success, over-compensatory surges
inevitably follow, providing an aftermath of even greater intensity;
consumption is not just a way of life, it is life. It provides an invaluable
vehicle for processing and interacting with an evolving world, facilitating
both learning and social interaction through the continual intake of new,
fresh experiences. As natural as drawing breath, the urge to consume
is merely symptomatic of a stimulus-hungry species dwelling in a
homogenized and over-streamlined world where the prevailing mode of
existence comes with the majority of problems already solved. This reduces
the once life-threatening natural world down to a whimsical pastime now
experienced in 30-minute bytes through televised portals such as The
Discovery Channel, Wildlife on One and Animal Planet.
