A vegetarian carnivorous plant

Date:

December 19, 2014

Source:

Oxford University Press

Summary:

Carnivorous plants catch and digest tiny animals in order and derive benefits for their nutrition. Interestingly the trend towards vegetarianism seems to overcome carnivorous plants as well. The aquatic carnivorous bladderwort, which can be found in many lakes and ponds worldwide, does not only gain profit from eating little animals but also by consuming algae and pollen grains.

Continued ...

Sex-loving, meat-eating reptiles have shorter lives

Date:

October 23, 2014

Source:

University of Lincoln

Summary:

The health risks and benefits of vegetarianism have long been discussed in relation to the human diet, but newly published research reveals that it’s definitely of benefit to the reptile population. That, and being less sexually active. The research team investigated how longevity of 1,014 species of scaled reptiles is influenced by key environmental characteristics and by their feeding and sexual habits.

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World's first vegetarian shark

Sharks have garnered a well-deserved reputation as the ocean's most ferocious killers, capable of sniffing out a single drop of blood in the water from miles away -- but for one nurse shark at an aquatic center in the UK, the taste of meat seems to have lost its luster.

Three years ago, a six-foot-long shark named Florence grabbed headlines by becoming the first of her kind to undergo a groundbreaking 'out of water' surgery to remove a rusty fish hook lodged in her gut. Although she made a remarkable recovery and was later put on exhibit at the Birmingham National Sea Life Center in England, Florence would eventually prove that being a good patient wasn't her only distinction.

As it turns out, the Florence's close brush with death-by-fisherman seems to have left a lasting impression on her -- namely, that meaty treats mean trouble. Much to her keepers' astonishment, the fearsome carnivore has made a rather unprecedented dietary turn; now the only heads she cares to gnash are heads of lettuce.

To be fair, nurse sharks in the wild are known to occasionally graze on algae, and the rigors of gastronomical surgery can take their toll -- but Florence appears to have taken on a meatless lifestyle full time.

According to Graham Burrows of the Sea Life Center, the shark has gone "completely veggie".

Continued:  http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/worlds-first-vegetarian-shark-prefers-lettuce.html#mkcpgn=twapl1

A Farmer Bets Better Fake Chicken Meat Will Be As Good As The Real Thing - via D R Schoop

Beyond Meat, a new company based in Maryland, has come up with an alternative to chicken meat that it claims is a dead ringer for the real thing. And unlike other meat alternatives on the market, this one aims to be cheap, as well as tasty.

The inspiration for Beyond Meat (formerly known as Savage River Farms) started, oddly enough, in "chicken country." Founder Ethan Brown grew up spending weekends on his family's farm in Grantsville, Md., near the Pennsylvania border.

Growing up around farm animals, Brown says he became increasingly concerned about their welfare. He eventually became a vegan, but was frustrated by the "fake meat" options available, so he started his own company.

Only 12 percent of American households consume meat alternatives, and that number hasn't budged much over the years, says David Browne, (no relation) a senior analyst who tracks the food industry for Mintel, a market-research firm. He says the $340 million U.S. market for meat alternatives is growing modestly, at between 3 and 5 percent a year, while there's a decline in per capita meat consumption.

Ethan Brown is hoping a more realistic taste and texture can boost those numbers, especially among those health conscious young consumers cutting back on meat known as "flexitarians Brown says his goal is for Beyond Meat to break out of the health-food niche and sell to mainstream meat-eaters.

Ethan Brown's process use new technology to turn soy meal and other vegan ingredients into a finished product that mimics chicken meat.

Continued:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/17/152519988/a-farmer-bets-better-fake-chicken-meat-will-be-as-good-as-the-real-thing

Conflicted meat-eaters deny that meat-animals have the capacity to suffer

Conflicted meat-eaters deny that meat-animals have the capacity to suffer
15 July 2010 Kent, University of


A new study from the University of Kent has provided direct evidence that people who wish to escape the ‘meat paradox’ i.e. simultaneously disliking hurting animals and enjoying eating meat, may do so by denying that the animal they ate had the capacity to suffer. By engaging in denial, those participating in the study also reported a reduced range of animals to which they felt obligated to show moral concern. These ranged from dogs and chimps to snails and fish.

The study, the results of which are published in the August issue of Appetite, was conducted by Dr Steve Loughnan, Research Associate at the University’s School of Psychology, and colleagues in Australia. Prior to their study, it was generally assumed that the only solutions to the meat paradox are for people to simply stop eating meat, a decision taken by many vegetarians, or the ongoing failure to recognise that animals are killed to produce meat (although few people live in true ignorance, some meat-eaters may live in a state of tacit denial, failing to equate beef with cow, pork with pig, or even chicken with chicken).

Dr Loughnan explained: ‘Some people do choose to stop eating meat when they learn that animals suffer for its production. An overwhelming majority do not. Our research shows that one way people are able to keep eating meat is by dampening their moral consideration of animals when sitting at the dinner table.’ Dr Loughnan also explained that, broadly speaking, their study has shown that when there is a conflict between their preferred way of thinking and their preferred way of acting, it is their thoughts and moral standards that people abandon first – rather than changing their behaviour. ‘Rather than change their beliefs about the animals’ moral rights, people could change their behaviour,’ he said. ‘However, we suspect that most people are unwilling to deny themselves the enjoyment of eating meat, and denying animals moral rights lets them keep eating with a clear conscience’.

‘The role of meat consumption in the denial of moral status and mind to meat animals’ (Stephen Loughnan, University of Kent; Nick Haslam, University of Melbourne; Brock Bastian, University of Queensland) is published in the August issue of Appetite (www.elsevier.com/locate/appet).

http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/meat-eaters-study/2010

Veggie Macca urged to beat swift meat retreat

Click to enlarge

Metro Ireland, 4 December 2009, p9.