human photosynthesis

Before Modification

PROJECT STATEMENT:

In order to eliminate the need for food consumption and to eradicate world hunger, human photosynthesis is proposed. For this to be possible, skin grafting of algae, in which the algae allows for the absorption of sunlight and transformation of sunlight into nutrition. This commensalist relationship can already be found in nature, occurring in the green sea slug, which goes its entire life sans food and need only sunbathe for its sustenance. Obvious benefits of this proposed human photosynthesis is less dependence on agriculture, thereby lessening human land use. The meat industry would be eliminated completely, which would reduce our carbon footprint and be good for the environment. Also, society would greatly benefit from sunbathing rituals, done together at times regularly reserved for eating. Some complications include unknown health implications due to skin grafting, and risk of over-consumption of sunlight. The boundaries of biological categorization between animal and plant would be diminished, just as plant and mineral have already done, leading to the importance of questioning human existence. By adopting human photosynthesis, society will be confronted with a new perspective on what was once considered "necessity," which hopefully will translate into opening up to fresh new ideas that will lead to getting humanity on the right track.

I am one quite wary of any augmenting, nipping, tucking, modding--what-have-you. However, once I was faced with a hypothetical "what-if" using technology for my body, I immediately thought, "What if I never had to eat again?" My main problem is overconsumption-- I'd look AWESOME as a size 00 and no one could tell me any different. Not eating is usually called anorexia, but if there were another way to get my nutrients, I'd seriously look into it. This is what got the ball rolling for me initially. (Shallow, right? Okay, I already know!) I remembered hearing my husband's friends talking about this guy who supposedly was observed by NASA for a year and only lived off sunlight and water. I tried to find facts to back this up and sure enough, my trusty friend Google found it for me. Apparently, it's a load of crock. I  must admit, I am a little sad....

BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT IF?
What if we could biologically engineer ourselves to absorb our food through sunlight? I began researching human photosynthesis; would we be green? would we lose our ability to move just as plants and trees? Would we still grow food for the simple pleasure of eating or would that not be compatible with our altered selves?

After Modification

I thought I was pretty smart for thinking about human photosynthesis, but apparently, I am not the first. Scientists and regular people have been talking about this subject online for a while now, however whimsical and far-fetched the idea. If human photosynthesis were to happen, it would probably be something similar to this creature, the green sea slug, which eats algae allowing the sea slug to go years without the need for food. "All it has to do is sunbathe." Then it just replenish with more algae to keep the photosynthesis process going. It does have some "algal photosynthetic" gene, though. Maybe with genetic mapping we could somehow tweak our DNA to have that same ability to process algae. Also, somehow the green sea slug embeds the algae in its' cells. People online have discussed maybe being able to graft this onto our skin. (Mixing with blood would cause our bodies to attack the foreign thing, thus eliminating the catalyst for photosynthesis and its' benefits.)
In relation, skin grafting is a bit tricky. The body could still attack the algae as a parasite, especially when this initially gets introduced into our bodies. It could cause all kinds of health problems.

Initially, I thought we would be green, like the sea slug. Others online have alluded to us being more pigmented since apparently, melanin acts as a photosynthetic agent (hence the darker skin tone in my after photo). We would all be brown, not green. Were this biological technology possible, the advantages would be great. Hunger and quite possibly poverty would be wiped out. I'm sure obesity would be close to non-existent. The racial and color-divides would cease. (Can you imagine skinheads adopting "brown is beautiful" rather than "white power"?) Also, instead of grabbing a bite to eat, we could just go outdoors and absorb sunlight together.

References:
human photosynthesis blog post
human photosynthesis thread in physics forum