One of the cutest animals on this planet, the pygmy tarsier (Tarsius pumilus) was classified as extinct. However, in 2000 an Indonesian scientists trapped and killed a precious tarsier by accident while catching rats – that was the first sign of their presence in 80 years!
It is with great excitement that I announce that these little fuzzballs are very much alive and are populating Mount Rore Katimbo in Lore Lindu National Park in Indonesia. It was just this past August that a Texas A&M University research team discovered and caught 2 pairs these little dudes (the 4th got away), put radio transmitter collars on them and released them back into their trees. Click here for rare footage of the release. This was the first time the tarsiers have been seen alive in 85 years.
They are so sweet looking! They are only 4″ in body length and weigh no more than 2 ounces. Tarsiers have nails on all 5 of their fingers and on 2 of their toes. BUT, allow me to note that it’s their big, innocent, dramatic, 16mm eyes that draw you in and make you fall in love. Also, where you will find one tarsier, you will find another because they partner for up to 15 years and remain monogamous during that whole time (if only it was that easy!). They breed twice yearly and are pregnant for 6 months. They are insectivorous and are the only primates that are completely carnivorous.
A scientific experimentation has turned out to be a huge internet sensation and I just love when nature-oddities hit main stream so I had to pass the message along!
He has since discovered that shrimp could run at speeds of 66 feet per minute for 3 hours before needing a rest. They also tested the differences in sick shrimp verses the healthy which is why the video was originally made - for comparison.
He says, “I guess people find the prospect of watching a shrimp exercise on a treadmill amazing.”
No. 89 Seventh Avenue in Greenwich, New York is causing a stir.
The British guerrilla artist Banksy created a store called “The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill“ but this pet store is different. It has animatronic animals…er…forms that use to be animals, doing what the alive animal should technically be doing. A leopard print coat breathing and waving it’s tail, a gorilla watching to wild gorilla’s going at it on the Discovery Channel 24/7, hot dogs in reptile cages (who really knows what’s in a hot dog anyways?) Chicken McNuggets dipping themselves in sauce. Enough said.
Hard to envision, so have a gander at it yourself and let me know what you think.
Up until July, no one knew what this artist looked like but we have learned that he actually used to be a butcher. Makes sense right?
In an official press release, Banksy explained, “I wanted to make art that questioned our relationship with animals and the ethics and sustainability of factory farming but it ended up as chicken nuggets singing.”
This exhibit is open daily from 10am to midnight until Halloween so if you are in New York, check it out!
Support chocolate manufacturers who ONE: use genetically modified beet sugar, who TWO: puts out a food product that contains pesticides and THREE: who supports the use Child Slave labour.
Hershey and M&M/Mars are the two biggest chocolate manufacturers in North America and these are the chocolate manufacturers I am talking about.
These are pretty bold accusations I am making and just so you don’t think I’m telling tall-tales, allow me to explain…
ISSUE ONE: GM Foods. Anything genetically modified is not good - Genetically Modified Foods: Just Say No! This is a huge issue that has been around since the early 1990’s and the controversy that surrounds GM crops are numerous. But to summarize, the arguments focus on: long-term health of consumers, and environmental safety and conservation, labeling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction, and potential disruption or even possible destruction of the food chain.
*The real reason for use of GM foods? MONEY*
ISSUE TWO: GM Beet Sugar. I bring this to your attention because if you were to read the wrapper of that Kit-Kat bar you just scarfed down, you will NOT see the 1 ingredient that is most harmful you - GENETICALLY MODIFIED BEET SUGAR.
Sugar beets are grown on only about 1.3 million acres by about 10,000 farmers in the United States, mainly in Northern states from Oregon to Michigan. They have been genetically altered (along with maize, canola, soybean, rice, potatoes, tomatoes…the list is scary) and what that means is the DNA of the vegetable has been changed so it can withstand large amounts of RoundUp weed and insect killer. Before this modification, farmers - such as Robert Green - walked a very fine line between keeping the weeds at bay, and killing their crops. GM cures this issue but along with that cure comes serious complications. So basically, altering the DNA of the vegetable allows the farmer to use more RoundUp on the food…soooo…ya. No amount of argument will convince me that the chemicals from RoundUp aren’t absorbed into the plants root system. The scariest ingredient in the RoundUp is Glyphosate that has been linked to cancer.
*The real reason for use of GM sugar beet foods? MONEY*
ISSUE THREE: Child Slavery. While little 12-year-old Annie sits there savouring the chocolate flavour of the Aero Bar she just stole from her brother’s Halloween candy stock-pile, there are children in West Africa, from Côte d’Ivoire (or Ivory Coast), who are sold into slavery to harvest cocoa beans under extreme abuse and inhumane conditions. American University in Washington, DC has done some extensive research on the topic of child trafficking, slavery that you should take the time to read - Chocolate and Slavery.
*The real reason for use of cocoa from a child slavery driven economy? MONEY*
IRONY 101. I now ask you to read Mars’5 core Principles. (I personally like “Efficiency: we use resources to the full, waste nothing and do only what we can do best“) and scan through Hershey’s list of Code of Conduct. HA!
I admit that writing this article has taught me a lot about chocolate and I may have to go back and review my obsession for Mint Chocolate Chip goodies (live and learn right?) and on that note, if you still like chocolate you can still eat it. Just buy the organic chocolate that does it’s best to be pure of form, not containing anything harmful to humans or the environment, LISTS where the cocoa comes from - like this Chocolate Lovers Choose Organic. And just to drive the point home again, send them an email asking them to stop!
