02/01/23 Plant-based Meat Instead of Ground Bugs
Animal Friends Croatia appalled by EU approval of placing insect food on the market
For the purpose of the necessary consumption of animal meat a healthy and natural alternative is plants
Climate changes, environment pollution, reduction of biological diversity, wasting of natural resources, the devastation of seas and oceans, and deforestation – all these are the results of animal breeding for food. The fact that the European Commission beginning of January approved placing on the market various products from bugs Animal Friends Croatia consider to be absurd and very bad. Animal Friends Croatia points out that this one evil be replaced by another, a bit less evil, instead of promoting the already existing alternatives such as plant-based meat from peas, broad beans, soya, or other legumes and other cereals.
„It is absurd that today when we have plant-based protein burgers that very successfully imitate the structure and the taste of meat and are, as per composition, very nutritionally valuable, we give priority to those from warms and insects. Larva pancakes should not appeal to anyone. Instead of that, we should encourage the consumption of plant-based products, already available and being developed more and more by each day. And also, we should recognize the future and invest into the development of cultivated meat, that is produced in laboratory controlled conditions and for its production no warms, or pigs, or bugs, or mammals are needed, but plant-based materials”, Animal Friends Croatia state.
„The drastic meat, milk, and egg reduction are most certainly required due to climate changes, large waste of natural resources such as cereals and fresh water, jungle deforestation as well as water, soil and air pollution. But seeking alternatives in warms and bugs is unnecessary and ridiculous considering the abundance of plant-based food and the possibilities of the industries that can shape it in various ways”, Animal Friends Croatia adds.
Even though they are the least studied animals, scientists agree that bugs also feel pain and discomfort, but in a different manner than those that feel people, cows, pigs, chickens, fish and other animals. Professor Chittka, who led the London Queen Mary University study, determined that bumble bees feel discomfort in the same way as other animals that are known to feel pain and suffering.
As per the United Nations Organization for Agriculture and Rural Development (FAO), the safety of insect food is questionable. Because of the polymer chitin that composes their exoskeleton, serious allergic reactions can occur. Bacteria such as salmonella, E. Coli, and campylobacter were found in bugs. In insect-based food, viruses, parasites, and fungi as well as pesticides and heavy metals can also be found.
Products based on plant-based meat are free of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and chemical agents that are included in the daily menu for animals. Vegan products do not contain ingredients of animal origin, including insects, and are safe for all those who do not want worms and larvae on their plate.
Cultivated meat does not impact environmental pollution because for its products no farms or rural areas are required, as well as no large quantities of water or soil. The technology that has no ties to GMOs is extremely promising and every investment into its development is profitable. That is why Animal Friends Croatia invites all to sign the initiative on www.endtheslaughterage.eu/hr whose main goal is to exempt animal breeding from subventions, and include ethical and ecological alternatives such as plant-based proteins and cultivated meat.
„We appeal to citizens to educate themselves on available plant-based alternatives to meat and cultivated meat technology and to think about the future that awaits us if we continue exploiting the animals for human feeding or feeding other animals with them”, Animal Friends Croatia firmly says.
„For us, for the environment and the animals, it is wiser to obtain alternatives to meat directly from plant food instead of feeding insects and other animals with them only to afterward eat them. As we are closer to the natural form of food, and plants, the smaller are ecological losses and thus also the uncertainty for human health”, Animal Friends Croatia concludes.