Lab grown meat

Did you know that we can now grow meat in labs now? We can now grow meat by just harvesting the skin samples of an animal, no need to slaughter an animal or raise it for the purpose of eating it. although it is expensive right now, in the future this could become something that everyone can afford. It would end the whole controversial practice of factory farming, and It might even solve starvation in some countries. However, people have already started to go a bit crazy with the idea that has not even hit the shelves. Other than being creepy that were growing meat in a lab now, they are already thinking of growing exotic meats. Now this might not sound bad that you can now have hippo steaks or giraffe burgers in the future, but if you think about it, it will make the eating of exotic animals the norm. Endangered animals are animals that we should be protecting and not encouraging people to eat or use as a way of sustenance. If anything, it is entirely possible that the growing of exotic needs would encourage people to poach endangered animals and have the meat for themselves. It is extremely reckless and dangerous that people have already advertising exotic meats. But perhaps something that is worse is that because of this new technology cannibalism is also possibly going to be accessible for people. When talking about this topic in class our professor pulled up a website where they were advertising exotic meats grown in labs but also the fact that now celebrities can and have donated their skin samples to have their meat grown in a lab and other people to eat. I am really freaked out that this lab grown meat has not even reached markets and already people are going as far as to eating lion burgers and the meat of their favorite celebrity. A lot of the time I think to myself humans plus free time is the worst possible combination that you can have.

Lab grown meat

Did you know that we can now grow meat in labs now? We can now grow meat by just harvesting the skin samples of an animal, no need to slaughter an animal or raise it for the purpose of eating it. although it is expensive right now, in the future this could become something that everyone can afford. It would end the whole controversial practice of factory farming, and It might even solve starvation in some countries. However, people have already started to go a bit crazy with the idea that has not even hit the shelves. Other than being creepy that were growing meat in a lab now, they are already thinking of growing exotic meats. Now this might not sound bad that you can now have hippo steaks or giraffe burgers in the future, but if you think about it, it will make the eating of exotic animals the norm. Endangered animals are animals that we should be protecting and not encouraging people to eat or use as a way of sustenance. If anything, it is entirely possible that the growing of exotic needs would encourage people to poach endangered animals and have the meat for themselves. It is extremely reckless and dangerous that people have already advertising exotic meats. But perhaps something that is worse is that because of this new technology cannibalism is also possibly going to be accessible for people. When talking about this topic in class our professor pulled up a website where they were advertising exotic meats grown in labs but also the fact that now celebrities can and have donated their skin samples to have their meat grown in a lab and other people to eat. I am really freaked out that this lab grown meat has not even reached markets and already people are going as far as to eating lion burgers and the meat of their favorite celebrity. A lot of the time I think to myself humans plus free time is the worst possible combination that you can have.

History of whale hunting

Did you know that whales were almost haunted to extinction? Before people drilled for oil, people hunting whales for their oil, preferably sperm whales. Sperm whales got their name from a white fluid that is in their head that people thought was sperm. It was not sperm, but instead spermaceti oil, an oil that gave off a smokeless flame when turned into a candle. After successfully chilling the whale and tying it to the side of their boat, they would cut a hole in the whale carcasses head and have a small child with a bucket go down and scoop out all the oil with the bucket. It would have smelled horrendous, but under no circumstances could you vomit, because that would contaminate the oil and it would all be worthless. The blubber of the whale would be peeled off the carcass and then boiled to make a tour. The tour would then be used for construction. Even perfume was made using stones inside the whale’s intestines. Whales that eat large quantities of crustaceans like krill the shells and other hard matter would be clumped together in the intestines and eventually solidified into stones. These whale stones would be broken up and used to make perfume, also King George ate it with his eggs. Because whales were used to make a multitude of things, from candles to lipstick, they were haunted to near extinction. Then people found oil in the ground. Whale hunting very quickly died out after that as people rushed to get jobs drilling for oil. There is now an international ban on whale hunting that no country is allowed to hunt whales with some exceptions. The Inuit people of Alaska are allowed to hunt whales, as it is their tradition and a big part of their culture. They even hunt whales their traditional way, using the same technique that was used for hundreds of years.

Panda Bears

It is hard to think that pandas are bears, because they are bad at being bears. First off, pandas do not eat meat, or anything else really. instead they only eat one thing, and that is bamboo. Pandas spend 16 to 18 hours a day eating, and they need to do this because bamboo has such little nutrients that they need to constantly consume it just to have enuf energy for the day. Because of very little amount of nutrients bamboo has, pandas are the only bear that does not hibernate because they cannot afford to hibernate, or they will die of starvation. Pandas are also the only bear that have thumbs. The reason they have thumbs is to hold the bamboo shoots that they eat. Another interesting thing that pandas have, or do not have, is their microbiomes. For all those who do not know microbiomes are the bacteria and organisms that live within the stomach that help breakdown food. Pandas have the microbiomes of a carnivore, this does just mean that pandas were omnivores just like most other bears, this also means throughout their evolutionary history they have not evolved to have the microbiomes of an herbivore, but they evolved to have thumbs to eat bamboo more effectively. For a long time no one knew why pandas have their iconic look. One hypothesis about why pandas had black fur around their eyes was the same reason that cheetahs had the black fur under their eyes, so light will reflect off the fur around their eyes and not block their vision. After some testing they found that this does not work for pandas. To understand the most recent hypothesis we need to investigate panda reproduction. Pandas are only fertile for a maximum of three days out of an entire year. So when females are fertile, males need to mate with as many females as possible before their window closes. The leading hypothesis as to why pandas have their iconic black and white fur is so that they purposely stand out for other pandas to see them, that way if a panda is a long distance away, other pandas will still be able to tell it is a panda and then hopefully mate with each other.

Animals in Science

Animals have been used in science for a long period of human history. Today they serve many purposes in the scientific field, from testing vaccinations to testing new makeup. The question is, how far are we willing to go in the use of animals for our benefit and is it necessary to use for necessary commodities. Mice and rats are what typically come to mind when thinking of animals used in science. We are fine with this for the most part because the vast majority of people view mice and rats as pests with little value in life. The real controversy comes into play when animals such as dogs, cats, monkeys, farm animals, and apes are used in a testing. A lot of people believe that using dogs in testing is bad, because dogs are innocent companion animals that should not be killed. However, many other people well condemn the use of companion animals in testing, but also believe that the end results are worth the sacrifice. The question is why do we use non-rodent animals in testing, is it ethical to do testing on animals that are already endangered such as chimpanzees? For those who do not know chimpanzees are endangered, a lot of people do not know that because they show up so frequently in TV shows and movies. So why do we continue to use chimpanzees and other large apes for science while at the same time protecting them in the wild? We do this because we do not want to risk human lives in testing new medicines and vaccines, and we need animals that are genetically close to humans. This is why we use various animal species when testing vaccines. As you all know covid-19 has had many effects on our lives. Most likely when testing the covid-19 vaccine, people started off testing on mice and worked their way up to larger animals like rabbits, dogs, primates before moving on to humans. The sad truth is that the use of these animals in testing is necessary for the health of humans. Unfortunately, not all lab animals are used for health advancements. makeup is tested on animals first to see negative effects. Human makeup testing does exist but requires the consent of the human, and people are usually not willing to risk their health for a new makeup.

Animals in Agriculture

The topic in class this week in schools was animals in agriculture. Most people love to eat meat. We all know this, but most people do not want to know where their meat comes from. Because of this we tend to distance ourselves from the truth of factory farming, and the cases of animal abuse and cruelty that goes on daily to produce the food we eat. Because of our growing population we have turned away from traditional farming and now rely on factory farming for meat production. However, factory farming is not just about the quantity of meat harvested, but also the steps that we take to modify animals so we can obtain more meat from them. For example, to obtain more meat from cows, we feed them corn instead of grass to fatten them up. Cows are usually contained in very tight spaces ankle-deep in their own fecal matter. This prevents them from moving and getting exercise, so they stay fat. Not to mention the steroids and other drugs given to animals to obtain more meat during slaughter. This already sounds bad, but with factory farming there also comes the problem of environmental health. With a lot of animals comes a lot of animal waste. Whenever a hurricane or flood hits a factory farm, all the animal waste is washed away and enters the watershed. This severely damages the local ecosystem, but also could cause an untold number of human and non-human animals to die. While factory farming and animal cruelty is a largely debated topic, there have not been many changes or reforms. We know that factory farming needs to change. Although instead of trying to make progress we instead ignore the problem and continue to eat our quarter pound burgers, not thinking of the steps taken to put it in our hands. We love to meet too much to give it up or reduce our consumption of it, myself included.

Companion Animals

The ownership of exotic animals is a serious topic that we frequently talk about in school when learning the relationships between humans and animals. Depending on the country that you live in or the state in the US who live in there can be several different definitions of what an exotic animal is. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of someone owning an exotic animals would be Joe Exotic. The ownership of exotic animals like big cats and bears might seem to be a cool thing to have. Primarily people who have exotic animals have them to show their wealth or show how different they are from others. However, many people in the public do not understand the big difference between taming an animal and the domestication of an animal. Domestication takes millennia, thousands of years to do. Take dogs for example we bred them from wolves in over thousands of years we created an entirely new different species. if you train a tiger cub from birth and then it grows up as your family, that is not domestication, that is “taming” of an animal. When an animal is tamed there is still nothing stopping it from killing you. The reason why dogs do not have that possibility of randomly attacking their owner is because we specifically bred dogs to be around humans and to live life around humans. People who have exotic animals do not understand the potential danger that that creates. When I say exotic animals I mean animals such as big cats, bears, primates etc. The big problem with exotic animal ownership in the U.S. is because is that the definition of exotic animal can differ wildly depending on state. In some states, animals like turtles, lizards like bearded dragons, and hedgehogs are considered exotic animals. States like Florida are known to not really have a law on exotic animals. Although I can see why nobody thought that they would need to make a law saying that it is not all right to own a lion.

Wildlife cute factor

When it comes to the conservation of wildlife almost every decision made depends on politicians and the general opinion of the public on non-human animals. The most popular factor depending on whether a species is given human support for survival or not is because of the animal's cute factor. Take pandas for example. Everybody loves pandas, the panda bear is probably the most recognizable animal that exists in the world. The panda is even the logo for The Worldwide Fund for Nature organization. So why is it that pandas are such an iconic symbol for the preservation of wildlife and not another endangered species like the Black Rhino or the California Condor? It is simply because of the panda's cute factor. Pandas are, in my opinion, a species that would have gone extinct a long time ago if people did not insist that it needed to survive because it had such an adorable nature. If we do not care for pandas they would have just naturally died through natural selection and the fact that they are bad at being bears. Animals that could be very good to preserve and in many cases even necessary for the environment such as wolves, being a keystone species, are not given as much attention because they are not cute. People could argue that wolves are just dangerous and a nuisance. The American Bison almost went extinct with 25 left in Yellowstone. they avoided extinction; however, you can only find purebred bison in Yellowstone. Over 30 million American Bison used to inhabit 35 U.S. States, 5 Canadian provinces, and could have even been found in Northern Mexico. Now there are an estimated 5000 American Bison in Yellowstone National Park. So why is there not a public uproar about reintroduction of the American Bison in other parts of the United States. Well, that is simple, it is because they are ugly. I suggest that people should not donate money to protect a species solely because it is adorable. We now have something called the internet. It is amazing what you can find there and how quickly you can get information regarding an endangered species, whether that species is cute or not. So please do research before emptying your wallet. Because there are many more animals that need our help there in the world.

Zoos and Aquariums

For the past week in class we have been talking about zoos and aquariums. As much as we do not want animals in captivity, zoos are a necessity in this day and age. In a perfect world we would not need zoos but we are far from a perfect world, it is the sad truth. We tend to associate zoos as being glorified animal prisons. While it is technically true, We have drastically improved animal care in zoos and are still making improvements to provide better lives to the animals that live in captivity. It is also because of zoos we can better understand how non-human animals can better survive in the wild. Zoos also educate people on how we can protect wildlife and guarantee we see these non-human animals in the future. There are still issues with zoos, but in the end zoos are our DNA banks for species to prevent extinction. With all the Environmental effects that we have on the world, having zoos is a necessity.

Humans & Animals in the Media

A few days ago, in class we were given the task to research animals portrayed in the media, specifically internet influencers  whose whole theme is being able to interact with exotic animals. People to choose from included Joe exotic from the Netflix show Tiger King, Mark the shark, and Dean Schneider. Mark the shark being a Florida man who I am 75% sure has some type of mental disability making him only be able to get sexually aroused when killing sharks and spilling out their entrails while his kids watch. Dean Schneider is a delusional man who thinks that anyone can be a part of a lion's pride just by watching his 10-minute YouTube video and following his 5-step plan. Even though any sane person with at least five braincells knows you will most likely die instantly if you try that in real life. Even though those two were certainly fascinating people (not in a good way). I chose to do Joe exotic, mainly because I already saw the first season of the Netflix show Tiger King. I am going to assume that you have already seen the show. The show starts off focusing on the actual tigers and big cats of the two rival big cat rescues but eventually you can tell it turns its focus on Joe Exotic and Carole Baskins. Two awful people that Constantly Gaslight each other stating that their opponent's Exotic Zoo is corrupt and abusive toward their animals and people. The show never mentions it directly, but there are loopholes that both parks are using to stay operational. Joe Exotics Zoo is or at least was, located in Chickasaw Nation, a Native American reservation in Oklahoma. Being on Federal land, local police are not allowed to enter the reservation. Only Tribal Police enforce law in the area and the FBI may get involved in some cases. However, Tribal Police on American Indian Reservations are notoriously ill equipped and understaffed. Making American Indian reservations the most crime-ridden places in America, but that's another whole can of worms. This is how Joe Exotic was able to get away with illegal activity. This is how Joe Exotic was able to get away with his crimes of animal abuse, breaking the Endangered Wildlife Act, and drug abuse. Even though it was quite clear that people there were on meth considering a lot of them were missing half of their teeth and the ones that were not missing were either mustard yellow or black. Now Joe exotic is going to spend 21 years in prison for breaking The Endangered Species Act and attempted assassination. Joe Exotic’s Zoo has been bought by Carol Baskins and is closed down forever. Joe Exotic is going to live the next 21 years of his life in prison and when he gets out at 79 years old he will have absolutely nothing. Moral of the story animals should not be used to make money. Especially if it involves abusing the animal and killing ones that are too old for kids to hold in their hand. While holding a baby tiger does sound cool, you need to think how many other Tigers were shot in the head because they were no longer making money.

Blackfish & SeaWorld

In one of my classes we recently were shown the Documentary “Blackfish.”  To all those who do not know, Blackfish is a documentary that exposes the cruel treatment of Orca whales at SeaWorld. Including the tragic events that took the lives of four individuals. After watching Blackfish our class took a fieldtrip to SeaWorld. While at SeaWorld we got to see the Orca show. The show was admittedly spectacular, and I hated that I loved it. What really scared me was that even after watching Blackfish, I loved the show, and I would gladly see it again. People who did not see Blackfish however, would be completely oblivious to the acts of cruelty going on behind the curtains. I recommend that people watch Blackfish or do their own extensive research on the Orcas at SeaWorld before giving them your money and inadvertently support them.  

Introduction

My name is Pierre, I am a college student in central Florida, and I am majoring in Anthrozoology. The field of Anthrozoology studies the relationship between humans and animals. In Anthrozoology you will also study human and animal psychology and cultural differences on the views of animals. People who go into Anthrozoology usually get careers in wildlife conservation, zoo keeping, and animal training.