📖 Benefits of microbes

Men used some of microbial diversity in the production of fermented foods such as bread, yogurt, and cheese. Some soil microbes release nitrogen that plants need for growth and emit gases that maintain the critical composition of the Earth's atmosphere.

Other microbes challenge the food supply by causing yield-reducing diseases in food-producing plants and animals. In our bodies, different microbes help to digest food, ward off invasive organisms, and engage in fights and battles with the human immune system in the give-and-take of the natural disease process.