Bacteria -- and other micro-organisms -- get a bad rap. All winter long, we wash our hands to keep them away. We sanitize our dishes in a dishwasher, our clothes in the washing machine, and our bodies in the shower. We consider microorganisms to be "germs," and want to keep those little critters off us.

But the reality is, we couldn’t live without them. Bacteria and other microorganisms, like yeast, make life not only possible, but also pleasurable.

In fact, the vast majority of microorganisms are helpful to humans; no food of any kind could grow without them. Only a small number are the disease-carrying villains that we automatically think of when we hear the word "bacteria."

Think of some of life’s great gustatory pleasures -- a loaf of fresh bread, a glass of wine or beer, a slab of cheese, all deliberately created with the collaboration of certain microorganisms. And since a good deal of our local economy depends upon the production of dairy products, like cheese and yogurt, we should consider ourselves as having a vested interest in the well-being of our tiny bacterial allies.

More info:

http://www.benningtonbanner.com/opinion/ci_14369700