Joe Rogan hits Ben Lamm with tough question on meddling with nature in dire wolf resurrection debate
UFC commentator Joe Rogan recently posed an intriguing question to Ben Lamm, the co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, who has claimed to have brought back an extinct animal.
Lamm founded the company with George Church in 2021. The Texas-based company aims for de-extinction, particularly targeting the woolly mammoth, Tasmanian tiger, northern white rhinoceros, dodo bird, and dire wolf.
Lamm appeared on episode #2301 of the Joe Rogan Experience amid the viral claims that his company has brought back dire wolf from extinction. During the podcast, Rogan posed an interesting question to Lamm regarding their work.
"So, my question, if I was going to grill you, if I was a reporter, would be 'what right do you have to invade the natural process of nature and to inject your curiosity and your ability to create new life?'" Rogan asked.
Lamm responded by pointing out that humans have become the apex predator on the planet and have already invaded natural processes.
"We overfish the ocean, we overhunt, something in the case of the thylacine, where the Australian government put a bounty on its head and killed it off. Every time we cut down the rainforest, every time we drink hydrogenated water, we are, you know, playing God on some level. We humans are very good at changing the natural flow of things," Lamm replied.
Check out Joe Rogan's conversation with Ben Lamm below (36:47):
Ben Lamm shares positives of rewilding with Joe Rogan
During the aforementioned podcast episode, Ben Lamm cited positive impacts of rewilding to Joe Rogan.
The 43-year-old shared that the studies around ecology and rewilding that are already available have helped them in a great way. As an example, he explained the successful rewilding program of reintroducing 14 or 15 wolves in Yellowstone.
"It changed the shape of rivers. Because the elk population were just, you know, they were getting fat, they were getting lazy, they weren't migrating. The sick and the old and the weak weren't getting killed off. They were spreading disease, they were eating all of the willows and everything along the banks. So, therefore, the beavers went away," Lamm said. [37:55]
The billionaire pointed out that beavers make wetlands, making rivers or ponds get deeper. As they get deeper, different species of flora and fauna flourish.