In my parenting book I indicated that humanity's "pressure" for early reproduction is related to its unhealthy state and I likened this to stressed plants in a garden. Every gardener knows that stressed and sickly plants will go to flower and seed well in advance of healthy specimens.
Here is an example of what I refer to.
Earlier this year, I planted a small row of sunflowers in what's called the winter garden. This is a garden where I have had limited success growing things so I know there is something out of whack with the soil.
I planted Mammoth sunflowers from an earlier planting which produced smaller than expected seed heads to see what would happen. Here is what the package says one can expect of mammoth sunflowers.
Mammoth sunflowers are supposed to grow anywhere from 7 to 12 feet tall and produce enormous seed heads that are about 12 inches wide!
So let's follow their growth.
Here you can see the seedlings after a few weeks of growth. You can already tell not all seedlings are doing as well even though they were planted on the same day. Note the one behind the row toward the upper right corner.
This is what they looked like a few weeks later. Now mind you that I haven't done anything to the soil except add mulch at some point after their germination. The entire row is watered by a soaker hose. Theoretically they are all getting the same amount of water. I say theoretically because soaker hoses are notorious for plugging.
What accounts for the difference in growth? There are three possibilities. One is genetics. As all gardeners know, some seeds are healthier and stronger than others. Two is soil nutrition and watering. A few feet can really make that much difference! At least in this garden. Three, a combination of both, genetics, soil nutrition, and watering.
Notice how the weak sunflower has already gone to flower while all the others are in the height of their growth. Below you can see the great difference in strength and development between the weakling and a healthier plant.
Another +/- 20 days pass before the tall, healthy sunflowers open their flowers. Notice the difference in height and development. At this stage the tall sunflowers are well over 6 or 7 feet tall while the weakling plant is already withering away at less than 4 ft of growth. Notice that there is another weakling sunflower plant displaying the same generic problem. It is on the left bottom corner of the photo.
Quite a startling difference if you ask me!
You say so what? All plants flowered after all. They lived and died, what else do you want?
Let's look at the seed heads and compare them. Check the size difference! Compare that tiny seed head (at the base of the middle one with brown seeds) with all the others.
The pictures speak for themselves. A couple of inches compared to about 8 inches for the largest seed head which is still 4 inches short of the 12 inches I should have been able to grow. Note also that for whatever reason, conditions were such that one of the tall sunflowers produced dark brown seeds which is uncharacteristic for this type of sunflower.
This is how much nutrition and parental genetics matter! Faulty nutrition and parental genetics rob the off-spring of a long life full of vibrant growth and health. This malfunction is then passed on to future generations. This is a slippery road down to oblivion...
Sadly enough, our children are actually manifesting the same problems due to faulty parental genetics and severe malnutrition coupled with environmental pollution. Not only are they not developing to their full potential but they are also flowering and going into reproduction way ahead of normal. This is a sign of their lack of health. Their bodies feel imminent death and this kicks in the reproduction program.
One difference to keep in mind between the plant kingdom and the human one is that while malnourished, deficient plants grow small and spindly, malnourished humans grow tall and spindly (as Weston A. Price observed.) Human skeleton narrows in shape and elongates, creating tall people with narrow heads that hamper normal brain development as well as with narrow hips which hampers normal delivery of babies. Both conditions bring untold misery and pain to humanity.
So what does nutrition and parental genetics matter? A lot. It can be the difference between a healthy joyful life and a miserable one! If you are thinking about becoming a parent or already have children, please do everything you can to enhance your and your children's nutrition in a NATURAL way. We all deserve a Joyful Life.