On the homeschooling schedule was a very interesting book. My daughters enlightened school, had us read “Who eats who” by Teresa Heapy to the 5 year olds. This was to help explain food ecosystems to these little one.

In a very interactive way “ who eats who” explains how every living thing is a part of the food chain- no matter how large or small we are. And importantly how food chains are made when one living thing eats another. So with lots of colors and beautiful illustrations the 5 year olds attempt to understand how grass is eaten by snail, which is eaten by a frog, which is eaten by a fox. And through many examples of the jungles, oceans and cold geographies, the little ones understand that every link in the food chain is very critical and important. Grass is important to lions even if they don’t eat them- because it is the food of the zebras- the lion’s food. The 5 year olds understand that all living things need food- as it’s a source of energy and it helps them grow and survive. Hence even in desserts in harsh climatic zones, where life is hard and broken down to only the most essential, the food chain is not broken- we see that the plant/ cactus is eaten by an insect which is eaten by a lizard which is eaten by snakes. And the final page beautifully explains the unending nature of a food chain, which actually never ends. A deer, which is eaten by a grizzly bear, eats plants and when the grizzly bear dies bugs eat its body and it decomposes in the ground, which makes soil for plants to grow, and so the chain starts once again.

We have much to learn from this food chain book- that explains to the five year olds about the flow that exists in nature. For me these are lessons in understanding humanity and the dependence and responsibility we share towards each other. And more importantly there is a lesson on economics that this very simple yet profound book has taught me.

We are all an interconnected web where people, places, technology, business, economies, societies come together. Business and economies also cannot work with broken legs in the chain. From the farms and fields, trucks and truck drivers, migrant labourers and white collared, employers and employees, sellers and consumers, lenders and borrowers, traders, bankers and the capital market ecosystem all create the ecosystem for both demand and supply to work in coherence to create a chain.

Lives and livelihoods are part of this chain and one doesn’t exist without the other. “Livelihoods” give us the food, energy, growth that we need to live. The lion in the book “Who eats Who” appreciates the role for the grass even though he cannot eat it. The book has taught us that even in the harshest of ecologies ecosystems don’t stop- Perhaps that’s what our policy makers, the government and leaders need to recognise. Ecosystems create a flow of energy and help everyone live and grow. This energy is transmitted by living our banal daily life, doing our chores, employing people, going to work and in the process creating some productive output as ideas, incomes for individuals, society, economies and nations. Lives and livelihoods are not binary but actually complementary.

Nature is the best teacher, it is known to balance excesses and appreciate all that exists. “Who Eats Who” and the lockdown has showed us that we have deep interconnectedness with one another for economic and holistic wellbeing. And we have also learnt that we are all part of this ecosystem no matter how big or small, we cannot be stopped!

‍