Western Eye 05.14 — Issue 06
13
science & technology
food production. the search for sustainable food sources.
Entomophagy — not just yet thanks, it gives me the creepy crawlies
Could bugs make you look good this summer? jo thomas
scitech@westerneye.net
spring time is usually accompanied by mad fads and sadly disappointing attempts at attaining a ‘summer body’. In light of this, I couldn’t help but glance back at 2013’s widespread promotion of a slightly different kind of diet. No, not the 5:2, the 6:1 nor even the 7:0; this is a diet with a different sort of crunch. Entomophagy, a concept both hard to say, and for many, difficult to … er … swallow, is the practice of eating insects. It certainly got plenty of attention last year, so could eating insects be the newest shortcut to the summer body in 2014? I, for one, am not ready just yet. Before you judge me, let me stress, I am a firm believer in sustainability — I recycle, eat little meat and try to be as green as possible. Therefore, for me, entomophagy presents a dilemma. Many insect-crunching crusaders declare the numerous environmental benefits to be gained if we all switched to crunching critters: less greenhouse gas production, water use and farmland, fewer pesticides and a more efficient feed conversion rate. In an age of increasing populations and food prices, declining water supplies and global warming, a cheaper, greener and nutritional food source sounds pretty conclusive. So why the hesitation? In part because they are insects, yes. I’m sure I am not alone in admitting the thought of regularly putting these invertebrates into my mouth slightly revolting and hard to stomach. But, with practice, this is something I could overcome. However, my concerns go beyond hairy legs and slimy aftertastes; what concerns me most is safety. Surprisingly little is known about the food safety of entomophagy. Of the published
scientific literature, very few studies have considered safety or hazards from microbes, chemicals or parasites. Of these few, several found insects caused allergic reactions in some, particularly those with existing allergies to seafood. There are doubts over whether cooking them would alleviate this, and although allergic reactions are unlikely to affect us all, to someone already reluctant, this isn’t particularly encouraging. Even the un, who published an influential pro-entomophagy paper last May, admitted there has also been insufficient testing of insects in food or feed production for the risk of transmitting infections to humans. As insects are less closely related to us than traditional livestock, it has been assumed that zoonotic infections (those “shared in nature by humans and wild or domestic animals”, such as ‘bird flu’) are less likely. However, there is simply not enough research out there; assumptions alone don’t exactly make me want to look up recipes for tomorrow’s locust stir-fry. Yes, historically we’ve probably all done it, and two billion people worldwide are doing it regularly today (there are nearly 2000 different edible species to choose from). However, this is predominantly through traditional methods, where insects are harvested in the wild. These methods have enough safety concerns of their own, with some cases of high levels of pesticides and metal toxicities. However, to ease food security concerns and feed the expanding population, we are talking about producing insects en masse. This has, largely speaking, not been done before and rarely for human consumption. The few examples of insect farming in temperate zones are mostly family-run enterprises, predominantly for pet foods, and technology for processing them is virtually non-existent. Not overly convincing, I must admit.
There are nearly 2000 edible insect species to choose from
Switching to entomophagy could potentially lead to decreased greenhouse gas production, less environmental damage, increased sustainability and more efficient feed conversion rates
Of even greater concern is one of the highly esteemed benefits of entomophagy: insects could be fed from manure and organic waste streams.In terms of sustainability: fantastic. Food safety — or edibility-wise, much less desirable. Again, even advocates within the un admit this “raises bacteriological, mycological and toxicological concerns … which still have not been adequately researched.” More than a little worrying and although it has been claimed some of these risks could be overcome by hygienic handling and properly managed farms, how much trust can we have in farming and processing systems that have never been tried before? We struggle enough with producing protein sources we claim to know about; I doubt I need remind you of the horse-related controversy we were reeling from just last year. Nor the catastrophic case of bse not so very long ago. How can we trust novel and unpractised farming techniques, when long-established and supposedly well-regulated ones have been so neglected? A friend of mine recently bought locusts online, which arrived with a distinct lack of
preparation or cooking instructions. He was unsuccessful in contacting the supplier, and subsequently had to guess the preparation procedure. Combine this lack of experience with studies showing detrimental bacteria can survive boiling and a rather lacking regulatory framework for insect products, and I suspect problems will arise fairly promptly. Anyone who has also experienced an unpleasant partnership with cooking prawn-shaped invertebrates I’m sure will agree: the outcome could be both extremely undesirable and more than a little unsavoury. I applaud this effort to face our food, climate and sustainability problems, to raise public awareness and open up debate. However, as much as I want to grip entomophagy by the antennae and fully support it, I personally am going to need a little more scientific evidence and safety reassurance before I gobble those grubs and embark upon this unconventional diet. For this year at least, I’m sticking to a diet that doesn’t involve six legs, compound eyes or a crunchy exoskeleton. Entomophagy, better luck next year.
14
Western Eye 04.14 – Issue 06
Sport
sport — university competition and global sports
Is ‘Financial Fair Play’ working?
Alex Storey discusses the difficulty of enforcing Financial Fair Play in football
Uwe fall short in the Varsity Rugby Series
after. Uob evened the score with a penalty of their own leaving the score 10–10 at half-time. monday 31 st march saw the Unfortunately things went men’s and women’s first rugby downhill for uwe in the second teams of both uwe and University half. Uob opened the scoring after of Bristol (uob) face off at the a try, that from where we were Memorial Stadium, part of the sat, looked like it was knocked on Bristol Varsity series, and a battle before the line (call me bias if you will). With the conversion added, of superiority. The women went first with a uob moved ahead 17–10. Frustrations from uwe after good crowd there in support of both teams. Uwe started strongly a period of good attacking play with some good pressure and nice by uob came to a head when Teams like Manchester City are supposed to rein in their spending under the FFP regulations John Urquhart © play by the forwards, but soon uwe No.14 was red carded after The 2013/14 season marks the of Football League chairmen — enough uob’s women opened the a horrendous spear tackle which alex storey sport@westerneye.net first time that the club’s finan- and the prospect of at least £120 scoring and pretty much set the luckily left no one harmed, but on cial accounts will be scrutinised million to add to the coffers, it’s tone for the match; showing their any other day could have been a bring up the topic of finance in relation to their spending and not surprising that clubs will push superior pace out wide and better whole lot worse. Despite being a man down in football with fans and you are already there are fears that a for promotion at almost any cost. play from their backs. Similarly, for clubs at the top of Half time saw uwe trailing uwe defended well only leaking a likely to be met with a somewhat large percentage of British and European clubs have continued the Premier League, it is equally 15–0 but with the uob kicker converted try and a penalty. toxic reaction. imperative that Champions missing all her kicks uwe were Uwe had to play the final Fans of lower league clubs are spending beyond their means. The French media have League football is secured. This still very much in the game. A uob 5 minutes with 13 men after a particularly vocal in their distaste for big money in the game. Fans recently reported troubles for has taken on even more impor- try soon after the break left little sin-binning that lead to another try. The final score was 31–10. of Premier League clubs, yet to be oil-rich psg and there are grow- tance with bt Sport purchasing hope of a uwe comeback. Uwe’s ill-discipline was the Despite this uwe Women invested in by multi-millionaire ing concerns at Manchester City the television rights for the backers gaze up the table, yearn- as their lucrative commercial deal 2015/16 season in a record-break- didn’t give up and scored an real deciding factor in the match,. ing to be in the loftier reaches. with Etihad Airways is seen to be ing, mind-boggling deal worth interception try, ultimately uob Both teams were evenly matched continued to dominate, eventu- with 15 men and uwe more than Some may shrug and tell you it taking advantages of loopholes in £897 million over three years. Several Championship clubs, ally winning comfortably 32–07. held their own defensively with is better to be true to your roots the system. It all begs the question As the crowd grew so did the 14. Yet, as you may imagine, being than it is to be bankrolled to the about the necessity and effective- including Premier League-bound top, yet the majority of fans envy ness of the ffp measures. If a club Leicester City, have said that excitement for the men’s game stripped down to 13 men was the will continue to spend beyond its they will challenge any punish- with chants erupting from both final nail in the coffin. the success of their rivals. Overall, it was an entertaining Whichever way you look at it, means to buy new players, are the ments that are handed out in the uwe and uob supporters. The first big money has changed the game. threat of hefty fines likely to deter wake of the first ffp accounts. half saw both sides playing some evening of rugby with both the In order to stop league positions them from doing so in the future? This presents the trouble of excellent rugby. Uob opened the men’s and women’s teams doing Championship clubs have clubs having too much power. scoring after a well worked try uwe proud by not giving up in a being dictated by aggressive A system in which the main making up for a missed penalty by situation many would have. spending, Financial Fair Play to reveal their accounts by (ffp) was put in place to essen- December 2014, if they fall foul players are hell-bent on obstruct- their kicker shortly before hand. tially stop clubs spending beyond of the ffp rules they will face a ing the completion of the process Uwe soon fought back with a try Women 32–07 their means. In theory this means Football League transfer embargo, seems unlikely to succeed. If a of their own and a penalty shortly Men 31–10 that clubs should not make a loss, preventing them from making Championship rebellion against stopping clubs spending extrav- signings for twelve months. If ffp continues into the Premier agant amounts of money in an they are promoted, they will be League, then the proponents of it attempt to win the league, gain hit with a financial penalty by will be left with proverbial egg on promotion or stave off relegation. the Football League which will be their faces. With Premier League clubs not However, since ffp was first donated to charity. Some may point to the smaller having to declare their accounts brought to the table, there have been critics of the system, label- clubs and say it is geared towards until 2016, it will be a while before ling it unenforceable, convoluted making football a more level play- we find out whether ffp has been and ultimately doomed to failure. ing field and indeed 21 of the 24 successful at the highest level, Teams such as qpr have come Championship clubs voted for ffp but one suspects that they, alongin for particular criticism for to be introduced, indicating that side football’s governing bodies, their lavish spending in a pitiful there is a genuine willingness for will be watching the published accounts of Championship clubs attempt to stay in the Premier this to work. However, with the promised this December with bated breath. League, spending over £50 million on new players only to be rele- land of the Premier League — the carrot dangling under the noses gated with games to spare. uwe and uob face off in women’s rugby westerneye © tom williams
sport@westerneye.net
Western Eye 05.14 — Issue 06
15
sport
Out with the old, in with the new
George Chellis assesses 3 prospects for Rio 2014 george chellis
sport@westerneye.net
Luke Shaw
At 18 years old, Luke Shaw is without doubt the next prodigy of English football. Systematically humiliating hundreds of thousands of university students who have not yet become a professional and international standard footballer by 18, Shaw is one talent that we cannot afford to waste come June. Already the subject of intense summer speculation, in just one full season at Premier League level Shaw seems to have outgrown Southampton, the surprise package of the Premier League. Choosing Ashley Cole, an internationally acclaimed fullback earning his pay cheque twiddling his thumbs on the Chelsea bench, over Shaw would be madness. Although I am not denying Cole’s obvious ability, the choice between an 18 year old in the form of his life or a declining, underused 33-year-old is not a difficult one. Whether he is ready to replace Baines in the starting xi remains to be seen, but Shaw is undeniably deserved of a place. Ross Barkley
Seemingly the loan target of the Football League never to fully
realise his potential, Barkley has exploded on to the scene at just the right time. Benefiting massively from the faith instilled in him by the ever impressive Roberto Martinez, his Everton career has well and truly taken off, and he too finds himself subject to a metaphorical blizzard of transfer speculation. Quick, strong and skilful, Barkley has all the attributes a creative midfielder should have and every quality that England have been missing at every major tournament I can remember. Getting the recognition he deserves has not been an easy task, yet Barkley has given himself a great chance for selection, epitomising the form shown by the Everton squad as a whole in their push for Champions League football. In the sweltering heat in Rio, Barkley will thrive where others will wilt. He simply has to go. Raheem Sterling:
Plagued by off-field scandal and media speculation regarding his attitude, Sterling has all but silenced his critics with a string of potentially title winning performances at the top level this season. Much like Barkley, Sterling has repaid the faith given to him by a young ambitious manager and he owes a considerable amount of
World T20
Phil Mansell reviews the tournament and Sri Lanka’s first World T20 title phil mansell
sport@westerneye.net
england entered the tournament with little hope of making any impact but they managed to fall short of even these dreadfully low expectations. Apart from England’s victory against Sri Lanka, largely thanks to 116 from Alex Hales, England were dire. Slightly and unfortunately beaten against New Zealand on Duckworth/Lewis due to a huge thunderstorm, England were then surprisingly victorious against Sri Lanka. The renewed hope this win provided had no impact, as England fell three
runs short of South Africa’s 196 in a must-win game. This made England’s last game, against the minnows of Netherlands, a dead rubber. However, many noted in the build-up to the match that a defeat for England would be hugely damaging to Ashley Giles’ hope of being appointed England’s permanent Head Coach. England restricted the Netherlands to 133–5 from their 20 overs but in response collapsed almost immediately. They were all out for an absolutely abject 88, with their time at the tournament summed up by a calamitous run out, the final nail in the coffin for English crickets pride.
his praise to Brendan Rogers. Having said this, with pace and spontaneous creativity, Sterling stands out from the crowd of one-dimensional wingers that Roy Hodgson has to choose from. Replacing Andros Townsend as the go-to winger in the absence of Theo Walcott, Sterling must be selected for the squad and arguably start on 14th of June in our opening tie against Italy. Plus with Liverpool showing great form and oozing confidence, packing the starting xi with title challengers rather than mid-table battlers can only be a good thing and I fully expect Sterling’s inclusion is almost a formality. These three hot properties in the English game are just a few examples of the young English talent that is on display on a weekly basis, many of whom are deserving of an opportunity to perform on the ultimate stage. By placing themselves in the shop window, these three future England regulars should have the chance that the old guard of English football were given on numerous occasions with no success. Whether they will be remains to be seen. Keep your eyes peeled. ross barkley catherine kortsmik 2012 ©
Quite bizarrely, England’s one victory came against Sri Lanka, the eventual winners and the team that so comprehensively embarrassed the Netherlands in the latter’s first group game. They were bowled out for 39, the lowest ever Twenty20 score. The final game of the group stages was another effective quarter-final, between Pakistan and the West Indies. The West Indies got off to a slow start, reaching 81–5 at the end of the 14th over. The innings was rescued by typically destructive cameos from Dwayne Bravo and captain Darren Sammy, and they posted a menacing score of 166. Pakistan never looked in control of the chase and collapsed to 82 all out. This meant that the West Indies finished second behind growing favourites India. In the first semi-final, Sri Lanka dominated West Indies before a storm arrived. West Indies were 28 runs behind on Duckworth/Lewis chasing 161, and crashed out as play was unable to restart. Whilst a fair way from the required D/L target, the
Windies will feel slightly unlucky as they had recovered from a similar situation against Pakistan to post a total in excess of the 161 required. The second semi-final was similarly one sided. South Africa were driven along to a total of 172 against India by captain Faf du Plessis’ 58 off 40 deliveries. India walked the chase, with a fabulous knock by Man of the Tournament Virat Kohli ensuring an easy victory. India entered the final as favourites but Sri Lanka were the choice of many neutrals, as two legends of the game were retiring from the T20 format after the game; Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field. Scoring at around a run a ball for the first ten overs, India were still set up to push on to reach a score of 150–160. Rohit Sharma’s departure soon after the midway point meant that pressure was piled on the century-hunting Kohli and Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj was unable to get going quickly, consistently unable to pass the strike back to the
increasingly frustrated Kohli. By the time Yuvraj finally departed, he had scored only 11 off 21 deliveries. New batsman MS Dhoni failed to score a boundary off his seven deliveries and India posted a score of 130–4 off their 20 overs. Despite a tricky start, veterans Jayawardene and Sangakkara steadied the innings together. The former played well for his run-a-ball 24, before departing after an uncharacteristic hoick. Sangakkara carried on his merry way, before new partner Thirimanne was removed cheaply, leaving Sri Lanka needing 53 off 45. Big-hitting Thisara Perera was promoted up the order in a risky move intended to counter-attack. It worked, with Perera smashing Amit Mishra for a six in both the 15th and the 17th over. This allowed Sangakkara to reach his 50 with two boundaries off Ashwin, before Perera smashed his third six to complete the comfortable victory. Sri Lanka had finally won a limited overs World Cup, having been defeated four times in previous finals over the last seven years.