ABSTRACT
Drawing an analogy with the biological concept of metabolism, different scientic disciplines have developed the concept of social metabolism, which aims to structure relationships between society and nature. All human beings draw from nature sufcient quantities of oxygen, water, and biomass per time unit to survive as an organism, and they excrete heat, water, carbon dioxide, and mineralized and organic substances back into nature. Similarly, individuals connected through social relations organize themselves to guarantee their subsistence and reproduction, also drawing energy from nature through meta-individual structures or artifacts, and excreting all manner of waste (González de Molina and Toledo, 2014). Hence, social metabolism alludes to the exchange of energy, materials, and information that every society engages in with its physical environment to produce and reproduce its material conditions of existence.
