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6 Reasons Why You Should Avoid Quail Eggs

The small speckled eggs are trendy and are often advertised as superfood. However, the truth behind the quail eggs looks murky. We explain why you should stay away from quail eggs and quail meat.

Quails are the smallest of all gallinaceous birds, their eggs weigh just ten to twelve grams. The pretty mini-sized eggs can be prepared like chicken eggs, but their taste is a bit more intense.

Both the eggs and the quail meat are becoming increasingly popular. While quail eggs used to only be an exclusive delicacy in delicatessens, eggs have now become something of a trend food item and are available in almost every supermarket and discounter. They are often referred to as superfood, as they contain many minerals, trace elements and vitamins.

Here’s what you should know about quail eggs

However, many people do not realize how sad the circumstances are under which the birds eke out their existence.

1. There is no cage ban when keeping quail

Actually hard to believe: What is forbidden for laying hens and broilers is allowed for quail. In the EU there is neither a cage ban nor far-reaching regulations for keeping quail. 143 million quail are said to be kept in unstructured cages in the EU.

There they live crammed together in a very small space and can hardly stand up. Behavioral disorders and injuries are the order of the day, according to the German Animal Welfare Office.

In addition to cages, Soko Tierschutz also criticizes the way fattened quails are kept on the ground, which shows that this form of husbandry is just as cruel as keeping them in cages: “More than 100,000 quails are usually kept in a hall, painfully cramped, only artificial light, that too burns in the night, no chance for weak animals.”

In the wild, quail spend much of the day on the move: walking, running, flying, pecking for food and bathing in the sand.

No labeling of quail eggs

The EU marketing standard for chicken eggs is not mandatory for quail eggs. In the past, quail eggs were often found to be incorrectly labeled: the packs said “barn farming”, but the eggs came from cage farming. “Even the term ‘free range’ is not necessarily comparable to free-range chickens,” explains the German Animal Welfare Association.

Quail eggs come from factory farming

Like laying hens, quail are bred on a large scale – and the market for the small eggs is anything but small: in Germany alone, more than 40 million quail eggs are consumed every year. Most of them come from cage batteries.

High performance breeding in quail

High-performance breeding also entails animal welfare problems, explains the German Animal Welfare Association: “While wild quail only lay ten to 15 eggs a year, hens of the specially bred laying line ‘produce’ almost 200 eggs during their short ‘useful life’ of a maximum of 38 weeks before they be slaughtered.”

This abnormal laying performance means that the birds often suffer from peritonitis and inflammation of the fallopian tubes.

Little egg for much animal suffering

Animal suffering cannot be offset. But since the small quail eggs weigh just over ten grams, the animal suffering from quail eggs is disproportionately high compared to chicken eggs (50 to 60 grams). At least if you want to get full from the eggs.

Quail eggs travel far

Quail eggs are still often not from Germany – about half of the eggs are imported from abroad. This makes the keeping conditions even less comprehensible. In addition, there are long distances that pollute the climate.

Utopia advises: Quail eggs are another example of the fact that the consumption of animal products is often associated with a great deal of misery and suffering for the animals. Even with laying hens, conventional husbandry is cruel, with quail it is even more torture.

The Albert Schweitzer Foundation warns that organic quail eggs are not automatically a good solution either. Here, too, the animals live and die “often under poor conditions”. Quail farming is still miles away from initiatives such as dual-purpose chickens and brother roosters for more compatible chicken farming. Therefore, our tip here is very clear: It is best to avoid quail eggs altogether!

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Food

6 Good Reasons to Give Up Fish

Healthy, tasty, an unprocessed natural product – fish is a regular part of our menu. Or? There are also good reasons not to eat fish.

Fishing is destructive

Whether or not fish feel pain is a matter of debate. However, the mere possibility that they might suffer makes most of today’s capture, breeding and killing methods seem cruel. As a rule, the fish slowly drown, suffocate or bleed to death.

Perhaps more importantly, many fishing methods involve large amounts of bycatch. It is often larger fish such as rays or sharks, but mammals such as whales and dolphins, turtles and seabirds also regularly perish in the nets and lines. Depending on the fishing method and the species being fished, up to 90 percent of a catch can be by-catch. It is estimated that bycatch could account for up to 40 percent of the world catch.

The marine ecosystem is also suffering: many of the fishing methods used in industrial fishing cause serious damage to the oceans. Various types of bottom trawls, which are towed along the seabed, are particularly widespread. They leave deep furrows in the seabed, destroy rock formations and coral reefs and thus the habitat of numerous species.

In addition, according to experts, these bottom trawls release huge amounts of CO2 directly from the seabed. Every year, twice the amount of carbon dioxide escapes that Germany produced in 2020. The CO2 escapes into the water and contributes to the acidification of the oceans.

The seas are empty

Most of the fish that end up on our plates come from overfished stocks. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost 35 percent of the world’s fish stocks are currently overfished. Around 60 percent of the fish stocks are used to the limit – that is, the stocks can just about be preserved, an increase in catches would lead to overfishing. “Overfished” means that more fish are caught than can “come naturally” and stocks are declining.

In recent decades, commercial fishing has pushed a large number of marine life to the brink of extinction – not least due to the high levels of bycatch. This development not only disrupts the natural ecosystem of the oceans, but also widens the gap between developing and industrialized countries. Because European super trawlers have long been fishing the coastal waters off Africa and South America empty and African fish are flown halfway around the world.

According to the FAO, the stocks of popular edible fish species such as cod, mackerel, anchovies, Pacific pollack (“Alaska pollock”) and tuna are largely at the limit or even overfished. More than 30 percent of the stocks of the seven most important tuna species alone are considered overfished. In the Mediterranean, more than 90 percent of the fish stocks are overfished.

Excessive fishing affects the ecological balance of the oceans. Large fish are particularly popular for consumption. When industrial fisheries catch large amounts of it, the natural composition of the so-called food web changes. For example, if predatory fish such as tuna are missing, populations of smaller fish will spread. According to the WWF, the worst that can happen is a destabilization of the food chain.

Tip: In the regularly updated WWF fish guide or the fish guide from the consumer advice centers, the organization lists which types of fish are (still) recommended and which are not.

Aquaculture is factory farming

According to the FAO, around half of the fish consumed worldwide now comes from aquaculture. Although these are often mentioned as an ecological alternative, they are often just as unsustainable as wild capture.

Aquaculture can help to conserve endangered stocks, but it has some typical characteristics and problems of factory farming. Bred for rapid growth, the animals are kept in confined spaces, either in artificial ponds or in cages in open water.

Because this makes them susceptible to disease, they are often treated with antibiotics and other drugs, residues of which can also be found in the fillet. The excretions of the fish pollute the waters and lead to over-fertilization. Particularly “open” aquaculture systems in the sea or in rivers harbor the risk of polluting the surrounding waters with leftover feed, faeces, medicines and chemicals.

In addition, predatory fish such as salmon or trout in farms are often fed with wild-caught fish or feed derived from them, which further drives overfishing of the seas. In some cases, several kilos of fish protein are required as feed per kilo of edible fish – according to Greenpeace, for example, for one kilo of farmed tuna around 20 kilos of feed.

Some popular edible fish such as pangasius and tilapia are now almost exclusively farmed in aquaculture – often in Asia. In 2011, an ARD documentary revealed how pangasius farming in Vietnam used antibiotics and chemicals uncontrolled and polluted the waters.

Another problem: Large areas of mangrove forest are being cleared in Asia and Central America for fish farms. “Around a third of the world’s mangrove populations have been destroyed since the 1980s.

The seals are weak

Just like for other foods (read also: When organic is really organic), a number of seals have now been established for fish products, which are intended to offer consumers orientation.

The most common seal is that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). According to the MSC, the certified companies must fish for fish stocks sustainably and using environmentally friendly methods. The organization has thus made a contribution to ensuring that sustainability plays a role as a criterion for the fishing industry, trade and consumers.

Nevertheless, the MSC is repeatedly criticized, among other things because it is supposed to allow industrial fishing of overfished stocks and destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawls.

The EU regulation for organic aquaculture from 2009 sets some sensible minimum criteria, but experts consider those for stocking density and chemicals to be too weak.

The two certification systems ASC and GLOBAL G.A.P. there are gaps in the sustainability standards for fish from aquaculture, for example with regard to the origin of the feed.

The relatively widespread SAFE seal certifies only “dolphin-safe” caught tuna, but does not take into account overfishing of the stocks or the fishing method.

Unfortunately, the strictest certifications are hardly widespread: the guidelines of the organic associations Naturland (aquaculture and wild fish) and Bioland (aquaculture).

Fishing leaves garbage in the sea

Huge amounts of nets are used for the huge catches worldwide. The nets used are mostly made of plastic fibers – and far too often they end up as garbage in the sea. There they float in the water as so-called “ghost nets” or get caught on reefs and rocks.

The abandoned nets usually get into the sea by mistake, storms or boat accidents. But it also happens, according to the WWF, that fisheries dispose of old nets in the sea. The nets remain on the seabed for hundreds of years and contribute to plastic pollution in the oceans – also by releasing microplastics.

Aside from pollution, ghost nets pose a massive threat to marine life. They eat small bits of plastic that come off the nets, or they get caught in the nets, injuring themselves or dying.

According to a Greenpeace report from 2019, around 640,000 tons of nets are lost or disposed of in the oceans every year. Around six percent of all nets used are lost every year and end up as marine litter. Fishing gear is said to account for around ten percent of all plastic entering the oceans today.

Fish is not as healthy as you think

Fish once or twice a week? Most nutrition experts agree: fish is healthy for humans. It is undisputed that fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and that these are important for human nutrition.

But not only fish, but also some vegetable foods and oils contain omega-3 fatty acids, for example linseed oil, hemp oil, rapeseed oil, wheat germ oil and walnuts as well as special preparations from microalgae. Iodine, vitamin D and proteins, which are abundant in fish, can also be easily ingested from plant sources.

Under certain circumstances, pollutants can also be found in fish in addition to all the healthy substances. Heavy metals such as mercury, industrial toxins such as PCBs (polychlorinated diphenyls) and dioxins, but also the smallest plastic particles (microplastics), antibiotics and pesticides are regularly found in fish of various origins. In particular, predatory fish such as tuna, salmon, swordfish or pike are affected. The Federal Ministry for the Environment therefore advises pregnant women not to eat some types of fish.

Which fish can you eat now?

Giving up fish is the safest choice for the environment. Fish is also not a must for your own health. Anyone who is concerned with habits or taste will find many vegan fish substitutes on the market today.

Anyone who does not (yet) want to do without fish completely should pay attention to a few things when buying:

The WWF shopping guide provides an assessment of which fish species from which stocks and fishing methods are (still) acceptable from an environmental point of view. You have to look closely at the ratings, because some restrictions apply. In the past it was criticized that the WWF was too uncritical of the MSC, but the association is now complaining about shortcomings. Without major restrictions, the WWF only recommends carp and African catfish from European aquaculture.
The relatively new fish guide from the consumer centers (here as a PDF) also provides good orientation. It takes slightly fewer fish species into account, but is sometimes a bit stricter than the WWF in its assessment.
The organic farming associations Naturland and Bioland certify sustainably caught or farmed fish. Their guidelines are very strict, but the seals are not very widely used at the moment. You can find certified products in health food stores.
Just like meat, fish is actually a luxury product, which means: if you buy it at all, it’s better to buy it seldom and of good quality.

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Cooking Tips

Make Bubble Tea Yourself: 5 Good Reasons and a Recipe

Colorful drinks with wobbly balls: bubble tea is back in fashion. We’ll show you here why it’s better to just make it yourself than to buy it.

Already ten years ago it was the trend drink par excellence in Germany: bubble tea. Freely translated, this means ball or pearl tea. The liquid refreshment comes from Asia, more precisely from Taiwan. Bubble tea has been there for more than 25 years. The special thing about it: in addition to tea, milk and syrup, small balls make the bubble tea what it is.

The classic version of the bubbles consists of tapioca pearls. These are made from maple syrup mixed with tapioca flour and cooked. The bubbles turn black because the syrup caramelizes.

Tapioca flour consists of ground cassava roots, which are often referred to as “tropical potatoes”. The tapioca flour is relatively neutral, the flavor comes from mixing with the syrup. The consistency of the pearls resembles that of jello.

There are now other options on the market: on the one hand, there are the “Popping Bobas”. They are filled with fruit juice and will burst if you bite into them. There are also “jellies” made from coconut flesh and fruit juice.

Why you should make bubble tea yourself

As tasty and trendy as the soft drink may be, there are good reasons not to buy commercial bubble tea. In addition to very obvious points such as the plastic packaging, there are also many hidden ingredients in Bubble Tea that are not necessarily obvious at first glance.

If you still feel like having the drink from time to time, you can make it yourself with just a few ingredients. This is how you decide what goes into the tea and how you serve it.

Plastic cup and straw: the packaging of bubble tea

Bubble tea shops usually offer little space and are designed according to the to-go principle. This means that the drink is filled into plastic cups and customers take it with them. But that’s not all: the lid of the cup is made of a thin plastic film into which a plastic straw is inserted.

Not exactly timely when you consider that an EU-wide ban on single-use plastic, which also affects plastic straws, is to come into force in July 2021. Because if you use plastic, you harm both the environment and your health. Because plastic contains many chemicals that can get into your body, according to the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND). The additives are not firmly embedded in the plastic and are therefore particularly easy to remove from the cup and straw.

Packaging waste in particular poses a problem, as it is thrown away after it has been used once. It accounts for around a third of the plastic waste we produce; according to BUND, only a little is recycled.

Sugar content as high as cola

Tea and milk – actually, the main ingredients of bubble tea seem to be quite healthy. In fact, bubble tea contains about the same amount of sugar and calories as cola: a 500-milliliter cup of the trend drink contains between 300 and 500 calories, depending on the variety; the sugar content is up to 60 grams.

For comparison: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum of 50 grams of sugar per day for adults. With a cup of bubble tea, this need is already covered, if not exceeded. For children and adolescents, the recommended intake of sugar is even lower.

As a consumer, you quickly underestimate the sugar content of bubble tea: the drinks are enriched with ice cubes, which weaken the sweet taste. If you make the bubble tea yourself, you can better control the sugar content.

Ingredients of Bubble Tea

From colorants and flavorings to acidifiers and preservatives – according to Stiftung Warentest, bubble tea contains numerous artificial ingredients. The survey was released during the first wave of bubble tea trends in 2012. However, the results are still usable, because the ingredients have not changed much.

There are also shops that use tea powder instead of fresh tea to prepare bubble tea. This creates a variety of tastes. The downside of the coin: the powders contain more chemical additives than natural teas. In the homemade bubble tea you can rely on natural ingredients.

Caffeine content in bubble tea

Black and green teas contain theine – a special name for the stimulant caffeine. Since green or black tea forms the basis for many bubble teas, the soft drinks also contain large amounts of caffeine. The stimulating effect is usually similar to that of cola, but is usually not marked when bubble tea is sold.

The problem with this is that children and young people in particular drink bubble tea. And caffeinated drinks are not suitable for them, according to the Association for Independent Health Advice (UGB).

Danger of choking from bubbles

As attractive as the bubbles make the tea, they can be life-threatening. Because the beads with a diameter of eight to eleven millimeters are very slippery and sometimes difficult to chew on.

The danger is increased by the straws: They are extra wide so that the balls can fit through. Due to the suction, the beads can get directly into the trachea and lungs. The situation in children is so alarming that the professional association of paediatricians in Germany advocated a warning on the cups with bubble tea in 2012. Adults can also choke on the bubbles.

If you make bubble tea yourself and want to serve it to children, make sure to use low-caffeine tea and do not offer it to young children.

Make bubble tea yourself

Although the above points make bubble tea questionable: you don’t have to do without the soft drink. With our simple recipe you can make it yourself and thus pay attention to natural ingredients and a low sugar content – you can do without the plastic cup and straw.

For all ingredients, make sure to use products with organic and fair trade seals – especially with tea, which you use as the basis for the drink. We particularly recommend the Naturland, Bioland and Demeter seals, as the certified products have to meet very strict environmental protection criteria. You can use black or green tea, but any other variety of your choice also tastes good as bubble tea.

To make the balls you need Tapioca Starch. Regional alternatives are corn starch or potato starch.

Caution: Homemade bubble tea is also unsuitable for small children, as they can choke on the balls.

Ingredients:

60 g tapioca, corn or potato starch
30 ml maple syrup
700 ml tea
300 ml vegetable milk
ice cubes
Honey, agave syrup or maple syrup for sweetening

Directions:

First you make the tapioca pearls. Put the starch in a bowl with the maple syrup.
Knead the ingredients into a homogeneous, caramel-colored mass.
Form hazelnut-sized balls from the syrup-starch mixture.
Boil water in a saucepan.
Put the balls in the water and let them cook for 20 minutes. Keep stirring every now and then.
If the bubbles have a jelly-like consistency, you can pour them into a colander. Then rinse the balls thoroughly with cold water. Tip: If you don’t use your bubbles straight away, you should store them in syrup so that they don’t stick together.
brew the tea It can be a little stronger, as the ice cubes will dilute it.
Divide the tea, bubbles, ice and milk into glasses. To sweeten, you can add honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup to taste.

Bubble tea sometimes fruity

To serve the bubble tea, you can put tall spoons or straws made of glass or metal into the glasses.

If you want to give your drink a fruity note, you can reduce the amount of tea and add a fresh juice of your choice to the bubble tea instead.

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Food

Coffee is Healthy: You Should Know These 10 Reasons!

A coffee a day saves the doctor? Well, not quite. But the delicious pick-me-up has a number of positive effects on your health. Read here why you should definitely drink coffee!

1. Coffee contains antioxidants

Wow: According to a British study, the brown pick-me-up contains more than 1,000 bioactive substances that can have a positive effect on health. As the researchers announce in the “British Medical Journal”, three to four cups a day are ideal, for example to prevent chronic diseases. This amount reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by 15 percent.

2. Coffee may lower the risk of diabetes

Regular coffee consumption lowers the risk of diabetes – at least for some people. Prerequisite: You are a carrier of a gene variant in which a certain intestinal hormone has only a limited effect. This, in turn, increases your risk of developing diabetes. Coffee stimulates the release of this hormone and can thus compensate for this impairment, according to the assumption of a research group from the German Institute for Nutritional Research. According to their study, the risk of illness decreases by up to about seven percent with every cup of coffee drunk every day.

3. Coffee can protect the skin from cell damage

Some ingredients in coffee can apparently protect against cell damage from UVB radiation. This is shown by a mammoth American study, for which around half a million people logged their dietary habits and UV exposure over a period of ten years. According to the researchers, the evaluations show that four or more cups of coffee a day reduce the risk of skin cancer by around 20 percent.

4. Coffee increases concentration

Can’t get going in the morning? Or have an afternoon slump? Of course: time for a coffee! Because the pick-me-up promotes concentration. This is because caffeine increases the effects and amount of neurotransmitters and thus brain activity. You can increase reaction time as well as general alertness and alertness by enjoying an espresso or cappuccino.

5. Coffee is good for the brain

Mentally fit into old age: According to a Canadian study, coffee consumption reduces the likelihood of developing dementia such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. This is said to be due to certain compounds that are formed when the beans are roasted.

6. Coffee stimulates the metabolism

Coffee is not only healthy, it’s also good for your figure – assuming, of course, that you use milk and sugar sparingly. Caffeine stimulates the metabolism and contributes to the food being consumed more intensively.

7. Coffee contains niacin

Coffee is one of the foods with a particularly large amount of niacin, also known as vitamin B3. This vitamin is involved in vital processes in the body, such as metabolism, cell division and the immune system. A cup of coffee covers about five to ten percent of an adult’s daily niacin requirement.

8. Coffee protects against tooth decay

According to researchers at the University of Ancona, several ingredients kill tooth decay-causing bacteria. Above all, chlorogenic acid, nicotinic acid and trigonelline help to prevent the formation of harmful plaque, as the scientists demonstrated in the laboratory. So coffee can contribute to dental health – unsweetened, of course.

9. Coffee helps hydration

That coffee robs the body of fluid is a myth that persists. It’s true that caffeine has a diuretic effect. But the only effect is that coffee drinkers have to urinate more frequently. That being said, coffee contributes to your hydration just as much as water.

10. Coffee makes you happy

It’s no secret that good coffee makes you happy. On the one hand, it simply lifts the spirits – starting with the delicious scent and ending with the fantastic aroma. Apart from that, the caffeine also stimulates the release of endogenous happiness hormones, among other things it releases dopamine.

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Culture

Five Good Reasons for a Coffee Break in the Office

For many employees, the coffee break is part of working hours and is enjoyed either with colleagues, during a chat or on a short walk with a coffee to go. A coffee break during working hours always makes sense, whether it’s a cappuccino, café latte or espresso, coffee has many good qualities. Whether you enjoy your coffee alone or with your co-workers in the office, a coffee break can work wonders. We tell you five good reasons for a coffee break and give you helpful tips on how to get your caffeine kick.

Coffee lowers blood pressure

Whether you love latte or are a fan of the “little black one”, you can’t go wrong with a coffee break. Even if it has a reputation for getting the blood racing, coffee has a positive effect on our blood pressure in the long term and is therefore particularly effective during a stressful day at work. So don’t be fooled and include a little coffee break.

In this way you ensure that you can go back to your tasks with more relaxation. Just one cup a day lowers blood pressure, but of course you should not overdo it with consumption.

Coffee increases the ability to concentrate

If you find your eyelids getting heavy and you don’t know what task you were about to complete, it might be time for a coffee break. The caffeine in coffee has a vasodilating effect, allowing more blood to flow to the brain and stimulating the central nervous system.

This better supply brings an energy boost and the well-known stimulant effect that makes coffee famous.

Drinking coffee brings you together

Of course, you can also enjoy your coffee in private – but it’s more sociable to drink it together with colleagues, so make an appointment with your colleagues for a coffee break. You can relax for a moment and recharge your batteries for your working day.

Taking a coffee break together has other benefits too, as it allows you to get to know your colleagues better, and drinking coffee in good company brings you together as a team and promotes a pleasant atmosphere in the team. Create a connection between enjoying coffee and office work, you can not only discuss private topics, but also discuss important tasks or even the last quarterly report over a delicious cup of coffee. As you can see, the coffee break can enrich your everyday office life and have a lot of positive effects, try it out!

Antioxidant Boost

Even if some people say that coffee has an unhealthy effect, it has been proven that our coffee contains antioxidants. Antioxidants have an important physiological meaning due to their effect as radical scavengers. These free radicals are considered to be partly responsible for the accelerated aging process and various cardiovascular diseases because they damage the body’s own molecules. So when we take a coffee break during work hours, we help our body protect itself from diseases.

Luckily with deceleration

If you spend all day staring at the flickering screen, answering emails every second and one call chasing the next, then it is definitely time for a coffee break during the stressful working hours in the office and in the home office. How about some coffee yoga, for example? While the water is bubbling through the coffee machine, just stretch and stretch a bit.

Or rocking back and forth on your toes with the hot cup in your hand and relaxing your neck between two sips: the coffee break can be used as a little slowing down of everyday work in the office or in the home office and helps us to return to our tasks refreshed .

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Food

6 Good Reasons to Give Up Fish

Healthy, tasty, and unprocessed natural product – fish is a regular part of our menu. Or? There are also good reasons not to eat fish.

Fishing is destructive

Whether or not fish feel pain is a matter of debate. However, the mere possibility that they might suffer makes most of today’s capture, breeding and killing methods seem cruel. As a rule, the fish slowly drown, suffocate or bleed to death.

Perhaps more importantly, many fishing methods involve large amounts of bycatch. It is often larger fish such as rays or sharks, but mammals such as whales and dolphins, turtles and seabirds also regularly perish in the nets and lines. Depending on the fishing method and the species being fished, up to 90 percent of a catch can be by-catch. It is estimated that bycatch could account for up to 40 percent of the world catch.

The marine ecosystem is also suffering: Many of the fishing methods used in industrial fishing cause serious damage to the oceans. Various types of bottom trawls, which are towed along the seabed, are particularly widespread. They leave deep furrows in the seabed, and destroy rock formations and coral reefs and thus the habitat of numerous species.

In addition, according to experts, these bottom trawls release huge amounts of CO2 directly from the seabed. Every year, twice the amount of carbon dioxide escapes that Europe produced in 2020. The CO2 escapes into the water and contributes to the acidification of the oceans.

The seas are empty

Most of the fish that end up on our plates come from overfished stocks. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost 35 percent of the world’s fish stocks are currently overfished. Around 60 percent of the fish stocks are used to the limit – that is, the stocks can just about be preserved, an increase in catches would lead to overfishing. “Overfished” means that more fish are caught than can “come naturally” and stocks are declining.

In recent decades, commercial fishing has pushed a large number of marine life to the brink of extinction – not least due to the high levels of bycatch. This development not only disrupts the natural ecosystem of the oceans, but also widens the gap between developing and industrialized countries. Because European super trawlers have long been fishing the coastal waters off Africa and South America empty and African fish are flown halfway around the world.

According to the FAO, the stocks of popular edible fish species such as cod, mackerel, anchovies, Pacific pollack (“Alaska pollock”) and tuna are largely at the limit or even overfished. More than 30 percent of the stocks of the seven most important tuna species alone are considered overfished. In the Mediterranean, more than 90 percent of the fish stocks are overfished.

Excessive fishing affects the ecological balance of the oceans. Large fish are particularly popular for consumption. When industrial fisheries catch large amounts of it, the natural composition of the so-called food web changes. For example, if predatory fish such as tuna are missing, populations of smaller fish will spread. According to the WWF, the worst case scenario is a destabilization of the food chain.

Tip: In the regularly updated WWF fish guide or the fish guide from the consumer advice centers, the organization lists which types of fish are (still) recommended and which are not.

Aquaculture is factory farming

According to the FAO, around half of the fish consumed worldwide now comes from aquaculture. Although these are often mentioned as an ecological alternative, they are often just as unsustainable as wild capture.

Aquaculture can help to conserve endangered stocks, but they have some typical characteristics and problems of factory farming. Bred for rapid growth, the animals are kept in confined spaces, either in artificial ponds or in cages in open water.

Because this makes them susceptible to disease, they are often treated with antibiotics and other drugs, residues of which can also be found in the fillet. The excretions of the fish pollute the waters and lead to over-fertilization. Particularly “open” aquaculture systems in the sea or in rivers harbor the risk of contaminating the surrounding waters with leftover feed, faeces, medicines and chemicals.

In addition, predatory fish such as salmon or trout in farms are often fed with wild-caught fish or feed derived from them, which further drives overfishing of the seas. In some cases, several kilos of fish protein are required as feed per kilo of edible fish – according to Greenpeace, for example, for one kilo of farmed tuna around 20 kilos of feed.

Some popular edible fish such as pangasius and tilapia are now almost exclusively farmed in aquaculture – often in Asia. In 2011, an ARD documentary revealed how pangasius farming in Vietnam used antibiotics and chemicals uncontrolled and polluted the waters.

Another problem: Large areas of mangrove forest are being cleared in Asia and Central America for fish farms. “Around a third of the world’s mangrove populations have been destroyed since the 1980s.

The seals are weak

Just like for other foods, a number of seals have now been established for fish products, which are intended to offer consumers orientation.

The most common seal is that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). According to the MSC, the certified companies must fish for fish stocks sustainably and use environmentally friendly methods. The organization has thus made a contribution to ensuring that sustainability plays a role as a criterion for the fishing industry, trade, and consumers.

Nevertheless, the MSC is repeatedly criticized, among other things because it is supposed to allow industrial fishing of overfished stocks and destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawls.

The EU regulation for organic aquaculture from 2009 sets some sensible minimum criteria, but experts consider those for stocking density and chemicals to be too weak.

The two certification systems ASC and GLOBAL G.A.P. there are gaps in the sustainability standards for fish from aquaculture, for example with regard to the origin of the feed.

The relatively widespread SAFE seal certifies only “dolphin-safe” caught tuna, but does not take into account overfishing of the stocks or the fishing method.

Unfortunately, the strictest certifications are hardly widespread: the guidelines of the organic associations Naturland (aquaculture and wild fish) and Bioland (aquaculture).

Fishing leaves garbage in the sea

Huge amounts of nets are used for the huge catches worldwide. The nets used are mostly made of plastic fibers – and far too often they end up as garbage in the sea. There they float in the water as so-called “ghost nets” or get caught on reefs and rocks.

The abandoned nets usually get into the sea by mistake, storms or boat accidents. But it also happens, according to the WWF, that fisheries dispose of old nets in the sea. The nets remain on the seabed for hundreds of years and contribute to plastic pollution in the oceans – also by releasing microplastics.

Aside from pollution, ghost nets pose a massive threat to marine life. They eat small bits of plastic that come off the nets, or they get caught in the nets, injuring themselves or dying.

According to a Greenpeace report from 2019, around 640,000 tons of nets are lost or disposed of in the oceans every year. Around six percent of all nets used are lost every year and end up as marine litter. Fishing gear is said to account for around ten percent of all plastic entering the oceans today.

Fish is not as healthy as you think

Fish once or twice a week? Most nutrition experts agree: fish is healthy for humans. It is undisputed that fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and that these are important for human nutrition.

But not only fish, but also some vegetable foods and oils contain omega-3 fatty acids, for example linseed oil, hemp oil, rapeseed oil, wheat germ oil and walnuts as well as special preparations from microalgae. Iodine, vitamin D and proteins, which are abundant in fish, can also be easily ingested from plant sources.

Under certain circumstances, pollutants can also be found in fish in addition to all the healthy substances. Heavy metals such as mercury, industrial toxins such as PCBs (polychlorinated diphenyls) and dioxins, but also the smallest plastic particles (microplastics), antibiotics and pesticides are regularly found in fish of various origins. In particular, predatory fish such as tuna, salmon, swordfish or pike are affected.

Which fish can you eat now?

Giving up fish is the safest choice for the environment. Fish is also not a must for your own health. Anyone who is concerned with habits or taste will find many vegan fish substitutes on the market today.

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Food

10 Reasons Why Mangosteen is Considered The Most Delicious Fruit

The most delicious fruit in the world is quite rightly considered mangosteen (mangosteen or garcinia, the Latin name for Garcinia mangostana). These wonderful fruits grow on evergreen trees in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The size of a fruit is the size of a small tangerine, has purple skin, and a snow-white pulp, similar to a delicate creamy dessert.

  1. Mangosteen is called the “queen of fruits”. The taste of the fruit is distinguished by a unique combination of pineapple, peach, apricot, strawberry, and mango.
  2. Botanist David Fairchild, Ph.D., spoke about his admiration for this delicacy, noting that he considers mangosteen the most delicious fruit in the world.
  3. And the famous Swedish scientist Eric Mieberg wrote about garcinia that it would be blasphemy even to try to describe the taste of these fruits, which are more suitable for gods than for humans. In addition to its wonderful taste, mangosteen has healing properties.
  4. For thousands of years, it has been used not only as food but also for the treatment of many diseases in China, Thailand, and other tropical countries.
  5. Mangosteen has the richest set of vitamins and is the world’s strongest antioxidant.
  6. The unique fruit can neutralize free radicals and boost immunity.
  7. The spectrum of ailments that mangosteen helps to eliminate is incredibly wide and varied.
  8. Today, scientists are researching to find out the possibility of using xanthones contained in fruits for the treatment of cancer.
  9. The mangosteen fruit is topped with a thick burgundy-purple inedible rind that contains a sticky coloring latex. Inside there is a white edible pulp, divided into four to eight segments, with seeds tightly attached to it.
  10. The taste of mangosteen is sweet, with a slight acidity, and is a combination of strawberry, peach, and vanilla ice cream.
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Food

6 Reasons Why You Should Definitely Eat Pears Now

While we eat apples all year round, autumn time is clearly also pear time. The fruit is now in season and tastes great either on its own or as an ingredient in savory or sweet dishes. We give you 6 reasons why you should definitely eat pears now.

1. Pears are high in fiber

Pears are among the most fiber-rich fruits. A medium-sized fruit contains about 6 grams of fiber. We should consume around 25 to 30 grams of fiber every day. Eating a pear every day, therefore, makes an important contribution to achieving this goal. Dietary fiber is important for digestion and also keeps you full for longer.

2. Pears are rich in vitamins

Pears contain a lot of vitamins that you can use in the autumn and winter time. It is not uncommon for people to catch a cold or the flu during this time. Not only vitamins A and C and various B vitamins are contained in pears, but the fruit also scores with minerals such as sulfur, copper, zinc, iodine, magnesium, and phosphorus.

3. Pears are easy to digest

Pears contain only about one to three grams of fruit acid per liter, so they taste sweeter than apples and are therefore among the most easily digestible types of fruit. Due to their stomach-friendliness, they are particularly suitable for children and babies, but also for sick or elderly people.

4. Pears are low in fat

Although there are lower-calorie types of fruit, pears are very low in fat. The fruits bring it to just half a gram of fat per 100 grams.

5. Pears contain Potassium & Calcium

Apples are often compared to pears. When it comes to the calorie balance, apples perform better, because a medium-sized apple has about 68 calories, while a pear has about 73 calories, but the autumn fruit scores points in terms of minerals. In addition to the minerals mentioned above, pears also have plenty of potassium and calcium. They therefore particularly stimulate the metabolism and have a purifying and draining effect.

6. Pears are rich in boron

Pears also contain the important and mostly neglected mineral boron. This is relevant for the body to store calcium. Calcium is particularly important for bone formation.

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Lifestyle

Using Old Coffee Grounds: 10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Throw Them Away

Many people can’t start the day without coffee – but what to do with all the used coffee grounds? We have 10 reasons for you why you shouldn’t get rid of him.

#1 Coffee grounds as a plastic-free scrub

Exfoliating the whole body from old coffee beans not only makes skin supple and smooth, but is also good for the environment. On the one hand, you save on the plastic packaging of the packed scrub, and on the other hand, your skin does not come into contact with microplastics or other unnatural ingredients. For the peeling, simply mix the coffee grounds with olive or coconut oil to create a crumbly paste and then use it in the shower.

#2 Touch up furniture scratches with coffee grounds

Moistening the coffee grounds slightly, mixing them with oil and then applying them to the scratches with a sponge or cotton swab will make most scratches invisible. The coffee grounds fill the grooves and the oil then closes them. Of course, this method is particularly suitable for dark furniture.

#3 Coffee grounds against unpleasant odors

The fridge smells like tuna, old cheese or other groceries? The coffee grounds can help because they neutralize unpleasant odors. Instead of disposing of the leftover coffee grounds, you can simply place them in a bowl in the fridge or kitchen. It almost magically attracts unpleasant smells.

#4 Coffee grounds as a natural fertilizer

Because coffee grounds contain many important nutrients such as potassium, phosphorus or nitrogen, they can also be used as fertilizer for indoor and garden plants. Hydrangeas, roses and blueberries in particular grow very well with coffee grounds. A positive side effect is that the coffee fertilizer attracts earthworms, which are known to loosen the soil and supply it with additional nutrients. However, you should be careful, because the coffee grounds must be completely dry, otherwise the plants can start to get moldy.

#5 Coffee grounds as snail protection

Because larger amounts of coffee can be deadly for snails, the molluscs try to avoid coffee and anything related to it. It is best to spread the coffee grounds in a ring around the beloved plants so that the snails are not tempted in the first place.

#6 Dye Easter eggs with coffee grounds

Instead of buying extra dye, you can simply use the coffee grounds for the brown color when dyeing eggs. Simply boil 50 to 70 grams of coffee grounds with two liters of water and simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add the raw eggs and wait another 10 minutes.

#7 Coffee grounds as an abrasive

Coffee grounds effectively clean burnt-in dirt, dirty grill grates and greasy baking tins. It’s easy to use: simply place the coffee grounds on a sponge, scrub the relevant surfaces and then rinse off with clear water. Deposits in bottles or thermos flasks can also be removed with coffee grounds: Simply put one or two tablespoons in the container, pour in hot water and leave to work.

#8 Coffee grounds as a hair treatment

Strong and shiny hair thanks to caffeine – just add some coffee grounds to your regular shampoo and lather the shampoo as usual. This trick is particularly recommended for dark hair types, since the coffee grounds are easier to see on very light hair.

#9 Reading the future with coffee grounds

The art of reading coffee grounds is said to originally go back to the Ottomans. A coffee with a lot of coffee grounds, for example a mocha, is ideal for this. Here you turn the coffee cup (preferably after drinking) on ​​the saucer. After a few minutes you can turn the cup over again and interpret the resulting patterns and lines accordingly. Depending on the interpretation, exciting messages of fate can be derived from this. Anyone who wants to take coffee grounds reading a bit more seriously should read something about it in a corresponding book.

#10 Clean the chimney with coffee grounds

Cozy winter evenings in front of the fireplace with a hot drink and a good book: the next day you usually just don’t feel like shoveling all the ashes out of the fireplace and cleaning everything. If you spread damp coffee grounds on the fireplace ash, the ash can be removed without any problems the next day.

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Lifestyle

Jog to Stay Fit: 4 Reasons Why Running is Good For You Right Now

Whether swimming pools, yoga or fitness studios: Most facilities that serve sporting activities are currently closed due to corona. But that’s no reason to hang up your sports shoes, because right now jogging is considered one of the most suitable sports.

4 reasons why jogging in Corona times is a good idea

Reason 1: No contacts – you train alone

You don’t necessarily need a partner for a run. To keep things interesting, you can listen to music or podcasts through headphones.

However, you may go outside with one person from your own household. Give other walkers or athletes a wide enough berth and choose paths that aren’t overly busy, such as country lanes or areas on the outskirts of town.

Reason 2: strengthening for the immune system

Running not only trains your muscles and cardiovascular system, but also your immune system. As a result, you don’t get sick as easily. Because when you jog, you not only absorb vitamin D from the sun, you also release killer cells and lymphocytes. These are immune cells that protect us from viruses and bacteria. Regular exercise therefore contributes to protection against diseases.

However, you should not exhaust yourself too much when running, you should not jog too fast or for too long – especially if you are a beginner. This overstrains the body and triggers the opposite effect (open windows effect): the body releases more of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which reduces the production of killer cells and lymphocytes. As a result, you are more susceptible to infections after exercising. It is therefore better to train at a slow to moderate pace and increase your distances instead of wanting to crack the ten-kilometer hurdle right away.

Reason 3: Exercise as a mood booster

The current situation is not easy for many and triggers inner stress. This means that in many people, the body is currently also increasingly producing the stress hormones just mentioned. Running can help here, because at a moderate pace it reduces the release of stress hormones and helps to clear your head.

In addition, when you run, your body produces more of the hormones norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. These happiness hormones avoid mood swings and create positive feelings in you – your mood improves.

Reason 4: All you need is shoes and a step outside the front door

Since (almost) all fitness studios, swimming pools and yoga studios are currently closed, there is not much else left to do (endurance) sports. Try it, give running a chance. All you need is sports shoes and breathable clothing. Nice weather and music or podcasts can motivate, as can progress, which becomes more noticeable from time to time.

Beginners can walk briskly for 20 to 30 minutes at the beginning. Gradually, you can alternate walking and jogging slowly for about a minute, walking for a minute. However, avoid doing this training on public sports facilities, as these are currently closed. It is better to find a path that is not too crowded and has enough sunshine.

Important: Only go jogging if you feel healthy enough to do so! When you have symptoms of illness, exertion damages the body and slows recovery. In such cases, it is better to rest and inform your family doctor.

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