From your toilet to your plate.

We all know that many farmers use fertilizers, such as manure for their crops to grow and prosper, but have you ever thought about that manure coming from you? Many of us know that farmers obtain manure from animals, but have you ever thought about your food being fertilized by your feces? It sounds odd, and probably disgusting, but in many cases, farmers are using human feces to fertilize their crops. But of course, the process is more complex than people shovelling human waste out of sewers onto trucks and shipping them off to farms.

Biosolids are the product of the transformation of what you'd see in your toilet to what would be considered "fertilizer". The process of creating biosolids goes something like this:

1. the wastewater travels from your house to a sewage treatment facility
2. the solids are sent to enclosed tanks where microorganisms consume them as food
3. if necessary, the solids are treated with lime to raise the pH level and eliminate objectionable odours
4. the solids are now ready to be used as fertilizers

You may be thinking that despite the fact that the feces is treated and what not, it's still disgusting to be smeared all over your food, even before it reaches your plate. But in many places around the world, raw, straight-out-of-the-drainage-system, human feces is used as fertilizers. This is the case in many 3rd-world countries, where people can't afford expensive chemical fertilizers. This results in about 2.2 million people dying from diarrhea-related diseases, such as cholera from farmers' crops absorbing disease-causing bacteria, and many consumers eating the produce raw and unwashed.

These cuts are from douglas fir trees. The ones on the left show the growth of the trees where biosolids were applied, while the ones on the right are of those where no biosolids were used. 

So, now that we know how biosolids are produced, and how feces are used in other parts of the world as fertilizers, what do we do with the biosolids, other than using them as fertilizers. Most of the time, biosolids are either sent to the landfill, or are incinerated. But think about it, what is the most eco-friendly way to dispose of/use this product? Through land application!

In conclusion, I believe that the Western world has influenced us to believe that though our feces have been broken-down to the point where they will benefit us, it would still be disgusting to have them even go near our food. But since the most eco-friendly way to "dispose" of biosolids is to use them as fertilizers, I believe that they should be used on greenery such as trees and golf courses, that way society will be a greener place!

Sources

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Comments

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Discovering a Drug to Benefit Diabetics

Diabetes is a chronic disease that many Canadians suffer from. People who have diabetes have high blood sugar levels, which are caused by the lack of, or resistance to insulin, or both. There are two types of diabetes: type one and type two.

Type one diabetes usually diagnosed during childhood and is when the body makes little to no insulin. Genetics, viruses and/or autoimmune problems may play a role in what causes this type of diabetes. Type two diabetes is much more common than type one. It is the cause of the body not making enough insulin to keep blood glucose levels normal, often because the body does not respond well to insulin. It is becoming more common due to increasing obesity and failure to exercise.

Insulin is a hormone created in the pancreas and works toward controlling blood sugar levels in the body through moving glucose from the bloodstream to different parts of the body to be used as energy.

Luckily, those who suffer from diabetes are able to obtain insulin to help them control their blood sugar levels, all thanks to a Canadian doctor, Edward Banting, and a his assistant, Charles Best. In the 1920s, Banting started experimenting on dogs to find a way to create insulin. After they had discovered that their method of creating insulin worked, they realized that it took too long. They then started to use fetal calf pancreases, and with the help of biochemist James Collip, were able to create insulin to use on humans. A few years later, they uncovered a major breakthrough, and were able to mass-produce insulin. Not long after this, insulin was offered for sale.

About 50 years later, another breakthrough was made and the first, genetically-engineered, synthetic “human” insulin was produced by Herbert Boyer using the bacteria E. coli.

All thanks to Edward Banting and Charles Best, many diabetics are able to maintain normal blood sugar levels, and ultimately live. 


Sources
Source One
Source Two


My Comments
Comment One
Comment Two

Industrial Agriculture: Modern-Day Farming

     The meat and poultry industry is ever-growing, and meat consumption is increasing each year, but have you ever thought about how that chicken came from the "farm" to your dinner table? 


     You probably think that an overall wearing, industrious farmer raised the chicken from when it was an egg to the time of slaughter by providing it with grains to eat and a comfortable environment for it to roam around, but in reality, most of the chicken you find in your local grocery store weren't exactly raised by a 'farmer', but rather were produced through industrial agriculture, or the modern-day style of farming. 


     Nowadays, thousands of chicken are raised in large, factory-like warehouses, where they don't have room to move around, and are treated poorly. They are also genetically altered to grow twice as large, and twice as fast in order to keep up with the consumers' demands. Due to these alterations, the chickens' heart and lungs aren't developed enough to support the extra weight, causing many [chickens] die before they're taken to the slaughterhouse. 

An example of a 'chicken house'

     Not only are these procedures harmful and cruel towards the chicken, but they're also harmful to us, the consumers. In fact, in the early 1950s, the first synthetic estrogen hormone, diethylstilbestrol (DES) was made and used to fatten poultry, but they discontinued use of it in the late 1970s because it caused cancer. And currently, Arsenic is commonly found in the chickens' feed, which can also lead to cancer.


     You may be asking yourself, "If industrial agriculture promotes animal cruelty, and has negative side effects, why do we continue to consume its products?" This is because it's much faster and cheaper to buy and produce food that's produced in "farms", rather than raised on farms. 

Society's idea of a farm

     Luckily, there's an alternative to industrial agriculture, and that's sustainable agriculture, or in other words, the old-fashion way of farming. In sustainable agriculture, farmers try to avoid the use of chemicals, or synthetic products, thus making their products healthier for us. Although these products may cost us more money, wouldn't you rather not have to worry about the side effects of the food you're eating in the long run? Just a thought you may want to think about.

SOURCES..

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Source Five

Source Six

BLOGS I COMMENTED ON..

Comment One

Comment Two

Designer Babies: No Longer Science-Fiction

 

	designer baby:
	an infant created by genetic engineering combined with in vitro fertilization in order to ensure the absence or presence of a particular gene or characteristic

The trend of designer babies is a fascinating, yet horrifying. I believe that getting one's eggs/sperm screened for genetic disorders or diseases before implanting them into the mother is a reasonable decision that will save the child's parents' time and money in the future. However, I believe that altering the eye or hair colour of a child who has no say in the decision is wrong.

If a couple knows that one, or both, of them have a genetic disorder that could possibly be passed down to their child, I believe that it's reasonable for them to consider having their sperm/eggs screened in order to prevent their child from suffering. No parent would ever want their child to suffer, especially if they know that they could've prevented it. Having their gametes screened doesn't harm anyone, but rather helps many people, such as doctors, the child as well as the parents. Overall, I believe that if a 'designer baby' is a result of preventing the passing down of genetic disorders, I'm all for it.

On the other hand, I believe that making genetic alterations to an unborn baby is completely wrong. First off, genetically altering an embryo or sperm to one's liking is something that has yet to studied. After all, not long ago, genetically altering your child was only thought of as science fiction. For all we know, artificially changing genes could cause major problems to the child down the road. Secondly, just because you don't like certain physical characteristics about yourself and fear that they may be passed down to your offspring, doesn't mean that they won't like those features. If your child doesn't like their eye colour, they can wear contact lenses, if they don't like their hair colour, they can dye their hair. What I'm trying to say is that rather than permanently changing your child's features and spending your life savings doing so, think of all the alternatives to it, such as hair dye and contact lenses as they'll cost you much less money and possibly regret. Finally, it's not up to us to decide the physical appearance of our child, it's up to God. We're all created in our own unique way through Him, and He created us in that same manner. Why would you change something about yourself that's in another person, when it might just be the quality that makes them unique?

References:
Definition of Designer Baby
Source 2: Debating 'Designer Babies
Source 3: Designer Babies - Like It or Not, Here They Come
Source 4: Screening Could Create 'Designer Babies'

Comments:
Comment One
Comment Two

Oil in the Arctic

The Arctic is a very diverse place. In fact, a quarter of the world's Arctic land and waters are found right here in Canada. It is rich in petroleum as well as many metals, such as gold, silver and lead. Canada is also home to about 70% of the world's polar bear population. Sadly, due to the melting polar ice caps and tundra, many of the inhabitants of the Arctic, such as the polar bear, will soon be left homeless due to global warming. However, the World Wildlife Fund is doing it's best to conserve this diverse land.

The World Wildlife Fund is an organization that works towards conserving the world's biological diversity, ensures that the use of renewable, natural resources is sustainable and promotes the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. In fact, the World Wildlife Fund has already succeeded in many of their projects around the world, such as the 'Bowhead Whale Sanctuary' in Nunavut.

The World Wildlife Fund has many concerns about the Arctic, but one of their main ones is the fact that the Arctic holds about a quarter of the world's remaining petroleum reserves and that in a few years, oil companies will start drilling in the ecologically-sensitive Beaufort Sea. This is a concern, not only because there's a risk of an oil spill to occur, but as well as the fact that if an oil spill were to occur, the harsh conditions of the Beaufort Sea would make it difficult for emergency response crews to make any impact. As well, there no known solutions to cleaning up oil in ice-covered waters.

Thankfully, the World Wildlife Fund is partnering up with responsible industry leaders to show how this development can occur while benefiting local communities and respecting the integrity of the Arctic before the drilling occurs to ensure that if complications do arise, there will be solutions. The WWF is calling for a consistent set of regulations to protect the environment, as well as the surrounding communities and other marine companies. The regulations must address the gap if there were to be an oil spill. The WWF also testifies before many groups, to inform them about their view on this situation. 

Overall, the World Wildlife Fund is working to preserve the Arctic before any oil is drilled, showing their concern and passion for the environment.

References:

Source 1: Successes of the WWF

Source 2: About the WWF

Source 3: Brief Summary of the WWF's Work in the Arctic

Source 4: The WWF on Oil in the Arctic

Blogs I Commented On:

Comment One

Comment Two