Dr. Andy Dyer

I’m a professor at the University of South Carolina Aiken (since 2000) where I teach botany, ecology and evolution, environmental science, restoration ecology, and research methods. I have degrees in zoology and wildlife biology (BA, MA, California State University, Fresno), and plant ecology (PhD, University of California, Davis). I also spent two years working in the Negev Desert in Israel (University of Michigan). My research focus is plant ecology and evolutionary biology but, in general, I study how disruptions to natural systems affect the integrity and functioning of those systems.

In Chasing the Red Queen: The Evolutionary Race Between Agricultural Pests and Poisons (2014, Island Press), I used basic concepts from ecology and evolutionary biology to explain how the process of food production in modern agriculture has changed, how it adheres less and less to natural biological principles, and how technological interventions with pesticides and genetic modification will ultimately fail. The goal of the book was to raise awareness of the hazards inherent in ignoring the rules of evolutionary biology when it comes to food production and health. Essentially, that is also the focus of this second book.

In Eaters Digest: The Care and Feeding of Your Microbiome (2022, Amazon.com), I’m taking the next step by discussing how changes to the world around us are changing the world within us. That is, our health is closely linked to the quality of food we eat and modern agriculture (and other forms of technology) are lowering the quality of our food. Unfortunately, all of us are unaware of the changes both around us and in us and therefore we desperately need more information about how human biology works and what steps we can take to protect our bodies and our health. In my opinion, there is no book on the market that explains what the microbiome is, how and why it works, and also how we can take control of our microbiome health.

My goal in writing is to inform the general public about science, particularly the basic principles that govern ecology and evolutionary biology, and how science can be applied to understanding everyday life. I believe people want to know more science, particularly with regard to their health and well-being. As a writer, I want to explain the important concepts in an understandable way, but it’s more important to me that readers have enough understanding to actually make decisions on their own rather than depending one other people to make decisions. Most readers don't have the time or desire to get a PhD, so it’s up to writers to provide that understanding.