Plastic what?
I am a human and animal behaviourist and observationist. I enjoy experimenting whenever I hear something in passing or on the news - to see for myself. Being passionate about the Environment and Nature means I live as naturally as possible and enjoy learning more about it.
Fourteen years ago, I heard someone say on the radio that margarine was seventy per cent plastic and would not decompose because it has nothing that animals/ creatures/ bacteria would like to eat. The plastic concept seemed interesting to me. I wondered why people want to eat plastic, even if no other creature would. So, I decided to conduct a personal experiment. I bought an average margarine from an average shop. I removed the lid and left it on a window sill in the sunniest spot in the office. At this time, I was working in South Africa, where the temperatures would go above 35 degrees.
Feeling proud and intrigued by the experiment, I dutifully studied the margarine periodically to verify the progress, looking at colour, consistency, and foreign things. A year later, I was still monitoring the margarine. One Monday morning, I was doing my rounds, making tea, starting the computer, preparing my tasks, and then checking on the margarine. Feeling suddenly puzzled, I wondered, where has the margarine gone? Perhaps someone had thrown it in the dustbin and didn't think any more of it.
At lunchtime that day, I went into the Office kitchen to make tea and prepare my lunch. I opened the fridge, and there was the missing margarine. It appears that someone had fancied it and taken it for use. The amazing thing was that the margarine was absolutely perfect. If someone had given it to me without my knowing, I would have genuinely not been any the wiser.
The theory concluded as being confirmed. The margarine had the same colour, structure and consistency - after a year of sitting in the sun as it was on the day I bought it. In fact, it was as edible as if I had just bought it.
I am now in Staffordshire, living in rural and surrounded by farmlands, and I am still doing experiments and asking questions on how we can really change the world for the better for the environment.
My recent study is an analysis of dog poo. At the beginning of my study, I had two German Shepherds and a rescue Rough Collie, and for the last two years, only two German Shepherds. The dog poo stigma annoys me for many reasons, but that is not for this discussion. Don't misunderstand what I mean. I do understand the concept behind it. However, I find the dog poo bin to be the most inefficient. Walking in Nature parks, I feel saddened at the vast amount of scattered plastic poo packets.
Noticing that food dropped to the ground wasn't surrounded by insects to consume was what initiated the idea of the study. I have since discovered there are many campaigns on the lack of insects. Insects on the Earth are the litterbugs.
From the dog poo analysis research, I found that if the dogs were fed dog food, their poo, such as the margarine, would stay the same a year later (on the grass outside). If fed human or natural foods, it would become a food source for butterflies, ladybugs and other insects (I have picture proof). Alternatively, it fluffs up in the colder weather from the Bacteria whilst having a buzz of insects inside.
The problem with plastic is a lot broader than we can imagine.
I am also following health research on the Human Microbiome. Current research has found the impact of the Microbiome on our Mental health and illness systems in the body. What is interesting about the Human Microbiome is that I have also learnt about the Soil Biome, and the similarity between the two is quite identical. Probiotic tablets, for example, from Boots (pharmacy), are just Soil. Research has found that Indigenous Cultures have a more diverse Microbiome than ours, meaning they have more bug-resistance capacity.
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