Donklephant » Animals

Case studies in the Politics of Food and Choice: Eggs & Salt

Solomon Kleinsmith — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 22:24:37 +0000

I stumbled across an interesting article on eggs yesterday while sitting in Borders reading up on something I’m going to be doing an in depth series of posts on. Apparently a study at the USDA has shown that factory farm eggs are far less nutritious than pastured eggs. I don’t know what causes this… although one can imagine the havoc that living in a cage your entire life that is barely bigger than your body, having your beak cut off and breathing in air so foul your whole life that people need to wear an environmental suit when they go in to the building you live in would do to your body and what it produces.

The numbers are quite compelling. Chickens that are let out to pasture produce eggs with:

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamin A
Two times more omega-3 fatty acids
Three time more vitamin E
Seven times more beta carotene
Three to six times more vitamin D

Now some would take these numbers and offer the idea that we should only allow these kinds of eggs to market. I would disagree, although it would seem fair to require that the difference in nutritional value be prominently placed on packaging. I think people should know exactly what they are getting. Eggs provide a cheap source of protein, and helped me afford that necessary part of my diet through a period where I was low on money, but now that this isn’t an issue, I will certainly switch.

In related news, a New Jersey man is suing Denny’s over the high salt content in their food. I’ve read a handful of articles about this, and I’m still confused as to what exactly he is suing over. As far as I know there is no law that requires restaurants to disclose the salt content of their meals, and frankly, when I eat out at a low quality chain restaurant like that I accept the fact that I’m going to get something cheap that is probably pretty terrible for me. I fail to understand what law they are breaking by offering these foods, and while I completely agree that it is a good idea to have nutritional information for customers (potentially on the menu), it strikes me as something that should beÂ proposed through the legislature, not forced through by judicial fiat.

So what do you think about this?

Should a customer be able to sue a restaurant because its food is unhealthy?

What should labeling be required to show, and where should it be placed?

Solving The Mystery Of The Cat

Justin Gardner — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:08:21 +0000

Even though I don’t have one myself, I’m definitely a cat person. Sure dogs are fun, and there’s no doubt they dish out much more unconditional love than cats, but my reasoning has always been that if I wanted a child I’d go and have one myself. Because that’s basically what a dog is: a child. They need a ton of guidance or else they’ll misbehave, and let’s not overlook the fact that many breeds constantly need attention, reassurance and you have to let them outside to go to the bathroom. To be clear, I’m not dogging on dogs, I’m just explaining why I like cats better.

And I think that’s why I like cats most of all. Because while dogs need masters, cats are looking for roommates.

But that presents the question…why are cats even around? Because while dogs provide protection and were bred for very specific, utilitarian reasons, there seem to be few good reasons why cats were welcomed into our homes.

Scientific American attempts to answer that question and explores why we love them…and why they tolerate us:

Considering that small cats do little obvious harm, people probably did not mind their company. They might have even encouraged the cats to stick around when they saw them dispatching mice and snakes.

Cats may have held other appeal, too. Some experts speculate that wildcats just so happened to possess features that might have preadapted them to developing a relationship with people.

In particular, these cats have â€œcuteâ€ featuresâ€”large eyes, a snub face and a high, round forehead, among othersâ€”that are known to elicit nurturing from humans. In all likelihood, then, some people took kittens home simply because they found them adorable and tamed them, giving cats a first foothold at the human hearth.

So because cats have more human like features, they were accepted into our homes? Interesting theory.

Still, I think there was a much more utilitarian reason, and that is garbage and pest control…

Early settlements in the Fertile Crescent between 9,000 and 10,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, created a completely new environment for any wild animals that were sufficiently flexible and inquisitive (or scared and hungry) to exploit it. The house mouse, Mus musculus domesticus, was one such creature. Archaeologists have found remains of this rodent, which originated in the Indian subcontinent, among the first human stores of wild grain from Israel, which date to around 10,000 years ago. The house mice could not compete well with the local wild mice outside, but by moving into peopleâ€™s homes and silos, they thrived.

It is almost certainly the case that these house mice attracted cats. But the trash heaps on the outskirts of town were probably just as great a draw, providing year-round pickings for those felines resourceful enough to seek them out. Both these food sources would have encouraged cats to adapt to living with people; in the lingo of evolutionary biology, natural selection favored those cats that were able to cohabitate with humans and thereby gain access to the trash and mice.
So, you a dog person or a cat person? And why?

(h/t: Daily Dish)

Thoroughdead

donar — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:03:44 +0000

Ancient Elephants Lived Mostly In Water

Justin Gardner — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:37:13 +0000

From Fox News:

A recent study found that an ancient elephant ancestor called Moeritherium spent most of its time in rivers and swamps.

Scientists knew that elephants are related to modern aquatic creatures such as manatees, but they had never identified an ancient elephant relative that lived in water.

No wonder they’re wrinkly.

Elephant Paints Self Portrait

Justin Gardner — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:47:00 +0000

It’s amazing what Republicans can do sometimes.