Tri Phung Let's imagine: Philly the Plankton lived a not-so-happy life. He was exposed to the oil, chemicals, waste, toxicity present in the water. Until he was consumed by Timmy the Tuna. Timmy the Tuna lived a not-so-happy life. He grew up consuming numerous Philly the Plankton each and every day; same as Philly, he was exposed to the oil, chemicals, waste, toxicity present in the water. Until he was consumed by US Humans. Then, there was Chang the Chicken. Chang lived a not-so-happy-life. He grew up being fed with genetically modified and pesticide-filled grains; he was injected with hormone so he could grow bigger in a shorter time; he was confined in a crowded cage with other Changs. Until he was consumed by US Humans. Consuming numerous Timmy the Tuna and Chang the Chicken days through days, We the Human live a happy life, because he will not be eaten by Mammy the Mammoth or Tiny the T-rex?! At present, We seem to live a happy life. However, We are suffering from bioaccumulation and biomagnification, which is bound to bring disease in future time. Bioaccumulation is the process of the toxicity level accumulating more and more inside an individual's body. This happens either because the individual consumes contaminated foods or is exposed to polluted sources for an extended time. (Hoop 2013.) Back to your imagination, bioaccumulation is when Philly the Plankton and Timmy the Tuna accumulating toxic during their life underwater, when Chang the Chicken gathering hormone during his life in the farm. Biomagnification indicates the process of toxic being “transferred”. When a prey is consumed by its predator in the food chain, all the harmful substances bioaccumulated in the prey is delivered directly to the consumer. (Hoop 2013.) So, Timmy the Tuna eats Philly the Plankton and gets biomagnification. Illustrations for bioaccumulation and biomagnification (Source: http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499 ) Because bioaccumulation and biomagnification happen in the food chain, We Humans, stand on top of the food chain (no more Tiny the T-rex wandering around anymore), suffers all the damage. In the beginning, the toxics (pesticides, for examples) is margin in dose and does not pose immediate symptoms. Nevertheless, over time, these poisons bioaccumulate in the body, affect our health and welfare, cause diseases, malfunctions, and failures. Let's look at an unfortunate example, shall we? Japanese people are famous for their consumption of fish. But, from 1932 - 1968, a factory released industrial waste into water of Minamata Bay, marine life got bioaccumulated, then the locals ate the seafood. The consumption of methylmercury contaminated seafood had resulted in methylmercury poisoning among Minamata locals. The poisoning is known as the Minamata disease, infecting 2,265 victims, of whom 1,784 had died. (Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan 2002.) It is not advisable to display a disturbing picture of this symptom on here, so instead I will include this caricature. Heavy Metal in The Marine Environment (Source: http://www.theperiodicelements.com/elements/view/Hg/index.html) We Human, now acknowledge these problems, must take actions to protect ourselves. A blogger shared that We should thoroughly wash fruits and vegetables before eating and cooking. A better solution is to opt for organic or local grown products to minimize the amount of industrial hormone, pesticides, and chemicals. Such products may be more expensive, but the price is worth it, especially it will be much cheaper than hospital and medicine pills later on. Planting our own gardens and producing our own foods is another great option. In the long-term. Ultimately, We can GoGreen (feel free to contact me for sponsorship, GoGreen!). An eating plan consists of foods lower in the food chain means a lower the concentrated toxic dose compared with a lifestyle with hefty consumption of meat (The Vegan Naturopath 2012). The more We the Human concern about the environments, the more actions We take to improve it, the less bioaccumulation and biomagnification occur in the food chain, and We will be the ultimately beneficiaries. Help the environments, and the environments will help us back. References How Bioaccumulation and Biomagnification of Pollutants is Affecting Our Food Supply. Updated 3.10.2016. Read on 19.11.2017. https://soapboxie.com/social-issues/Bioaccumulation-and-Biomagnification Hoop, J. 2013. Bioamplification, Bioaccumulation and Bioconcentration. Read on 16.1.2017. http://mercurypolicy.scripts.mit.edu/blog/?p=499 Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan. 2002. Minamata Disease the History and Measures – Chapter 2. Read on 19.11.2017 http://www.env.go.jp/en/chemi/hs/minamata2002/ch2.html. The Periodic Elements. Mercury. Read on 19.11.2017. http://www.theperiodicelements.com/elements/view/Hg/index.html The Vegan Naturopath. 2012. Is Organic Produce Essential? Read on 19.11.2017. https://vegannaturopath.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/is-organic-produce-essential/ |
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