Fish feel pain much like humans do
Image credit: Oktaviani Marvikasari
It seems obvious that it is an unpleasant experience for fish (or any other animal) to be caught on a hook or to die slowly from suffocation. Still, many scientists make a difference between an unpleasant experience and pain, that is for non-human animals but not for humans. The debate on whether fish feel stress and pain is still ongoing despite the mounting scientific evidence. In the debate it is often ignored that pain serves an evolutionary function: the pain experience is a necessary trait in order for animals to identify and escape from life threatening situations.
A short article on this (in Dutch) was published in Eos-magazine 7/8 (July-Aug. 2009) and can be downloaded here. The English version follows below:
Enjoy your vegs and your nitrate
Image credit: Christa Richert
Being a vegetarian – and consequently eating a lot of vegetables and fruit – I have been concerned about my intake of nitrate. On a daily basis I consume a bunch of super healthy and yummy leafy green vegetables, the latter being known to be high in nitrate. It is time to find out the truth about this nitrogen compound…
The original Dutch version of the article can be read in EOS magazine 10 (Nov. 2009) or downloaded here. The English version follows below:
Health educators and toxicologists tell us that nitrate is dangerous for our health. More and more research is countering this statement. Nitrate would benefit heart health and help maintain a healthy blood pressure.
