1 post tagged “endangered species”

People have been trying to figure out ways on how to save endangered species. Groups have performed demonstrations to tell people to stop killing the poor things. Laws have been made to protect them, but what exactly is the best method of doing so?

According to Gary Paul Nabhan, a conservation scientist, the best way to save them is to create a market demand for them. Makes sense, if there's enough demand for the creatures, then companies may decide to invest in breeding them. What kind of demand does the scientist mean? As food. Read the article here.

If things go well, food that were restricted will be out in the market again or the Chinese will be able to create medicine from turtles and tortoises like before. Here are three examples of endangered species that can be used for food and other stuff.

Turtles and Tortoises - I mentioned these above. The Chinese people use them for food and medicine. Before we continue though, what's the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? Basically, a turtle spends most of its time and is more compatible to water, while tortoises spend more time on land. There are a variety of medicine produced from different parts of the turtle. One example is a skin medicine produced from Cuora trifasciata or the golden coin turtle.

American mussels - These creatures were used for food, construction of tools and utensils, and also to make pearl buttons. Of course, as time passed, the increase in demand caused overharvesting of the mussels resulting in the decline in their numbers. The lack of these creatures affect the environment in a way, since other creatures at a higher level of the food chain depend on them as food.

Soy - It's not only animals that are endangered but also a variety of plants. One of the latest are soybeans. Soybeans are crops that provide oil and protein. They have become part of the staple food in Asia, particularly in China and Japan. Although relatively common in Asia than in America, only 45% of the production comes from the former while the other 55% is in America.