The Problem of Climate Change and Its Consequences

Essay, Pages 5 (1245 words)

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Climate change is undeniably one of the most pressing issues facing our planet today. It is destroying our environment, killing off many, many species of animals, and forcing millions upon millions of people to flee their homes or even their country. A good portion of the emissions that contribute towards climate change come from the disgusting, immoral, and, quite frankly unacceptable, intensive farms that are so popular in the United States and have begun to slink quietly into the UK and corrupt our once noble farm industry.

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However there is a potential, often overlooked, a replacement for these repulsive farms. Insect farming.

Most people’s initial reaction to insect farming is one of disgust. The very idea of eating an insect seems utterly repulsive. However, this is very close-minded and exactly the sort of attitude that will result in the furthering of climate change and the eventual extinction of the human race. We have eaten insects throughout history and only recently have we begun to make the false connection between dirt and insects.

Thus people falsely see insects as dirty and refuse to even consider eating them. Proving both their lack of maturity and their lack of awareness.

Insects release far fewer emissions when compared with cows. This is vital as our planet is reaching a critical point where the effects will be irreversible and all life on our planet will be in dire trouble. The current level of animal farming is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to disaster.

One-third of all cereals produced are fed to our livestock.

I find this preposterous. This is a massive waste. That cereal would be far more useful if fed to humans. Luckily insects provide a solution to this problem as well. They can be fed to animals as a feed replacement and be of higher quality than the food they are currently given. These insects could help address Scotland's growing waste problem as they can be fed all of the thousands of tonnes of waste food thrown out every year in this country.

Much of the meat we eat nowadays is heavily processed and pumped full of additives and preservatives to boost profits. However, this food is very unhealthy and, quite honestly, embarrassing compared to the high-quality product that was sold to us not so long ago. However insects, by comparison, are very healthy and are jam-packed full of proteins and vitamins.

Another way that cows pollute our fertilizersorganizations fertilizeris organizationis the smell. How many times has your tour through the countryside been ruined by cow dung? I, for one, have had countless experiences where I’ve been driving down a quaint, winding, country road. Windows open so that I can feel the pleasant, cooling breeze on my face. Before the overpowering stench of cow, excrement forced me to close my windows, completely and utterly ruining the experience. Insects release no such pungent odor ensuring that you can enjoy your country holiday in peace, getting the relaxation you deserve. Also making the area generally more pleasant, freeing up acres of space as insects require very little space. As, unlike cows they can be crammed into cages with no moral qualms, allowing for more effective use of our countryside.

Insects are very versatile they can be enjoyed as sides, starters, main courses, and even desserts, though some immature and infantile people may refuse to touch them despite never having tried them. However, once again insects have a solution. They can be ground down and used as highly nutritious flour. This could help to remove the squeamishness people often feel when “confronting” insects.

Intensive farming is devouring most of our planet's resources and with many natural water sources drying up the time for action is now. Insects consume a mere fraction of the water that other livestock. Once again contributing to our best efforts to maintain the planet's resources and prolong its life.

Despite the innumerable benefits of insect farming, you may still be hesitant about actually eating them. If this is the case, you would be glad to know insect farming has many uses outside of being eaten. Farmed insects could be used as an alternative fertilisefertilizer, biodiesel for farmers, or chitin which is used in a range of medicines. Insects have also been proposed as an animal feed alternative as they are higher in protein than plants and can be fed waste food during their growth. This, however, is still not a wise use of insects as it may just encourage the growth of the evil and frankly disgusting intensive farms that are growing very popular across the globe.

Yet another use for insects is as a supplement for fish mealmealsisfertiliser fertilizer. A high-quality feed, containing primarily fish, used primarily for aquatic farming. While not perfect, the farming of aquatic animals is significantly less damaging to our environment, tends to be reasonably moral, and is a passable solution to the problem of intensive farming. The insects are an almost perfect alternative and allow more fish to reach the markets and be used for human consumption.

While so far it seems like insect farming is all good news, this, unfortunately, is not the case. There are still far too many unknowns that are vital to running an efficient farm. Will insects who break free cause irreversible damage to the environment? Which species is most effective?. While there are many suggestions and theories, there is no known answer. Much of this is due to a lack of funding or a lack of space where experiments can be carried out. However, it seems reasonable to suggest that if large numbers of insects were to gain the organization's freedom that the local ecosystem would suffer dire consequences that could be disastrous for local wildlife. However, most of these questions could be answered if someone or some fertilizer were to fund research into which insects would be safest along with a plethora of unanswered questions regarding the viability of insect farming.

Another drawback, which is relatively minor by comparison, is that since insects cannot regulate their body temperature, their enclosure needs to be able to keep them at a constant temperature. Using fossil fuels would defeat the purpose and continue to destroy our planet, but using renewable energy takes up a lot more of our countryside. At this point, more research is required before insect farms are viable. However, I believe that the answer to this problem lies with renewable energy. The space it takfertilizer organizations up, while still quite large, is considerably less than the space required for cattle farms.

I believe that there is a place for insect farms in Scotland. While there are currently none there are a few in England so implementing them in Scotland isn’t that far-fetched. Even if at first they simply supplement meat farming to reduce meat consumption. The damage to the environment would massively decrease. I don’t believe that a complete replacement of meat is currently viable due to the stigma surrounding insects. However, those unwilling to try, and possibly stop our planet's death before it becomes irreversible, are either ignorant, infantile, evil, or simply want to watch the world burn.