Cabbage white butterflies utilize two gut enzymes for maximum flexibility in deactivating mustard oil bombs

Depending on the composition of the defensive toxins of their host plants, the insects use two different complementary enzymes for detoxification

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR CHEMICAL ECOLOGY

 

IMAGE: THE CATERPILLAR OF THE CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY (PIERIS BRASSICAE) HAS TWO GUT ENZYMES TO TARGET AND DISARM THE MAJOR DEFENSE MECHANISM OF CRUCIFEROUS PLANTS, THE MUSTARD OIL BOMB. DEPENDING ON THE TOXIN DEFENSE COMPOSITION OF THEIR HOST PLANTS, LARVAE CAN FLEXIBLY UTILIZE THESE TWO DETOXIFICATION ENZYMES. view more 

CREDIT: YU OKAMURA

Cruciferous plants, such as cabbage, rapeseed, horseradish or mustard, have a special defense strategy against herbivores called the "mustard oil bomb". They store glucosinolates as defensive substances that react with myrosinase enzymes when caterpillars feed, i.e., when plant tissue is damaged. The myrosinases cleave the glucosinolates and as a result, toxic mustard oils are produced. The pungent taste of mustard and horseradish is the result of the mustard oil bomb.

Researchers led by Yu Okamura and Heiko Vogel of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now studied in more detail the deactivation of the mustard oil bomb by the cabbage white butterfly, an important pest on cabbage plants. Earlier work identified two caterpillar enzymes that play a central role in detoxification, and the genes that encode them: the NSP enzyme (nitrile specifier protein), which manipulates the potential mustard oil bomb to produce non-toxic nitriles instead of toxic mustard oils, and the MA enzyme (major allergen), which was hypothesized to also be important for the survival of cabbage whitefly caterpillars on cruciferous plants. The NSP and MA genes are sister genes and each evolved from a gut protein of unknown function found in many butterfly species. Both enzymes are found exclusively in cabbage white butterflies and other species of the Pieridae (white butterfly) family whose host plants contain glucosinolates.  "We wondered whether both enzymes are important for the detoxification of glucosinolates and insect fitness. After all, previous studies have shown that related butterfly species that no longer feed on plants containing glucosinolates have lost the enzymes during evolution. This indicates that it is apparently costly for insects to maintain enzyme activity in the absence of these plant defenses. We also wanted to know whether the function of the two enzymes differs depending on the composition of the glucosinolates in different cruciferous plants," Heiko Vogel summarizes the initial questions of the study.

Crucial for testing the function of the NSP and MA genes was the genome editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, which enabled the researchers to use caterpillars lacking either the NSP gene, the MA gene, or both, in their experiments. These caterpillars thus also lacked the appropriate enzymes for detoxifying glucosinolates. Subsequently, plants with different levels of glucosinolates were used in feeding assays to check how caterpillars developed. Caterpillars lacking only one of the two enzymes were still able to survive on plants with high concentrations of the defense substances, even though their growth was restricted. However, caterpillars in which both genes had been knocked out were no longer able to grow and survive on their natural host plants. "These results came as a surprise because especially the role of the MA enzyme in the interaction between cabbage white butterflies and host plants was previously unclear," said first author Yu Okamura.

Thus, for cabbage white butterfly caterpillars, both enzymes, NSP and MA, are important to disarm the mustard oil bomb of their host plants. Because NSP and MA differ in their detoxification capacity toward different glucosinolates, caterpillars can fine-tune the activation of the NSP and MA genes depending on the glucosinolate profile of their host plants. When caterpillars lack one of the enzymes, they grow more slowly, but the degree of growth restriction depends on the glucosinolates present in the host plants. "Using a panoply of detection, regulatory and detoxification mechanisms, cabbage white butterflies accurately tailor how they defuse different mustard oil bombs from the spectrum of their host plants, displaying a sensitivity to both plant glucosinolate profiles and to their activation," says Heiko Vogel.

By using genome-editing techniques, the study shows that both NSP and MA enable cabbage white butterfly caterpillars to respond highly flexibly to mustard oil bombs, which is critical in enabling the insects to adapt to a broader range of cruciferous plants. "We believe our work emphasizes the importance of the emergence of such genes for herbivorous insects in the arms race with the chemical defenses of their host plants. The competition between insects and their host plants involves more than the mere presence of chemical defenses and detoxification mechanisms.  The regulation and activation of detoxification enzymes also represent key components of complex interactions and explain the evolutionary success of these pest insects," Yu Okamura summarizes.

Yu Okamura 

MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR CHEMICAL E 

Yu Okamura with mating cabbage white butterflies (Pieris brassicae). The larvae of butterfly lines that no longer had either of the two detoxification enzymes after CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing were unable to properly defuse the host plant mustard oil bomb. Their growth and survival was severely impaired.

CREDIT

Yawako Kawaguchi

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JOURNAL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI

10.1073/pnas.2208447119 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Testing hypotheses of a coevolutionary key innovation reveals a complex suite of traits involved in defusing the mustard oil bomb

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Dec-2022

Study reveals the animals we see as ‘friends,’ ‘food,’ and those ‘worth fighting for’

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CABI

A new study published in the CABI journal Human-Animal Interactions has cast more light on the species of nonhuman animals that we see as ‘friends,’ ‘food,’ and those ‘worth fighting for.’

The research attempted to assess people’s social perceptions about various nonhuman animals including ‘food animals’ which have often been classified as being less sentient and historically devoid of rights and moral concern due to their nature as a consumable commodity.

Ratings on the scales of warmth and competence for 16 animals were subjected to multi-dimensional scaling analysis.

Among the animals in focus were shark, alligator, pig, dog, octopus, rabbit, cow and orangutan.

Results indicate people hold different social perceptions congruent to the various animal species.

Four main clusters were identified, and these were named, ‘Love’, ‘Save’, ‘Indifferent’ and ‘Dislike’ based on the expectancy of how participants might feel towards the animals.

The ethical ideology of participants was also measured, with vegetarians and animal activists holding more ‘Absolutist’ beliefs. When factored into the scaling process, ethical ideology had little impact on participants’ social perceptions of the nonhuman animals.

This study borrows from work on the Stereotype Content Model (SCM) and attempted to replicate the social perceptions of animals along the warmth-competence dimensions amongst a Singaporean sample of vegetarians, animal activists and those who regarded themselves as neither.

Lead author Dr Paul Patinadan, a graduate of James Cook University, Australia and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and now with the National Healthcare Group, Singapore, said, “Participants rated the 16 nonhuman animal species significantly differently on dimensions of warmth and competence.

“People’s ethical ideologies about nonhuman animals do not seem to affect the social permutations they grant to the different species.

“The current findings suggest that general human feelings about nonhuman animals might be sourced from mental shortcuts of adaptive social value judgements and permutations.

“Understanding the place of our own moral judgments amongst nonhuman animals might help to finally define the nebulous nature of human interaction with the beings that share our world with us.”

Co-author Dr Denise Dillon said that one of the limitations of the research is that it was conducted in the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore and responses were embedded within the culture’s own unique and specific idiosyncrasies and relationships to nonhuman animals.

Future research using the same method, she suggests, could seek to determine how people in Western cultures perceive nonhuman animals compared to their Singaporean counterparts.

Full paper reference

Patinadan, Paul Victor; Dillion, Denise, ‘Friends, Food or Worth Fighting For? A Proposed Stereotype Content Model for Nonhuman Animals,’ Human-Animal Interactions, 12 December (2022). DOI: 10.1079/hai.2022.0023

The paper can be read open access from 00:01hrs UK time 12 December 2022 here: https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/hai.2022.0023

 

Media enquiries

For more information including advance copy of the paper contact:

Dr Denise Dillon, Associate Dean Research Education / Associate Professor Psychology, James Cook University, Singapore – email: denise.dillon@jcu.edu.au

Wayne Coles, Communications Manager, CABI – email: w.coles@cabi.org

 

About Human—Animal Interactions

Human—Animal Interactions is an open access interdisciplinary journal devoted to the dissemination of research in all fields related to interactions between non-human animals and their human counterparts.

About CABI

CABI is an international not-for-profit organization that improves people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment.

Through knowledge sharing and science, CABI helps address issues of global concern such as improving global food security and safeguarding the environment. We do this by helping farmers grow more and lose less of what they produce, combating threats to agriculture and the environment from pests and diseases, protecting biodiversity from invasive species, and improving access to agricultural and environmental scientific knowledge. Our 49-member countries guide and influence our core areas of work, which include development and research projects, scientific publishing and microbial services.

We gratefully acknowledge the core financial support from our member countries (and lead agencies) including the United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), China (Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs), Australia (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research), Canada (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), Netherlands (Directorate-General for International Cooperation, and Switzerland (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation). Other sources of funding include programme/project funding from development agencies, the fees paid by our member countries and profits from our publishing activities which enable CABI to support rural development and scientific research around the world.

 

 

 

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DOI

10.1079/hai.2022.0023 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

Friends, Food or Worth Fighting For? A Proposed Stereotype Content Model for Nonhuman Animals

What’s your poison?

A systematic characterization of the venoms of the 26 medically most important snakes from sub-Saharan Africa demonstrates the benefits of an integrated, high-throughput analysis

Peer-Reviewed Publication

GIGASCIENCE

 

IMAGE: MAMBAS ARE HIGHLY VENOMOUS MEMBERS OF THE DENDROASPIS GENUS. THERE ARE FOUR EXTANT SPECIES, ALL OF WHICH WERE INCLUDED IN THIS STUDY. THEY ARE NATIVE TO DIFFERENT REGIONS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA. THREE OF THESE SPECIES ARE GREEN AND LIVE PRIMARILY IN TREES. THE FOURTH, THE BLACK MAMBA, IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST VENOMOUS SNAKES IN AFRICA. view more 

CREDIT: H. KRISP WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Each year, around 500,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from snake bites, causing an estimated 7,000 to 20,000 deaths. Many snake species native to the region, such as the feared black mamba, are classified as species of the highest medical importance by the World Health Organization. Using systematic approaches to better understand the composition and function of these snakes’ venoms is therefore a medical priority. 

The Center for Antibody Technologies headed by Professor Andreas Laustsen-Kiel (Technical University of Denmark) used high-throughput methods to systematically analyze and compare the protein compositions and functions of the venoms of the 26 medically most important snakes in sub-Saharan Africa. This article was published in the journal Gigascience.

The snakes investigated in the new study belong to two families, elapids – including, among others, the black and green mambas and the ring-necked spitting cobra, also called the rinkhals – and vipers such as the Puff adder and the Gaboon viper. 

The composition and function of snake venoms is complex and varies a lot from species to species. The authors describe a general pattern with elapid venoms containing large amounts of a class of proteins called “three finger toxins”, which act by blocking neuronal transmission or by killing cells; as well as phospholipases A2 (PLA2s), a class of enzymes that is found in many animal venoms. The viper venoms, on the other hand, are dominated by a different protein mix, including PLA2s, but also substantial quantities of other enzymes such as Snake Venom Metalloproteinases and Snake Venom Serine Proteinases.

Venom compositions of most of these snakes have been described before, but the venoms of two species – of Anchieta’s cobra (Naja anchietae) and of the white-bellied carpet viper (Echis leucogaster) – are characterized for the first time in the new GigaScience study. 

The major advance of the work, however, is the parallel processing of samples from 26 snakes in the same high-throughput pipeline; combined with a range of experimental approaches to functionally characterize many venoms in parallel, in a standardized setting. In contrast, previous studies on the venom compositions of snakes from sub-Sahara Africa have typically been performed in separate studies with only one or a handful of species each, and often with little or no data on functional aspects. The previous studies also used variable protocols, making it difficult to reconcile and compare data from different origins.

The new integrated approach demonstrated in the Gigascience article, including 26 snake species and a range of functional assays, provides a solid foundation for further studies of snake biology and the development of new antivenoms.

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JOURNAL

GigaScience

DOI

10.1093/gigascience/giac121 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

High-throughput proteomics and in vitro functional characterization of the 26 medically most important elapids and vipers from sub-Saharan Africa

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Dec-2022

Discovery overturns major assumptions in crystal photochemistry!

Molecular crystal exhibits propagation of photochemical reaction

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS WERE THOUGHT TO OCCUR UNIFORMLY SO THAT WHEN LIGHT SHINES ON CRYSTALS EVENLY, THEY CHANGE COLOR EVENLY. BUT A RESEARCH GROUP AT OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY HAS DISCOVERED THAT A PHOTOMECHANICAL MOLECULAR CRYSTAL, 2,5-DISTYRYLPYRAZINE (DSP), UNDERGOES PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS DIFFERENTLY, WITH THE COLOR CHANGE SPREADING FROM THE CRYSTAL’S EDGES AND PROPAGATING TO ITS CENTER. view more 

CREDIT: DAICHI KITAGAWA, OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

Stimuli-responsive materials, whose physical properties change in response to external stimuli such as light and heat, are being widely studied as next-generation functional materials. Especially, photo-responsive materials are attracting much attention because their physicochemical properties can be modulated remotely without any physical contact. As one of the photo-responsive materials, photomechanical molecular crystals, which consist of molecules that undergo photochemical reactions upon light irradiation, are being intensively investigated because of their unique photoresponsive behaviors.

Unlike in solutions where molecules exist independently, the molecules are arranged densely and regularly in crystals, so the unique photoreaction dynamics in crystals must be considered. However, previous studies on photoreactive molecular crystal materials have usually assumed that photoreactions in crystals proceed like those in solutions and follow classical photoreaction kinetics. So, understanding of physicochemical property changes based on the photochemical reaction kinetics in crystals has been an issue for further development of this research field.

A research group led by Kohei Morimoto, a third-year doctoral student at the Osaka City University Graduate School of Engineering, and Dr. Daichi Kitagawa and Professor Seiya Kobatake at the Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Engineering has discovered that photoreactions in 2,5-distyrylpyrazine (DSP) crystals propagate from each of the crystal’s edges to its center. The research results were published online in Angewandte Chemie International Edition on November 3, 2022.

Normally, when light shines evenly on a crystal, the color change caused by the photoreaction also proceeds evenly. However, the research group found that in DSP crystals, the color change started at the crystal’s edge and proceeded to its center, propagating the photoreaction like a wave. The research group determined that this edge-to-center propagation of the color change happens for two reasons: a surface effect, which makes reactivity extremely high at the edges of the crystal, and a cooperative effect, which also elevates reactivity for molecules whose neighbors have already changed color.

“This phenomenon, which deviates from the conventional conception of photochemistry, is hugely significant for how we understand the basic fundamental science of photoreactions,” said Dr. Kitagawa. “In the future, we would like to clarify the conditions necessary for this unique photoreaction to occur and explore how they can be used to create new functional materials that take advantage of this phenomenon.”

###

About OMU

Osaka Metropolitan University is a new public university established by a merger between Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University in April 2022. For more science news, see https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/info/research-news/, and follow @OsakaMetUniv_en and #OMUScience.

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JOURNAL

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI

10.1002/anie.202212290 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Edge-to-center propagation of photochemical reaction during single-crystal-to-single-crystal photomechanical transformation of 2,5-distyrylpyrazine crystals

Study: Microplastics in city's air equal to 3m plastic bottles a year

Researchers from the University of Auckland calculated that 74 metric tonnes of microplastics are dropping out of the atmosphere onto the city annually, the equivalent of more than 3 million plastic bottles falling from the sky.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

Researchers from the University of Auckland calculated that 74 metric tonnes of microplastics are dropping out of the atmosphere onto the city annually, the equivalent of more than 3 million plastic bottles falling from the sky.

The study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, indicated that large numbers of microplastics in Auckland’s air are of extremely small sizes, raising concerns about the potential for particles to be inhaled and accumulate in the human body. Researchers around the world are likely to have dramatically undercounted airborne microplastics, says lead author Dr Joel Rindelaub, of the School of Chemical Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

The levels found in Auckland’s air were many times higher than recorded in London, Hamburg and Paris in recent years because scientists in the new study used sophisticated chemical methods to find and analyse particles as small as 0.01 of a millimetre. 

The mean (average) number of airborne microplastics detected in a square metre in a day was 4,885. That compares with 771 in London (reported in a study published in 2020), 275 in Hamburg (2019) and 110 in Paris (2016). “Future work needs to quantify exactly how much plastic we are breathing in,” says Dr Rindelaub.  “It’s becoming more and more clear that this is an important route of exposure.”

The study is the first to calculate the total mass of microplastics in a city’s air. Waves breaking in the Hauraki Gulf may play a key role in Auckland’s problem by transmitting water-borne microplastics into the air. 

That effect seemed to be at work when Rindelaub and his colleagues, including PhD student Wenxia Fan and Professor Jennifer Salmond, recorded increased numbers after winds from the gulf picked up speed, likely leading to bigger waves and more transmission.

“The production of airborne microplastics from breaking waves could be a key part of the global transport of microplastics,” says Rindelaub. “And it could help explain how some microplastics get into the atmosphere and are carried to remote places, like here in New Zealand.” 

Particle sizes changed with wind direction. When winds passed over the Auckland city centre, the microplastics downwind were larger, indicating the plastics had gone through less environmental aging and came from a closer source.  
Polyethylene (PE) was the major substance detected, followed by polycarbonate (PC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyethylene and PET are packaging materials while PC is used in electrical and electronic applications. All three are also used in the construction industry.

In the research, microplastics falling from the air were captured by a funnel and jar in a wooden box on a rooftop at the central city University campus. The same set-up was in a residential garden in Remuera. Almost all of the microplastics were too small to be seen by the naked eye. Scientists identified the smallest particles by applying a coloured dye that emitted light under certain conditions. A heat treatment was used to analyse mass.

“The smaller the size ranges we looked at, the more microplastics we saw,” Rindelaub says. “This is notable because the smallest sizes are the most toxicologically relevant.”

Nanoplastics, the smallest particles, can potentially enter cells, cross the blood-brain barrier, and may build up in organs such as the testicles, liver and brain, the paper says. 
“Microplastics have also been detected in human lungs and in the lung tissue of cancer patients, indicating that the inhalation of atmospheric microplastics is an exposure risk to humans,” the paper says. The plastics have also been detected in the placenta.
The paper, co-authored by Professor Kim Dirks, Dr Patricia Cabedo Sanz and Associate Professor Gordon Miskelly, called for standardisation of reporting metrics so studies of airborne microplastics could be better compared. 

The paper’s introduction says: “Over the last 70 years, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic have been produced globally. Only nine percent have been recycled, with the rest either incinerated or released into the environment.” Fibres dispersed by washing synthetic clothes, fragments shed by car tyres and washed by rain into the ocean, and bottles floating down rivers are just some of the ways plastic is added to the environment. Weathering and aging breaks plastic down into ever smaller particles.

The experiment was carried out over nine weeks during September, October and November in 2020. 
 

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JOURNAL

Environmental Science & Technology

DOI

10.1021/acs.est.2c05850 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Evidence and Mass Quantification of Atmospheric Microplastics in a Coastal New Zealand City

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Dec-2022

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Ghost energy drinks deceptively marketed to kids

TINA.org & Rudd Center file complaint with regulators

Reports and Proceedings

UCONN RUDD CENTER FOR FOOD POLICY & HEALTH

 

IMAGE: CANDY BRANDS DON’T BELONG ON CIGARETTES OR ALCOHOL, SO WHY ARE THEY ON ENERGY DRINKS? view more 

CREDIT: TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, INC.

MADISON, CONN. December 12, 2022 – A new investigation by ad watchdog TINA.org and the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health has found that “lifestyle sports nutrition brand” Ghost is unfairly and deceptively marketing adult energy drinks and supplements to children in violation of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) law. The groups have filed a complaint with the regulators urging the agencies to take enforcement action.

TINA.org and the Rudd Center’s investigation found that Ghost is using candy brands popular among children and young teens, including Swedish Fish, Bubblicious, Sour Patch Kids and Warheads, to flavor and package energy drinks and supplements that are only intended for adults. Mondelez International Inc. and Impact Confections, makers of the candies, were also notified of the findings.  

The groups uncovered that Ghost not only packages its energy drinks and supplements in a manner that appeals to children, but also targets kids with deceptive and unfair marketing by, among other things, using influencers popular among children, as well as partnering with FaZe Clan, the wildly popular “youth focused” esports and gaming platform that attracts more boys aged 13-17 than any traditional sports team. These efforts have likely contributed to Ghost’s explosive sales growth over the past year in the increasingly competitive energy drink industry.

Consumers who see Ghost’s marketing on social media, gaming platforms or on the company’s website are not informed, however, that these products are only intended for healthy adults. This material information is relegated to illegible fine print inconspicuously placed on the energy drink cans and supplement containers.  

“Energy drink companies like Ghost are now taking a page from the e-cig industry’s playbook, violating the law by using fun kid-friendly flavors to attract children to products that are meant for adults. This practice has to stop,” said Bonnie Patten, TINA.org’s Executive Director.

“Numerous studies have documented the powerful impact marketing has on children’s consumption, preferences, and purchase requests,” said Fran Fleming-Milici, PhD, Rudd Center’s Director of Marketing Initiatives. “Pairing candy logos that have clear child-appeal with a product that harms children’s health is an egregious display of putting profit over common sense and the well-being of children.”

The consumption of energy drinks has been linked to a number of negative health consequences for minors, leading the American Medical Association to adopt a policy supporting a ban on the marketing of energy drinks to children under the age of 18. And while Ghost products may be harmful to children, the company is claiming – without proper substantiation or FDA approval -- they can provide numerous health benefits, including that they can enhance focus, balance hormones and treat anxiety.

Ghost is not the only energy drink company targeting minors by co-branding with popular candy brands. TINA.org has published an alert warning consumers about deceptive and unfair marketing tactics used by numerous companies in the industry and, along with the Rudd Center, has also sent letters to more than 40 energy drink companies urging them to review their marketing to ensure compliance with the law. 

To read more about TINA.org and the Rudd Center’s investigation of Ghost, see: https://truthinadvertising.org/brands/ghost/

This might look like a candy-flavored drink to kids (and even adults), but it is actually an energy drink intended for adults. See why TINA.org and the UCONN Rudd Center have filed a deceptive marketing complaint against Ghost.

CREDIT

Truth in Advertising, Inc.

About TINA.org (truthinadvertising.org)   
TINA.org is a non-profit organization that uses investigative journalism, education, and advocacy to empower consumers to protect themselves against false advertising and deceptive marketing.  For press inquiries contact: Shana Mueller at 203.421.6210 or press@truthinadvertising.org. About UConn

Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health  (uconnruddcenter.org) 
The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health at the University of Connecticut is a multidisciplinary center dedicated to promoting solutions to food insecurity, poor diet quality, and weight bias through research and policy. The Rudd Center is a leader in building broad-based consensus to change diet and activity patterns by conducting research and educating policymakers. For press inquiries contact: Carson Hardee at 959-200-3528 or carson.hardee@uconn.edu. 

Want to eat healthy and save the planet? Replace beef with Spirulina algae

According to a new analysis led by Dr. Asaf Tzachor at Reichman University’s School of Sustainability, the future of food lies in Iceland, where a state-of-the-art facility cultivates Spirulina algae – a super provider of protein, iron and essential fatty

Peer-Reviewed Publication

REICHMAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: DR. ASAF TZACHOR FROM THE SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY AT REICHMAN UNIVERSITY view more 

CREDIT: GILAD KAVALERCHIK

New Reichman University study:

Want to eat healthy and save the planet? Replace beef with Spirulina algae

 

According to a new analysis led by Dr. Asaf Tzachor at Reichman University’s School of Sustainability, the future of food lies in Iceland, where a state-of-the-art facility cultivates Spirulina algae – a super provider of protein, iron and essential fatty acids – to replace beef meat. The analysis finds that for every kilogram of beef meat replaced with a kilogram of Spirulina, one can save nearly 100 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions, 340 square meters of land and 1,400 liters of water.

 

A new study led by Dr. Asaf Tzachor, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, analyzed a state-of-the-art biotechnology system that cultivates Spirulina. The system, designed and operated by Vaxa Impact Nutrition, is placed in ON Power Geothermal Park, Iceland, and benefits from resource streams accessible through Hellisheidi power station, including renewable electricity for illumination and power usage, hot and cold water streams for thermal management, freshwater for cultivation, and carbon dioxide for biofixation.

 

Based on laboratory analysis, the researchers find that the nutritional content of the Spirulina produce is superior to beef meat in terms of proteins, essential fatty acids and iron, and can serve as a healthy, safe and more sustainable meat substitute in daily diets.

 

According to the study, for every kilogram of beef meat replaced with Icelandic Spirulina, consumers will save some 1,400 liters of water, 340 square meters of fertile land, and nearly 100 kilograms of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Moreover, the algae may be consumed in different forms, including as wet biomass, or in the form of paste, powder, or pill. For example, one can use Icelandic Spirulina powder as an ingredient in pasta, pancakes and pastries, or drink an Icelandic Spirulina shake.

 

While the role of meat in human diets has been instrumental, its ecological footprint is considerable and detrimental. Raising beef cattle requires arable lands and feed stocks, and emits greenhouse gases to the atmosphere contributing to climate change and global warming One kilogram of beef requires approximately 1,450 liters of water and 340 square meters of fertile land. Moreover, the production of one kilogram of beef meat results in the emission of about 100 kilograms of greenhouse gases.

 

As the demand for animal source proteins grow, so do the damages caused by the livestock sector. As a response, humanity is searching for novel ways to ensure its nutritional security, including the supply of alternative protein sources, vitamins and essential minerals.

 

Algae, especially Spirulina, are considered among the most effective food producers on earth and can be cultivated using different techniques. In this study, Spirulina is cultivated in closed, controlled systems, using advanced photonic management methods (controlled exposure to desired wavelengths), entirely isolated from the harsh Icelandic environment.

 

This biotechnology system is exceptionally resilient to fluctuations in environmental and climatic conditions. It can be deployed in a modular fashion in different regions of the world. Moreover, Spirulina is an autotrophic organism and is dependent on photosynthesis and a supply of carbon dioxide. Thus, unlike many other alternative protein sources, cultivating this food source removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and mitigates climate change.

 

Dr. Asaf Tzachor, from the School of Sustainability at Reichman University: “Nutritional security, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation can go hand in hand. All consumers must do is to adopt a bit of Icelandic Spirulina into their meals and diets instead of beef meat. It's healthier, safer, and more sustainable. Whatever change we wish to see in the world should be manifested in our dietary choices.”

 

The study was conducted by Dr. Asaf Tzachor and with a team of researchers from the Danish Technological Institute, the University of Iceland, and Matis Iceland.

Biotechnology company Vaxa’s facility in Iceland, which operates the production system.

CREDIT

Pétur Gunnarsson, Vaxa Iceland

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JOURNAL

Marine Biotechnology

DOI

10.1007/s10126-022-10173-5 

ARTICLE TITLE

Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) Production in Hellisheidi Geothermal Park Iceland: Life Cycle Assessment

Current EU fiscal policies not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement climate targets, economic think tank experts state

In new study, experts recommend a ‘fiscal pact’ – enabling EU countries the “significant” necessary fiscal increases to meet targets

Peer-Reviewed Publication

TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP

The EU’s ambitious Paris Agreement climate targets will not be met with the current fiscal policies in place, a new study – proposing a new ‘green pact’ – has calculated.

Experts from the European economics think tank, Bruegel, conclude that total green investments must be increased by 2% of GDP annually, and one-third of that, about 0.6% of GDP, should be funded by state budgets – which they state is “a major challenge at a time when budgets are consolidated”.

Publishing in the peer-reviewed journal Climate Policy, they propose a European pact should be introduced – involving better regulatory policies and a higher price on emissions, as well as public green investments and public support for private green investments.

The EU has set a target of reducing greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, and eliminating them by 2050, but lead author Professor Zsolt Darvas explains that the target is currently an unrealistic ambition.  

“Our calculations show that, even when exploiting the slowest possible fiscal consolidation pace allowed by EU fiscal rules, a steady fiscal consolidation effort will be necessary. The main challenge will be how to consolidate deficits while increasing green investment. Evidence suggests that in the current fiscal framework, this will not be achieved,” states Professor Darvas, a senior fellow at Bruegel.

“Public investments tend to be cut in fiscal consolidation episodes by vote-maximising politicians. Fiscal consolidation will be necessary after large public spending programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But to meet the EU’s ambitious climate objectives, green investments need to be increased significantly.

“Therefore, creative thinking about how to do things differently is needed – such as increasing climate investments, while consolidating budgets.”

Following the scrutinizing of the National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) of EU countries for overall climate-related investments (including tax incentives and subsidies) over 2021–2030, the expert team set a proposal including a ‘green golden rule’ that would allow green investment to be funded by deficits without counting them in any fiscal rules (deficit rules, expenditure rules, and the associated increase in debt in debt rules).

Excluding green investments from all types of fiscal rules would provide incentives to undertake them, because they would be excluded from the fiscal consolidation requirements.

Their proposal also limits, as much as possible, additional taxing for residents.

“Politicians must find other expenditures to cut, or increase taxation, to increase green investment. With the green golden rule, such expenditure cuts or tax increases are not necessary to increase green investment,” explains co-author, economist Guntram Wolff, the former director of European economics think tank Bruegel, who is now the Director and CEO of the German Council on Foreign Relations and is also based at the Free University Brussels.

“Appropriate regulation, taxation and elimination of subsidies should be part of the policy mix, but each of these instruments has limitations. For example, a significant increase in gas and electricity prices related to the Ukrainian war should be welcomed from the perspective of green transition, as it creates strong incentives for the private sector to move away from fossil fuel consumption. However, governments throughout the EU have rushed to dampen the impact of higher energy prices. There are political limitations to energy price increases.

“We propose that the Council of EU ministers defines a list of top green spending priorities which would not count as deficit and debt in the fiscal rules.”

Additional recommendations to policymakers within this suggested fiscal pact include:

• Clearly defining what constitutes emission-reducing climate investments and monitoring compliance.
• Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies.
• Incentivising private climate investments through appropriate taxation and regulation.
• A requirement that fiscally weak countries should not immediately benefit from the green golden rule, but rely on NextGenerationEU (NGEU) for their green investment up to 2026 and not ignore risks to public debt sustainability.

“Our proposed Green Fiscal Pact is the most promising option to address the tension between the conflicting needs of fiscal consolidation and increased green investments,” concludes Professor Darvas, who is also based at the Institute of Economics at the Corvinus University of Budapest.

“The ongoing review of the EU economic governance framework offers a good opportunity to discuss and decide on the Green Fiscal Pact. The European Commission recently proposed a new framework for EU fiscal rules, which includes useful elements, like the focus on country-specific medium-term debt targets as an anchor and an expenditure rule as the operational target, as we also make a case for these in our article.

“But, crucially, the proposal falls short of ensuring a proper framework for climate investment, even though the expressions of ‘green transition’ and ‘public investment’ appear multiple times in the proposal.

“We fear that if the Commission’s proposal is adopted without our proposed green golden rule, the EU will not meet its ambitious Paris climate targets.”

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JOURNAL

Climate Policy

DOI

10.1080/14693062.2022.2147893 

ARTICLE TITLE

A Green Fiscal Pact for the EU: increasing climate investments while consolidating budgets

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

12-Dec-2022