For more research on the effect on people who definitely do not have cows, I can recommend this interview with Jeff Leach, who lived with hunter-gatherers and studied how their lifestyle influenced their microbiome:
He had an interesting point about us actually being part of our surroundings. As in, our microbiome is shaped by the environment we are in. If we live in a high biodiversity environment, we will also have a high diversity microbiome. So us working hard to separate ourselves from our surroundings, and in general reducing the biodiversity around us, also makes us a lot more vulnerable.
I sure hope dirt helps. My baby shoved a bunch of it in his mouth last week during a picnic. And sand. And a rock.
We definitely get outside in the dirt more than most parents + toddlers in our neighborhood. Sometimes we get out twice a day, even if it's just in our own yard or the common area by the houses. I see other kids in the common areas a couple of times a year. I know they prefer the big park nearby, but that's further away and honestly I don't see that many toddlers there, either. Little kids are all either indoors, at daycare (which is also mostly indoors), or in organized activities like soccer. (On soccer days, suddenly the park is packed, so I know these kids exist!)
It makes me sad. I feel like the world has just shuttered itself indoors and out of sight.
The next to last word should be "they," I think.
For more research on the effect on people who definitely do not have cows, I can recommend this interview with Jeff Leach, who lived with hunter-gatherers and studied how their lifestyle influenced their microbiome:
https://chrisryan.substack.com/p/307-jeff-leach-microbiome-expert-a76
He had an interesting point about us actually being part of our surroundings. As in, our microbiome is shaped by the environment we are in. If we live in a high biodiversity environment, we will also have a high diversity microbiome. So us working hard to separate ourselves from our surroundings, and in general reducing the biodiversity around us, also makes us a lot more vulnerable.
I sure hope dirt helps. My baby shoved a bunch of it in his mouth last week during a picnic. And sand. And a rock.
We definitely get outside in the dirt more than most parents + toddlers in our neighborhood. Sometimes we get out twice a day, even if it's just in our own yard or the common area by the houses. I see other kids in the common areas a couple of times a year. I know they prefer the big park nearby, but that's further away and honestly I don't see that many toddlers there, either. Little kids are all either indoors, at daycare (which is also mostly indoors), or in organized activities like soccer. (On soccer days, suddenly the park is packed, so I know these kids exist!)
It makes me sad. I feel like the world has just shuttered itself indoors and out of sight.