What If...Humans Could Photosynthesize?

Imagine that you’re enjoying a mouthwatering Caesar salad with ranch dressing. POOF! Your body starts to feel strange all of a sudden, so you dash to the bathroom mirror. You look at your body in astonishment, realizing that you’ve turned into a plant-human hybrid. You are what you eat, as they all say. This metamorphosis would give humans an intriguing skill: photosynthesis. What would this mean for humans, and the rest of the planet?

Humans would immediately perceive a major change in their appearance, behavior, and basic functioning. First, we should analyze photosynthesis itself. In plant cells, a green dye called chlorophyll helps plants convert water, light, and carbon dioxide into energy (glucose) and oxygen as a byproduct. The addition of chloroplasts in the human cell would make people turn green. Because humans would require sunlight to produce our own energy, they would also need to stand in the sun for extended periods of time. We would also be able to use our current respiratory systems to take in oxygen, convert it to carbon dioxide, use that carbon dioxide to produce energy through photosynthesis, and then release the oxygen back into the environment. Essentially, humans would be able to continuously generate energy without depleting the global oxygen levels. This means that humans would be eco-friendly! Simply by breathing, we would be able to undo several environmental problems (e.g. the accumulation of greenhouse gasses) that humans have caused. Furthermore, because we would be able to use the sun as our energy source, we would no longer require food as a source of energy. This would render our entire digestive system useless. Through evolution, the human digestive system would gradually disappear, and other organs would take its place. Humans might also develop plant-like organs such as leaves. That would be cool.

In relation to the rest of life on Earth, human dominance over both nature and the rest of the animal kingdom would increase. This dominance would lead to the further imbalance of nature, which might lead to more catastrophic effects for the animal population. It is quite mind-blowing to think that humans could strengthen their control over nature and all wildlife if we gained a simple organelle. Overall, the coexistence of humans and plants would enable humans to have self-sustaining energy and to assert dominance over the entire animal kingdom. You should probably eat more vegetables if you want to gain great powers, as it seems that you are what you eat.