https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl Essay question: Factory farming does more harm than good. The human population needs to move towards having insects as a staple in their diet. Can you identify the counter-arguments and refutations? en-us 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC hello@padlet.com helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568764 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568764 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568765 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568765 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568766 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568766 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568767 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568767 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568768 Killing insects is a more humane practice compared to how the meat industry runs their abattoirs. The majority of scientists believe that insects likely do not feel pain as, due to their short lives, it would be an evolutionary disadvantage to be hampered by pain. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568768 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568769 Lean insect protein is a healthier choice for the consumer. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568769 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568770 Farmed insects enjoy pleasant lives. Insects raised in farms live in dark conditions (preferable environment), with ample and abundant food supply, no natural predators, no risk of outside diseases or parasites.]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568770 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568772 Agricultural expansion is causing staggering losses of biodiversity and moving to a diet inclusive of insects will reduce this. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568772 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568773 The insect protein market is projected to be worth $8 billion by 2030. In addition, in the current climate, commoditising insects as food may contribute significantly to the livelihoods of some of the world’s most marginalised communities. Insects have traditionally been collected, prepared and sold by people who hold little economic or political power. Wealthy consumers could contribute to a fairer world by promoting and purchasing edible insects. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568773 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568774 Entomophagy is usually sold as more environmentally friendly than eating meat or a plant-based diet. Crickets, the most commonly farmed insects, have a smaller environmental footprint than beef. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568774 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568775 Many farmers in the meat industry don’t want to or can’t spend adequate time and money on maintenance or optimal welfare of their animals. It’s more cost effective to pack animals into smaller spaces and allow some rate of disease and illness. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568775 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568776 Growing insects requires a fair amount of work for a relatively small output, and growers may need to buy grains, fruit, or vegetables to feed the insects. Keeping insects alive requires more input, including energy intensive heating systems, than what comes out, and if that feed comes from cultivated crops, it's not true that entomophagy also reduces crop cultivation. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568776 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568777 The number of insects required to produce a single meal is magnitude higher than the number of chickens or especially cows required to produce that meal. For example, one would have to eat about a thousand grasshoppers to equal the amount of protein in a twelve-ounce steak. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568777 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568778 Some insect-farming operations have nontrivial mortality rates and farms occasionally lose almost all their insects to disease. In 2015, cricket farms suffered a setback when a cricket paralysis virus hit the facilities over the winter, killing 90 percent of the livestock. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568778 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568779 While some small-scale insect farms may be aiming to secure animal welfare, it's not clear that long-term the entomophagy business wouldn't go in a similar direction as the livestock business. Once the entomophagy industry grows and faces pressures to cut costs when supplying bulk quantities of insect protein to multinational food corporations, it seems likely that high ideals will be lost. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568779 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568780 Many of the euthanasia methods developed for vertebrates do not transfer well to invertebrates and more research is needed. In addition, the ways in which some insects are killed involve heating—boiling, frying, steaming, roasting, etc. This is probably extremely aversive. Recent studies have discovered that insects have a certain types of neurons that serve as pain receptors, in order to sense and avoid dangerous stimuli. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568780 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568781 According to scientists, all animal production systems (including insects) add inefficiency because they are converting plant matter into animal matter. From an environmental perspective, a plant-based diet might be the best option because plants that can be consumed directly are best used as food instead of feed for insects. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568781 helc3122 https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568782 An increase in popularity could drive up process. There is a very real danger that raising the price of insects may mean that people who have enjoyed them for centuries choose to sell them instead of consuming them. In the absence of a comparable source of immediate income, this is the logical choice for people who are living hand-to-mouth. Yet this can contribute to protein and iron deficiencies and does nothing to combat inequality. It’s crucial that insect distributors pay a price – financial and beyond – that supports collectors’ and farmers’ livelihoods. Not all edible insect businesses are equal and there’s no Fairtrade certification for edible insects just yet. ]]> 2022-10-04 22:55:59 UTC https://padlet.com/helc3122/o7czij0mtitk6mrl/wish/2326568782