Progress Trap

Progress Trap

In his 2004 book, A Short History of Progress, award-winning novelist, historian, and essayist, Ronald Wright explores the seemingly inevitable pattern of progress and imminent disaster that so defines the history of civilization. Wright laments upon the “progress trap” (Wright 31) as that of an absolute agent of downfall; one that we, as humans, bring upon ourselves. What began as simple moral improvements made in small civilizations has, with the introduction of science and technology, quickly advanced to more intricate material progressions, causing a “seductive trail of successes that [will] end up in a trap.” (Wright 5) Wright defines these newfound progress traps as created by three main factors: specialization,
faith in religion, and human conflict. These doomed successes have time and time again proved to be not the fault of nature, but man himself. Even to this day, through something as simple as the overconsumption of sugary food products, humans continue to place themselves in these trap-like positions, fated for nothing but disaster by their own hand. One of the most prominent progress traps that Wright discusses is that of specialization, specifically in farming. What began as the “perfection of hunting” (Wright 39) quickly became a detrimental achievement, resulting in humans “bankrupt[ing] the land” (Wright 39) that they once symbiotically lived upon. Hunters of the Neolithic Era relied too heavily upon the game in which they specialized, leading to the mass extinction of many species and a new lifestyle built upon the edge of starvation. In what became known as the Farming Revolution, civilizations across the world looked for an alternative to that of which they once mass hunted, developing specialized crops: wheat and sheep in the Middle East, rice and millet in the Far East, maize and beans in Mesoamerica, and potatoes and high-protein grains in South America.
(Wright 42) With the introduction of a more reliable food supply came many positive changes, such as larger populations and cities, and larger, more stable civilizations. The Farming Revolution also resulted in the mode of nourishment that the economy and world still stands upon today. However, it also brought about many traps, namely the extreme and inescapable rise in poor dental hygiene, as well as the world 's current addiction to
sugar. Researchers estimate that during the mid twentieth century, between 50%-90% of Europeans and Americans suffered from dental cavities, a huge increase from the 2% of cavities estimated to be found in ancient peoples (Evolutionary Theory of Dentistry 973-975).
The Faming Revolution, which came as a result of the extinction of many previous food sources, can be accredited with this enormous increase. With the introduction of farming came the introduction of sugar, which then sparked the Industrial Revolution. Over a short period of time, the world went from an agriculture-based economy to a machine-based economy, successfully altering the production of food from small-scale and natural to large-scale and highly processed. As technology advanced, more and more highly-processed, sugary foods became readily available to the public, such as soda and candy. The consumption of such alters the natural pH of saliva in the mouth, making it more acidic, dissolving minerals in tooth enamel and causing cavities (Evolutionary Theory of Dentistry 975). The softened nature of such highly-processed foods also causes a misalignment of the teeth, which is found presently in nine out of every 10 adolescents in the United States. With the growing amount of sugars in normal diets, we are also creating favorable situations for bacteria to grow and flourish, making more and more humans susceptible to systemic diseases such as diabetes. With the introduction of farming, and thus, sugar, to
our lives and diets, we have created a progress trap. We have become heavily dependent on the highly-processed foods, due to the ease with which they are produced, and we cannot evolve quickly enough for our bodies to adapt and defend ourselves. Not only has the availability of sugary foods caused damage to dental hygiene across the world, it has also given rise to the increasing issue of obesity. Roy Wise, of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, notes that “as the availability of cheap, tasty food has skyrocketed, so has the number of people who are obese.” (Brownlee 1) Today, sugar exists in most foods consumed in everyday life, including starches, proteins, and most dairy products. It has become as addictive as most drugs, and can cause plaque in arteries, as well as provide the glucose needed for the insulin receptors found in many cancer causing tumors(Goldwert). Currently, in America, one in every three adults, as well as one in every six children, is obese (Crees). Our current culture and civilization has integrated sugar so heavily into every day life that the absence of it seems impossible. Much like the specialization of ancient tribes lead to the extinction of many species and depletion of land, our current reliance on and specialization of sugar is doing the same to our bodies. Sugar has, without a doubt, lead to that “seductive trail of successes” (Wright 5) in the food industry that have now provided us with an ultimate issue. We, as an advanced civilization, need to realize the threat sugar has already imposed upon us, and find an adequate substitute before our specialization brings about yet another disastrous progress trap.

Works Cited
Brownlee, Christen. “Food Fix.” Science News Online. Society for Science & the Public, 3 Sept. 2005. Web. 28 Sept. 2013.
Crees, Alex. “CDC: 1 in 3 Adults is Obese.” Fox News. Fox, 17 Jan. 2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. .
Gibbons, Ann. “An Evolutionary Theory of Dentistry.” sciencemag.org. AAAS, 25 May 2012. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. .
Goldwert, Lindsey. “Sugar.” New York Daily News. NY Daily News, 2 Apr. 2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2013. .
Wright, Ronald. A Short History of Progress. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2004. Print.