Sarah+T

Crickets, Ants, and Beetles Oh My! Are Bugs the Food of the Future?
 * Week 2 **

In my last post I had talked about the consequences of CAFOs by explaining its effect on the environment, the animals and humans. It was very sad to read about the cruel and dangerous way the meat industry has treated their animal, and even more disconcerting was the ease in which people could skirt FDA regulations so that potentially there could be disease in our food. In the end I listed different options to fight factory farming, most involving becoming vegetarian or cutting back on meat intake. However, there are many people in the world, including myself, that even with knowledge about the CAFOs would still continue to eat meat. I then remembered about a news article in Times magazine a couple years back about the benefits of eating bugs as an alternative to the more traditional types of protein. I did some research online and the results have surprised me.

The idea of voluntarily eating bugs is not as outlandish as one might expect, in many country cultures, insects make an appearance in popular delicacies.For example, in Mexico there are several common dishes like Escamoles (ant larvae) Chicatanas (giant winged ants) which are collected when in season, roasted with spices and then eaten by the handful. In fact, about two billion people eat a wide variety of insects regularly, both cooked and raw; only in Western countries has this not been developed. Even Carminic acid which is used in most food coloring is made from the egg and larvae of bugs.
 * Bugs Already In Food **

There are several factors why it would be good to use bugs as an alternative food supply. First of all, they are very plentiful source that can be found all of the world, with over 1,900 different types of identified edible species on earth, and the actual sum of all the total organisms of these bugs being incredibly significant. If more need to be born for consumption that is not a problem as well, since bugs like meal worms naturally breed at a fast rate. These qualities allow us to skirt the current CAFO ethic issues since they will not require huge amounts of hormones, do not need a massive food supply, require less space and would cut back on CO2 emissions because there would be no need for harvesting feed. They also only cost a fraction of what it takes to care for livestock so this could be a cheap protein solution to feed to people who can't afford meat and are less fortunate. Lastly, although they are smaller than a cow or a pig, these creatures actually pack a lot of nutrients which make them a sustainable, viable food source. Most insects are full of lean protein, fatty acids, fiber and are around half protein by dry weight, with some insects (such as locusts) up to about 75% protein. media type="youtube" key="euTBQOrpOmM" height="241" width="413"
 * Boasting the Food Supply and Other Benefits **

Why it's not as gross as you think Personally, after learning about how much it could be an advantage to my health, the environment and food supplies, if I was presented a chance to try bugs I probably would. I probably wouldn't completely replace meat with it but I would be open for using it to cut down on some of my meat intake. My reasoni ng behind this, is not only because of its many benefits, but also because of the numerous positive reactions to the actual tastes of the bugs. Furthermore, after looking up some recipes people have used, the dishes generally looked delicious! Eating bugs doesn't have to be in its traditional creepy-crawly image but as actual food dishes.Here are a couple of examples below: // Looks Tasty? This banana bread is made from cricket flour! // //Shrimp Kabobs? more like Balmain Bug Kabobs!// // Sushi? Nope, it's a mix of honey caterpillar croquettes and other processed insects.//



I think for most of us the only barring from us from actually accepting bugs into our diet is the physical appearance which is very off putting since eating bugs is not really the norm. However, if we are able to get past that, who's to say that bugs won't become a common sight on the dinner tables everywhere? This could potentially be part of the solution to many of today's environmental issues so I hope that it will receive more attention in the future.
 * Final Thoughts **

What's on the Menu in Chicken CAFOs?
 * Week 2 **

Chickens are omnivores so the typical diet of a healthy chicken could consist of vegetation, grains, seeds, worms, small insects, fruit and some kind of natural roughage (grit, small stones) so that they can break down the food in their gizzards. However in factory farming, this is not the case. Many meat industries prioritize cost efficiency over the well-being of the animal so in most instances chickens will receive cheapest food supply that will make them grow the largest, in the fastest time. Some of the more horrifying ingredients found in chicken feed include:
 * Ingredients of the Feed **


 * (diseased) chicken meat
 * other livestock
 * feces
 * Feathers, Hair, Skin, Hooves, and Blood
 * Plastics
 * Drugs and Chemicals
 * Unhealthy Amounts of Grains

One of the biggest concerns of the factory farm chicken's diet is the amount of antibiotics put into the feed and water which are used to fight virus and disease which run rampant in crowded, unsanitary facilities. These drugs can have a potentially have a negative effect humans who eat the chicken for several reasons. In 2011, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer temporarily suspended use of the poultry drug Roxarsone after FDA reports showing that the arsenical compounds in the drug may break down into inorganic arsenic, a toxin that can produce skin lesions, respiratory irritation, and several types of cancer in exp osed persons, and may leach into local water supplies or remain in chicken tissue after slaughter. Antibiotics can be good in order to treat medical conditions but like all things, too much of a good things can be bad. Here is a video below explaining the problem of antimicrobial resistance:
 * Effect on Humans **

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These types of food supplies are the result of loose policies by the government that have allowed companies to use plenty of loopholes. For example, after the Mad Cow Disease scare, the FDA passed a law so that cows could not be feed cow carcasses, which was an effort to contain the disease. Unfortunately, this doesn't prohibit people from feeding the potentially infected dead cows to other animals, or feeding the cows with the animal carcasses that ate the diseased cows or to feed them feces of other cows. So why do government officials allow such lax policies? What have other people been doing to help prevent this?
 * Prevention **

Some personal decision people have taken to fight the conditions of Chicken CAFOs include:
 * Becoming vegetarian or vegan (what are the different types?)
 * limiting their meat intake (vegweek)
 * Switching to buying free range, hormone free, or vegetarian feed chicken (what is the cost comparatively? What are the chickens fed instead? what better methods are applied?)
 * Buying at farmers markets, and supporting local farms
 * Staying educated and staying informed about organizations advocating for CAFO regulation

Week 1 In an investigation conducted last year it was revealed that there are about 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. In the previous Human Disturbances presentations, we learned that the Pacific Garbage Patch size reports range from 270,000 sq mi, about the size of Texas to twice the size of the US. These materials are inorganic so they will take thousands of years to break down and have already found their way into the digestive systems of many sea creatures, which can proves to be fatal. Not only that, man-made chemicals like pesticides oil and toxic metals are spilled into the water from urban runoff, and industrial activities. Many of these types of pollution can result in the disruption of several ecosystems, by suffocating marine life, and changing their behavioral and reproductive patterns. Furthermore, this not only affects those in the water but also life on land as well. Trash dumped even far out at sea still finds its way back to many of the beaches we enjoy and seafood like fish could be harmful to us if they are contaminated. In fact, More than one-third of the shellfish-growing waters of the United States are adversely affected by coastal pollution. So it is clear that this poses a huge problem to our environment and that the future does not look very bright for our oceans if no action is taken by us to help clean up and prevent further damage.
 * Ocean Pollution **

One popular project that is being launched was created in 2013 by Boyan Slat called "The Ocean Cleanup" which combines technology and ocean currents to clean up ocean plastics and litter currently in the water. I thought this was a very efficient idea since it is estimated to remove half the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years, at a fraction of the cost it would take using nets and boats. It consists of a floating pipe that extends about 1 to 2 km that is curved inwards with the ends attached to a weight that is submerged so that the pipe is able move with the ocean currents ensuring that trash doesn't just flow underneath or over. This movement has gained a lot of traction, winning awards like one of Time Magazine's best invention awards. The below video shows the procedure and results of the prototype they released in the San Francisco Bay. If all goes well, they hope to launch globally by 2020.
 * The Ocean Cleanup **

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 What Can We Do? In a Ted Talk about plastic water pollution in 2010, Artist Dianna Cohen brings up a good point about our methods for cleaning up. She argues that an even more important aspect of trying to fight pollution, is getting rid of it at its source and planning for the future. It's not very effective to put all efforts in cleaning up current trash without ensure that more does not just pile on later. Things should change in our lifestyles and industries so that new plastics continue to fin themselves int eh Garbage patch. I have not really done in depth research about how the average person can try and curb waste but below is a brainstorm list of some little things others have done in their lives.
 * Preventing Future Damage **
 * Use reusable bags for grocery shopping
 * re purpose plastic bottles and containers (ie, planters, storage, crafts)
 * Educate yourself on the subject
 * avoid plastic water bottles and zip log bags by using reusable alternatives

1) After watching WALL-E, use your own background knowledge to define SUSTAINABILITY in your own words Sustainability is the state of an environment or lifestyle that balances natural resources in such a way that it lasts an almost infinite amount of time with no severe consequences to earth and no shortages.

2) What are the next steps for the new settlers? That is, if you were to colonize an area in this condition, what are some of the first major issues & solutions that need to be accomplished for successful & sustainable future? For dramatic purposes the movie jumps to the scene where the human disembark on the ship to see what earth has become. However realistically, before they expose themselves to the environment they must first check the atmosphere to ensure that it is safe for them to breathe. After landing they would need to research and prepare for living on earth like learning how to build shelters, how to find water sources, and most importantly, learn to farm. They would also need to come up with a long term plan to clean up the earth. What to do with the waste? How to clean up the old building debris? How to ensure they don't repeat this? They could use the robots to aid in this of course, and the ship could definitely serve as a temporary shelter. In addition they would need to work out a plan that will help them revert back to their healthier selves.