How Bugs Find Their Way Into Your Food

How Bugs Find Their Way Into Your Food Entomophagy, the practice of eating insects, has been getting a lot of media attention in recent years. Conservationists promote it as a solution to feeding an exploding global population. Insects, after all, are a high protein food source and dont impact the planet in ways that animals higher up the food chain do. Of course, news stories about insects as food tend to focus on the ick factor. While grubs and caterpillars are diet staples in many parts of the world, U.S. audiences tend to get squeamish at the thought of eating bugs. Well, heres some  news for you. You eat bugs. Every day. Even if youre vegetarian, you cant avoid consuming insects if you eat anything that has been processed, packaged, canned, or prepared. You are, without a doubt, getting a bit of bug protein in your diet. In some cases, the bug bits are intentional ingredients, and in some cases, theyre just by-products of the way we harvest and package our food. Red Food Coloring When the FDA changed food-labeling requirements in 2009, many consumers were startled to learn that manufacturers put crushed bugs in their food products for color. Outrageous! Cochineal extract, which comes from a scale insect, has been used as a red dye or coloring for centuries. Cochineal bugs (Dactylopius coccus) are true bugs belonging to the order Hemiptera. These tiny insects make a living by sucking the sap from cactus. To defend themselves, cochineal bugs produce carminic acid, a foul-tasting, bright red substance that makes predators think twice about eating them. The Aztecs used crushed cochineal bugs to dye fabrics a brilliant crimson. Today, cochineal extract is used as a natural coloring in many foods and drinks. Farmers in Peru and the Canary Islands produce most of the worlds supply, and its an important industry that supports workers in otherwise impoverished areas. And there are certainly worse things that manufacturers could use to color their products. To find out if a product contains cochineal bugs, look for any of the following ingredients on the label: cochineal extract, cochineal, carmine, carminic acid, or Natural Red No. 4. Confectioners Glaze If youre a vegetarian with a sweet tooth, you might be shocked to learn that many candy and chocolate products are made with bugs, too. Everything from jelly beans to milk duds is coated in something called confectioners glaze.   And confectioners glaze comes from bugs. The Lac bug, Laccifer lacca, inhabits tropical and subtropical regions. Like the cochineal bug, the Lac bug is a scale insect (order Hemiptera). It lives as a parasite on plants, particularly banyan trees. The Lac bug uses special glands to excrete a waxy, waterproof coating for protection. Unfortunately for the Lac bug, people figured out long ago that these waxy secretions are also useful for waterproofing other things, like furniture. Ever heard of shellac? Lac bugs are big business in India and Thailand, where they are cultivated for their waxy coatings. Workers scrape the Lac bugs glandular secretions from the host plants, and in the process, some of the Lac bugs get scraped off, too. The waxy bits are typically exported in flake form, called sticklac or gum lac, or sometimes just shellac flakes. Gum lac is used in all kinds of products: waxes, adhesives, paints, cosmetics, varnishes, fertilizers, and more. Lac bug secretions also make their way into medicines, usually as a coating that makes pills easy to swallow. Food manufacturers seem to know that putting shellac on an ingredient list might alarm some consumers, so they often use other, less industrial-sounding names to identify it on food labels. Look for any of the following ingredients on labels to find the hidden Lac bugs in your food: candy glaze, resin glaze, natural food glaze, confectioners glaze, confectioners resin, Lac resin, Lacca, or gum lac. Fig Wasps And then, of course, there are the fig wasps. If youve ever eaten Fig Newtons, or dried figs, or anything containing dried figs, youve no doubt eaten a fig wasp or two as well. Figs require pollination by a tiny female fig wasp. The fig wasp sometimes becomes entrapped within the fig fruit (which is technically not a fruit, its an inflorescence called the syconia), and becomes part of your meal. Insect Parts Honestly, theres no way to pick, package, or produce food without getting a few bugs in the mix. Insects are everywhere. The Food and Drug Administration recognized this reality, and issued regulations concerning how many bug bits are allowable in food items before they become a health concern. Known as the Food Defect Action Levels, these guidelines determine how many insect eggs, body parts, or whole insect bodies can get by the inspectors before being flagged in a given product. So, truth be told, even the most squeamish among us eats bugs, like it or not. Sources: The Truth About Red Food Dye Made From Bugs, LiveScience, April 27, 2012. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Scientists Make Red Food Dye from Potatoes, Not Bugs, National Geographic, September 19, 2013. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Calimyrna Figs in California, Wayne P. Armstrong, Palomar College. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Humans as Fig Eaters, FigWeb, Iziko Museums of South Africa. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Laccifer Lacca, Gwen Pearson (Bug Girls Blog), February 14, 2011. Accessed online November 26, 2013.Q A on Shellac, the Vegetarian Resource Group blog, November 30, 2010. Accessed online November 26, 2013.

The Others-Movie Review Essay Example

The Others The Others-Movie Review Paper The Others-Movie Review Paper Nurul Hazwani Bt Hatta M12L THE OTHERS Movie Review The Others is one of the psychological horror movies that impress me with its good story plot and suspense elements. It was written, directed and scored by Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar, starring Nicole Kidman and Christopher Eccleston. It is inspired partly by the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw. Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is a Catholic mother who lives with her two small children in a remote country house in the British Crown Dependency of Jersey, in the immediate aftermath of World War II. The war was playing vital role in being contributing factor that cause depression in Grace. The stress is the triggering element that cause phychology disorder in her. The children, Anne and Nicholas have an uncommon disease, xeroderma pigmentosa, characterized by photosensitivity, so their lives are structured around a series of complex rules designed to protect them from inadvertent exposure to sunlight. The new arrival of three servants at the house - an aging nanny and servant named Mrs. Bertha Mills ,an elderly gardener named Mr. Edmund Tuttle, and a young mute girl named Lydia - coincides with a number of odd events, and Grace begins to fear that they are not alone. Anne draws pictures of four people: a man, a woman, a boy called Victor, and an old woman, all of whom she says she has seen in the house. A piano is heard from inside a locked room when no one is inside. Grace finds and examines a book of the dead, which shows mourning portraits taken in the 19th century of recently deceased corpses. I was so shocked when the doors which Grace believes to have been closed are found mysteriously ajar. Grace tries hunting down the intruders with a shotgun but cannot find them. She scolds her daughter for believing in ghosts - until she hears them herself. Eventually, convincing herself that something unholy is in the house, she runs out in the fog to get the local priest to bless the house. Meanwhile, the servants, led by Mrs. Mills, are clearly up to something of their own. The gardener buries a headstone under autumn leaves, and Mrs. Mills listens faithfully to Annes allegations against her mother. Outside, Grace loses herself in the heavy fog, but she miraculously discovers her husband Charles who she thought had been killed in the war, and brings him back to the house. Charles is distant during the one day he spends in the house, and Mrs. Mills is heard telling Mr. Tuttle, I do not think he knows where he is. Grace later sees an old woman dressed up like her daughter. Grace says, You are not my daughter! and attacks her. However, she finds that she has actually attacked her daughter instead. Anne refuses to be near her mother afterward, while Grace swears she saw the old woman. Mrs. Mills tells Anne that she too has seen the people, but they cannot yet tell the mother because Grace will not accept what she is not ready for. Charles is stunned when Anne tells him the things her mother did to her. He says he must leave for the front and disappears again. After Charles leaves, Anne continues to see things, including Victors whole family and the old woman. Grace breaks down to Mrs. Mills, who claims that sometimes the world of the dead gets mixed up with the world of the living. At last, I know that actually, it is Grace’s family who is dead, not the intruders. The intruders are the living people who bought the house after the death of Grace’s family. Grace and her children cannot accept the fact that they are dead. Grace may have some mental illness when she killed her children with pillow and then kill herself with a rifle. She was suffering from stress as she was feeling isolated and lonely as her husband didn’t come back from war. I love the suspense element and the twisting plot story. At first, I thought that the intruders are the bad guy, but actually Grace’s family is the one that possess the house and reluctant to leave their mansion even when they are dead. From this story,I learn that it is important to control our emotion and be patient in facing any difficulties in our life to lead a healthy and happy life.

Aztec empire art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aztec empire art - Essay Example Although there is no explicit evidence of bloodletting in the archeological records, there are strong beliefs that they practiced it. This is being proven by numerous ceramic spikes, thorns and artifacts which have been cited as blood letters. In Elmanati site, disarticulated skulls and femurs were found. In addition, the skeletons of newborn children were discovered. This leads to speculations that infant sacrifices were being conducted in these places. Nevertheless, it is yet unknown how these infants met their deaths. Innovation of writing by Olmec played a significant role in art and beliefs of later Mesoamerican cultures. In 2002, there was discovery of bird, speech scrolls and glyphs. These artifacts were crucial in enabling the Mesoamerican to organize their seasonal rituals. In addition, they were able to plan their activities that were significant in improving their religious beliefs. Hieroglyphs such as Epi-Olmec were also crucial in developing the Mesoamerican art. Chichen Itza and Tula have many similarities in art and architectural designs. Both cities had similar temples, an aspect that indicated that there was a close relationship between the two sites. People in these areas have similar religious structures that they used to appease their gods. In addition, the Sacred Cenote, which was a large cylindrical and natural sinkhole, had a religious importance to the local people. Tula copied some of the architectural designs from such structures. This is an indication that Itza was established before Tula. Major beliefs in Tula had some similarities with those of Itza. The artifacts indicate that the carvings and the writings had major similarities. For instance, both cities portrayed a close relationship with Plumed Serpent. The art and architecture includes different depiction of him. In addition, the carvings of big-nosed god had some relationship between

Review paper on three scientific articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Review paper on three scientific articles - Essay Example In the short term, improving vehicle technology could reduce petroleum consumption by one third; reducing vehicle size could level off the 2% petroleum consumption annual growth rate, but it would take 20 years. In the long term, alternative fuels and new propulsion systems for hydrogen and electrical-powered cars may be developed; however, alternative fuels such as ethanol may have large environmental impacts, and hydrogen cars will require further advances in technology. The fourth option for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, changing the way vehicles are used, may include designing specific urban-use vehicles with improved gas efficiency. The article "A Plan to Keep Carbon in Check" (Socolow & Pacala 50) explores ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions using available technologies. The authors state that the danger zone, in which irreversible climate changes take place, probably lies where the atmosphere has double the amount of carbon that it had before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. The article considers seven different "wedges" of the stabilization triangle (created from the difference in graphs of the carbon emission rates staying the same, and the emission rate leveling off in 50 years); each wedge represents lowering the carbon emission rate by 1 billion tons a year 50 years from now. For example, a wedge can be accomplished by not building 700 coal-fired power plants or by equipping 800 coal plants to capture and store carbon dioxide; two wedges can be accomplished by cutting buildings electricity use in half. Policies of setting a cost of $100-200 per ton of carbon emissions may help to yield seven wedges, but further policies may be needed, for instance, to encourage commercialization of renewable energy technologies and to prevent construction of high-carbon emissions plants. The article "The Rise of Renewable Energy" (Kammen 84) focuses on

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

Report - Essay Example One can also use feedback in acting as role model that will eventually help other people follow the same example, thus heading to the right direction. Many people widely recognize feedback as an important part of the learning cycle, as it helps in modeling the children at tender age, hence adopting the rightful behavior that is essential for enhancing their performance. Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 2.0 Background †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 3.0 Evaluations on the use of student feedback †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 3.1 Areas of feedback use †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 3.2 Areas essential for gathering feedback †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3.3 Characteristics of effective feedback †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 4.0 Potential benefits of student feedback †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 5.0 Potential challenges associated to use of feedback †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 6.0 Findings of preliminary research †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. ... †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 1.0 Introduction Feedback refers to any form of response that goes in hand with the student’s work as it serves as an assessment task, performance or product. People that usually have the mandate of giving feedback may include teachers, external assessors, or student peers while it comes in either written or spoken form. Many people widely recognize feedback as an important part of the learning cycle, but to some extent, students and teachers come out into expressing their disappointment and frustrations on the process of conducting feedbacks. Some students cite that feedback on assessment in unhelpful process or unclear, and to some extent demoralizing. Lecturers that oppose the use of feedback also cite that some students do not know how to incorporate feedback advice into fulfilling their subsequent tasks, hence making the process ineffective (Brennan & Williams, 2004). This research paper is going to evalua te on the use of student feedback in the higher education institutions while outline some potential benefits and challenges associated to this strategy. 2.0 Background Providing feedback on a regular basis to the students in regards to the level of performance is the most powerful tool for enhancing teaching process. In simple terms, feedback deals with sharing of information on the student’s performance. Positive feedback intends to sustain appropriate and effective behavior while negative/corrective feedback serves the purpose of changing behavior that the learning institution considers as inappropriate or ineffective. Therefore, it is important to have a mixture of positive and corrective feedback while this feedback should also be specific enough for students to understand with ease, and hence being able to identify the type

Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay You are required to answer Section A Question 1 and 3 Question selected form part B Section A: 1. Pucik (2007) identified three strategic approaches to International HRM, Identify and critique each of these approaches in relation to the India Calling case study discussed in class. Bring in examples from other organisation. Section B: 2. The models associated with best practice school of HRM assume a universalist approach which suggests a specific set of practices will lead to superior organisational performance. Critically evaluate the relevance of this approach in modern organisations with reference to relevant theory. 3. Line managers play a critical role in implementing HRM policies and procedures, Critically evaluate the challenges faced by the HR team in communicating policies and policies and practices to front line managers use the example to consider how front line managers can engage their direct reports in the HRM policies and procedures of their organization. 4. With reference to three different approaches to performance management evaluate how a Strategic HR strategy can effectively influence performance in teams and individuals. 5. Given the recent decline in trade union membership are they still as important in the workplace and society today? 6. Modern organization face huge challenges to retain knowledge given the increase in labour flow. Critically evaluate how (1) technology and (2) social capital can assist an organisation to retain knowledge. 7. As the world changes around us companies are placing increased emphasis on  corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using examples form business. Critically evaluate how a CSR strategy can attract and retain people in an organization. Many firms competing globally are being pointed in contradictory strategic directions, in order to survive and prosper in the new global competition,companies must embrace closer regional and global integration to cut cost and improve efficiency, while at the same time, meet demands for local responsiveness to increase local acceptance, flexibility and speed,’ on the basis of his research ,Pucik(2007) identified three strategic approaches to this issue. 1. A mega-national strategy, which means that the whole company operates in a centralized fashion. Worldwide facilities are centralized in the parent company, products are standardized, and overseas operations are used as delivery pipelines to serve international markets. There is tight central control of strategic decisions, resources and information. As a result, the competitive strength of the mega-national firm is its global integration resulting in cost efficiencies. However, the firm’s ability to respond to variations in local conditions is limited and the international operation can become bureaucratic and inflexible. 2. A multi-domestic strategy, which emphasizes local differences by decentralizing operations to their subsidiaries and local business units in order to the close to customers, to create a heightened sense of local accountability and to encounrage more local innovation and entrepreneurship. But this can lead to an inability to compete on global term with fully integrated competitors, slowness in responding to change and failure to benefit from pooled resources, including knowledge and management expertise. Decentralized companies meeting these problems tend to veer towards centralization until bureaucracy, lack of responsiveness and the inability to retain good people locally leads the pendulum to swing again towards centralization. 3. Dual centralized /decentralized strategy, which aims to benefit from both approaches, firms adopting a dual strategy recognize that decentralization (local autonomy) and centralization (global integration) are not contradictory, but from a duality.. They attempt to maximize the benefits from both approaches in order to achieve high integration while remaining locally responsive. This can mean following the  old adage of â€Å"think globally and act locally’ and can get the best out of both words. But it is a hard strategy to implement. It requires managers with what Pucik calls a â€Å"global mindset†, who can behave and act in a way that recognizes the global nature of the firm and who can focus both on worldwide strategies and the need to encourage the development of local initiatives and allow a reasonable degree of local autonomy within a global frame work.

Women in Anglo-Saxon England Essay -- English Literature Essays

Women in Anglo-Saxon England Anglo-Saxon literature was based on Germanic myths about battles, heroes, diseases, dragons and religion. Writers did not pay much attention to female issues, and there are only few poems that talk about them. Beowulf and â€Å""The Wife’s Lament"† are two examples that briefly consider women’s lives in that time. Anglo-Saxon history and poetry portray women’s lives as uneasy and dependent on their husbands’ positions. Women had to endure arranged marriages, abuse and male dominance. Marriage meant very much to women particularly for their status and economic security. In the medieval era, people wed within their class and only a slave could sometimes find his match and marry for true love. Wars and family feuds forced females to play the role of peace-weavers. They were often married to their family’s enemy to make a truce between warring tribes. The poem â€Å"The Wife’s Lament† is about a woman who, at one time, apparently, was a peace-weaver. The wife and her husband are separated against her will; she feels very unhappy and lonely. The husband has committed a murder and then has abandoned her: â€Å"I am overcome with longing. These dales are dark, and hills high, bitter bulwarks ever grown with briers, a joyless dwelling. Here very often my lord’s going away has wrenched me† (102). In Anglo-Saxon England, a marriage did not mean happiness or love. It put women in a very tough position since they had to assume the role of p eace-weavers and to unite two families that hated one another. In many cases men treated women as sexual objects and did not respect them. In Anglo-Saxon England, there was a law called wergild, which meant â€Å"man price.† When someone got ki... ... is aware of her sexuality and sovereignty over men. I think that her character is controversial even though I think that she is a great woman and deserves credit for her actions. Citations Abrams M. H, et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. New York: W. Norton & Company, 2000. Fell, Christine. Women in Anglo-Saxon England and the Impact of 1066. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984. Catholic Encyclopedia. Online. October 24, 2000. http://www.newadvent.org Harvard University. Online. October 24, 2000. http://www.icg.fas.Harvard Luminarium Organization. Online. October 22, 2000. http://www.britannia.com/history/biographies/guinever.html http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/women/women.html http://www.r3.org/life/articles/women.html http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer.htm http://www.infoplease.com