When people think about fungi, usually mushrooms come to mind. Portabello mushrooms, button mushrooms and maybe even magic mushrooms. It’s true, mushrooms are fungi but they are just a part of certain types of fungi, sort of like the flower on a fungi plant (not that fungi is a plant). There are so many different types of fungi that have amazing and powerful abilities. Scientists now have evidence to suggest that fungi have a great potential to reverse climate change by removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
And that’s not all.
The list of powerful abilities of fungi includes but is not limited to:
- vital medicine used to treat smallpox, wounds (penicillin), cancer, cholesterol, fungal infections of skin and nails
- used to clean oil spills
- remove CO2 from the air
- supports the growth and health of many plants and trees
- can be made into a leather alternative or construction materials
- plastic alternatives for packaging are now made from fungi
- fungi are being used as a tool for treating mental illnesses such as PTSD
- fungi are being used very successfully as a non-toxic insecticide
But What Exactly Is Fungi?
Before we dive into all the amazing things fungi can do, it might help to know a little more about them.
Fungi are not plants and they are not animals but they are something in between. It has been discovered that fungi are genetically closer to animals than plants. Animals and fungi share a common ancestor. Fungi do not make their own food like plants do and they inhale oxygen and exhale CO2. Plus, fungi have an intelligence that benefits both plants and animals. They are able to decide where to send nutrients among plants and trees based on local climate and threats.
Fungi are the main decomposers in a forest, they break down dead plants and animals. They lay the groundwork for a healthy strong biodiverse community.
Mycelium is a type of fungi that is found in the soil of a forest. It is a series of interconnected threads that act like lungs and a brain. Acting like Earth’s internet, it transfers information through it’s underground web and can easily redirect when nodes get damaged.
Paul Stamets, a prominent mycologist states that “mycelium is sentient, it knows that you are walking above it an it leaps up after your footstep trying to grab debris”.
Paul Stamets did a very famous TED Talk “6 ways mushrooms can save the world” where he describes these soil magicians and explains the multidirectional transfer between plants and fungi. His work with fungi is so progressive he even cured his mother of stage 4 breast cancer.
Fungi Stores Carbon In Soil Keeping It Out Of The Atmosphere
As we all know trees remove CO2 from our atmosphere. Trees have a special relationship with fungi where they help the fungi attain sugar and the fungi provide the tree with nutrients like nitrogen that are not easily accessible to the tree. Trees in areas with fungi grow quicker and healthier and they remove CO2 at a faster rate.
Fungi also keep carbon out of the atmosphere because they store it in the soil. In fact, fungi stores twice the amount of carbon in the ground from what exists in the atmosphere. Soil contains more carbon than plants and and the atmosphere combined.
Since modern agricultural practices began, we have been removing these ecosystems that are efficient at removing carbon. The carbon storage abilities have decreased due to the use of pesticides, fertilizers and monocrop production. We have decreased our ability to remove carbon in order to create things that produce carbon like livestock.
Not only have we removed resources that keep our world’s carbon levels at bay but the act of killing the fungi to clear cut areas for agriculture has in fact released the stored carbon from the soil by that fungi – thereby putting more carbon into the atmosphere.
But the good news is that scientists are now discovering the importance of fungi and are working on learning about the symbiotic relationship with trees. They have isolated the genome that are created at the point where the fungi and the tree root connect. This is important for the growth process of the tree.
Scientists are at work finding ways to increase the carbon storage in vegetation and soil. One of the main ways to do this is to reintroduce native plants that will regenerate the fungi. But more importantly, we need to stop destroying the fungi that is already there. This prospect is looking promising as a way to meet the CO2 removal goals.
Fungi Are Made Into Vital Medicine
Fungi play an important role in the creation of some of our most important modern medicines. Penicillin – the worlds first antibiotic – was made from fungi and discovered just before World War II. Some postulate that penicillin helped win World War II. It is easy to mass manufacture making it affordable for all areas of the world. Since then, penicillin has saved millions of lives and has permanently improved the medical world.
Fungal infections are very common especially for people with compromised immune systems, particularly people with AIDS or HIV. But any person can have a fungal infection. These usually manifest in the skin. The treatment for fungal infections is a fungi based antifungal medicine usually in the form of creams, solutions, oral medications, injections and sprays.
Antiviral drugs can also be created from fungi and they are sometimes used to treat antifungal infections as well.
There is a special mushroom called Agarikon found only in certain old growth forests, that has numerous medicinal benefits. It is used for treating tuberculosis, respiratory illnesses, pox, H1N1, H5N1 flu and herpes viruses. It is a powerful anti inflammatory, anti viral and it is used in cholesterol reducing medicines. It is being studied by national defense programs as a possible use in the case of bio terrorism.
The benefits of Agarikon are also part of a disaster relief plan. When big disasters happen like earthquakes, floods and oil spills, many people, pigs, bats and birds die. This brings about many viruses that can wreak more havoc on an already bad situation. Agarikon can help with viral spread and promote increased immunity for the health of the survivors.
There is one last health benefit I would like to mention here. Many people use mushrooms to fight against cancer. There is much research and testing in this field with some good results. Paul Stamets tells a story of his mother diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. They treated her with turkey tail mushrooms (in combination with traditional treatments) and within months her cancer was gone.
Environmental Disaster Cleanups
A scientific experiment to clean up oil spills discovered that of the 5 tests done, fungi were by far the most effective. A test diesel pile infused with fungi and left for a short period of time turned into a healthy pile of mushrooms. But what is more interesting is that the mushrooms emitted their spores which attracted insects, which attracted birds, who brought seeds and soon there was a young bio diverse community living where there was previously a pile of diesel.
This method has been used on real oil spills in places like the Amazon where toxic waste pools exist due to Texaco extracting oil for 26 years. These spills have been polluting the region for a long time.
Fungi are also being placed downstream from many polluting factories in the United States. Many rivers and streams are being cleaned up this way rather than getting worse with the pollutants coming out of big polluting industries.
And in Japan, mushrooms are being used to clean up Fukushima’s nuclear wasteland.
Fungi Fashion Industry
The current fashion industry has a high carbon and water footprint. Even “eco friendly” materials like organically grown cotton have negative effects on the environment. The new eco friendly material is made out of mushrooms!
Aniela Hoitnik has discovered this new material with several environmental benefits. The material is easy and affordable to produce (mushrooms grow quite quickly without many resources). She is making custom fit clothing without the need to cut and sew. Plus when the garment is worn out, it can be buried in the ground to decompose.
Mushrooms are also the key ingredient to the new pleather industry (alternative to leather). The production of this material is said to be sustainable, versatile, animal free as well as being carbon negative.
Mushroom Construction Industry
Construction is said to be responsible for 30% of the global carbon footprint. Much work is going into development of better, less wasteful ways to build. And mushrooms are proving to have many benefits in this area as well.
Although structures made from fungi are not as strong as those made from concrete, changes in the architecture used can help to make buildings that would be safe to live in. The process of making fungi bricks used in buildings is cheap and efficient. They are surprisingly durable and lightweight reducing transportation costs.
Packaging Alternatives Made From Fungi
Even our problems with over packaging can be addressed with fungi. Large companies are developing packaging made out of mycelium. This has the benefits of being carbon neutral, fire resistant, quick to produce and easily molded to any shape.
IKEA has started to use mushroom based packaging which will replace traditional Styrofoam.
With the push to become carbon neutral by a set date in the future, many large companies will be making the change to better packaging. These technologies also make for great carbon offsets.
Mental Health Benefits of Mushrooms
Did you know there is a movement that has the goal of decriminalizing magic mushrooms?
There are so many medicinal benefits for magic mushrooms including supporting the gut microbiome and improving immune health. But more and more researchers are discovering that the active ingredient in magic mushrooms (psilocybin) is highly effective as part of a treatment for depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD and problematic drug use.
Psilocybin mushrooms have been used for a long time in Mexico as a religious ritual. The halucinogenic effects were helpful in contacting the spirit world, solving problems and in treating illnesses. Magic mushrooms became increasingly popular during the “hippie” movement and in 1968 they became illegal because of the growing amount of people that were misusing it.
Drug assisted psychotherapy involves administering a dose of magic mushrooms in a safe environment with a facilitator. The intention is for the patient to have a profound psychological experience that can be transformative.
One study was done with terminally ill patients that suffered from depression. In more than 80% of the cases, the people saw improved moods, decreased depression and a loss of their fear of death for six months. This was after just one dose. In some cases, the patient thought of their mushroom experience as one of the most significant experiences of their lives.
There is no evidence that magic mushrooms can cause a physical or psychological addiction. In fact, most treatments for depression use just one or two doses of the drugs. This improvement from depression is similar to someone being on an antidepressant like Prozac for many years.
The halucination is said to give people an outside perspective on their lives and a sense of oneness with the universe. One test subject in northern England describes his 5 hour journey into his own mind to totally change his outlook on life. He re-lived childhood memories and was able to confront the grief of losing his both mother and friend recently.
After scanning the brains of patients after taking psilocybin, it was noticed that there was lowered blood flow in the amygdala, which is the opposite of what happens in an anxious or depressed brain. There are also evidence of the neuropathways being looser and resetting. This resetting is integral to healing and happens when confronting their depression rather than dulling the emotions like an antidepressant would do.
A mediator from the depression trial said that when watching his patients tripping, he felt like he was in the presence of someone wise. They had connected with a truer version of reality.
Along with the phychological effects, magic mushrooms have some possibly unwanted physical effects. Nausea, cramps, twitches, drowsiness, dry mouth, confused thermodynamics and increased blood pressure to name a few. This can be different for every person depending on their age, drug using history, personality and dosage taken. When psilocybin is used to treat anxiety with a therapist, the setting created is very important to minimize these physical side effects. The patient is made to feel safe, comfortable and is free to discuss any visions, feelings with a qualified therapist.
The World Health Organization states that over 300 million people in the world suffer from depression. This happens all over the world regardless of location, ethnicity or age. Imagine if we can reduce that number significantly? I think that would only help the climate situation as people would have more space to take action, trust changes and feel that oneness with the Earth.
Even Insecticides Are Made Out Of Fungi!
It turns out that fungi can also be used very successfully as an insecticide. This makes a good alternative to the pesticides that pollute the ground and cause the pests to become resistant.
Fungis is compliant with organic farming and does not have any ill effects on humans, dogs or birds. It sounds like a win-win!
FUNgi Facts
- fungi make up more than six times the biomass of animals combined (12 gigatonnes)
- fungi arrived on earth 1.3 billion years ago and it is thought that the mushrooms were as tall as trees
- the worlds largest living single organism is a fungi that is more than 8,000 years old that is found in Oregon’s Blue Mountains (Armillaria ostoya)
- 85% of our planet’s plants have a symbiotic relationship with a particular type of fungi called mycorrhizal fungi
- fungi do not need light to grow which helped them survive the meteor crash on earth – fungi were integral to the biodiverse world that followed the crash
- some fungi are toxic and if a human ingests it, they can die
- there are bioluminescent fungi that glow in the dark
- you can purchase an old growth forest in a box, you just have to add water and all the fungi and seeds are there to start the growth of a biodiverse forest right in the box!
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