Water Conservationby | 23-04-2017 14:55 |
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Water is a very limited resource for us. Most water is frozen in glaciers or exists as salt water from oceans. Furthermore, desalination is a very expensive project along with trying to purify contaminated water. Some natural occurrences such as droughts further limit our usage of water. In reality, we only have one percentage of water from our planet that is available for human consumption. It is predicted that there will be a 40% increase on demands for water. This is due to our growing population, industries, and our agriculture needs. Not conserving our water will force projects for pipelines and sewages which costs money. Additionally, we will have to spend more funds on purifying water more regularly when we recycle the excessively used water. There will be a consequence for our economy if we keep dissipating our water. As time passes by, our planet suffers and loses its resources. In recent years, climate change has created an unusual rain pattern. Some countries now lack the rain they need to conserve water. Water pollution from oil spills, cigarette buds, and common trash also obstructs our availability to water. We all know that conserving water is a way to save our environment. However, not many people will know that eating insects can be a solution. A recent report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that 26% of earth?s surface is used for livestock grazing and one-third of earth?s arable land is used to grow livestock feed. Usage of land for livestock doesn?t stop there. In Brazil, 70% of defrosted land is used as pasture and in Botswana, 23% of water is consumed by the livestock industry. Eighteen percent of global greenhouse emissions is attributed to the livestock industry which is more than transportation related sources. Livestock production also causes soil erosion and depletes our food supply as well. Facts and figures show that livestock industry has an irreversible impact on our environment. This is where insects come in. Rather than raising livestock to feed ourselves and at the same time destroying our environment, we can substitute insects as source of protein. Also, livestocks significantly require more water than insects do. FAO has estimated that there are 1,462 species of recorded edible insects and there are still hundreds or thousands of species that have not been tried or even discovered yet. And globally it is estimated that about two billion people consume insects as part of their diets. Consumption of insects shows similar trend in Korea as well. The edible-insect market is currently worth 1 billion won ($857 million), which is small compared to the U.S and Europe, but the trend is growing fast. CJ CheilJedang, one of Korea?s largest food-processing company of Korea announced last moth that it is looking into edible insects as a smart alternative to traditional protein such as meat. ?Protein sources, such as meat, have production limitations. Insects are much higher in protein and sustainable to farm. This could become the future of food,? said Kim Hyun-dong, publicist for CJ CheilJedang in an article published by Korean Herald. The article also stated that grasshoppers, crickets, mealworms and honey ants insects are usually used for cooking as they are all rich in protein and minerals. They also contain high amounts of unsaturated fatty acid. |
