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Wood-eating shipworms may soon be farmed for shipworm-eating humans
https://newatlas.com/ ^ | November 20, 2023 | Ben Coxworth

Posted on 11/21/2023 7:26:10 PM PST by Jonty30

For centuries, shipworms have vexed mariners by boring into – and consuming – the hulls of wooden ships and boats. Soon, though, we may actually be eating those "worms," as they have successfully been farmed for the first time.

Scientifically known as teredinids, shipworms are actually a type of bivalve mollusk.

This means they're related to clams, mussels and oysters. Because they spend their lives protected inside the wood that they eat, however, they only have a tiny shell at their front end, where it aids in the wood-boring process.

In the Philippines, shipworms are already wild-harvested and sold as a delicacy. They're said to taste like oysters. According to scientists from the universities of Plymouth and Cambridge, they also contain much more vitamin B12 than most mollusks.

They also grow faster than any other bivalve, due to the fact that they don't have to put much energy into generating their minuscule shell. In just six months, they can reach a length of about 30 cm (12 in). By contrast, mussels and oysters – with their much larger shells – may take up to two years to grow to a harvestable size.

With these attributes in mind, a team led by U Plymouth's Dr. Reuben Shipway and U Cambridge's Dr. David Willer has developed a modular aquaculture system for growing shipworms in locations far from the sea. This means that any waste won't disperse into the surrounding ocean, which is an environmental concern with marine fish farms.

(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: barf; eatzeebugz; food; shipworms; worms
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To: Jonty30

I’d rather eat mollusks than insects.

BTW, you never give a direct answer to a question do you?


21 posted on 11/21/2023 10:08:30 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: TigersEye

I try to be direct when asked. You asked if I thought they were nutritious and I said I didn’t care if they were nutritious.

The Bible calls certain foods unclean for a reason. They are not meant to be eaten by us, but by other lifeforms that prep the food for us through their biological systems. There is no condemnation in eating it, except the stricture of going to the temple, synagogue or church. However, it is a still a lesser food than clean meats.


22 posted on 11/21/2023 10:13:38 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: x
Afraid?

No.

Disinclined to do so?

Yes.

Bugs, worms, and things like zebra mussels are what my chickens eat. It is cruel to snatch food from their little beaks. Only a heartless monster would do such a thing.

23 posted on 11/21/2023 10:14:44 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (Keep America Beautiful by keeping Canadian Trash Out. Deport Jennifer Granholm!)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Then deny us the pleasure of eathing chickens, because they starved to death because we ate their food.


24 posted on 11/21/2023 10:22:08 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: Jonty30
You asked if I thought they were nutritious and I said I didn’t care if they were nutritious.

Since I was replying to your comment about their nutrition your reply that you "didn't care if they were nutritious" can be nothing other than an evasion not a direct answer.

Something I'd expect from a leftist not a FReeper.

25 posted on 11/21/2023 10:22:21 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: TigersEye
How nutritious can an animal be whose sole source of nutrition is dried grass?

You eat cow, don't you?

26 posted on 11/21/2023 10:22:58 PM PST by exDemMom (Dr. exDemMom, infectious disease and vaccines research specialist.)
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To: TigersEye

No. That was not an evasion. They could be the most nutritious things on the planet, but God still said “No eat”.

They are meant for other life forms to eat them and we then eat what ate them.

We are not meant to eat bugs. We might have to on occasion, in the event of a mass famine or something. However, what God has described as clean foods only applies to insects with few legs ike crickets or ants.

Not worms. Not oysters. Not mollusk. Not lobster.
You can have those if you want. I won’t.
There is a divine order in the foods that we are supposed to eat and these things represent a disruption in the order.

I will not eat them. I am aware that I can be dead in four days if there was no other choice. I will choose death than this. I will not participate in the debasement of man for my own survival.


27 posted on 11/21/2023 10:27:19 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: Jonty30

The name “shipworm” is misleading.

Since they are actually mollusks, I don’t see any issue with eating them.

I already eat clams and snails. Why not try another mollusk?


28 posted on 11/21/2023 10:29:08 PM PST by exDemMom (Dr. exDemMom, infectious disease and vaccines research specialist.)
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To: exDemMom

Exactly my point.


29 posted on 11/21/2023 10:29:47 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: Jonty30

You’re the one who brought up their nutritional value.

Your disingenuousness is truly outstanding.


30 posted on 11/21/2023 10:31:05 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: exDemMom

You can eat them. I don’t have any issue of what others do for themselves.

I won’t eat hem, because of what they represent to me. They represent the beginning of the slope to the debasement of man by the elites. I will have nothing to do with it.


31 posted on 11/21/2023 10:31:14 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: TigersEye

I brought it up, because I don’t know how nutritious wood pulp is. However, as I said, I don’t care how nutritious it might be. I won’t be eating it.


32 posted on 11/21/2023 10:32:19 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: Jonty30
I brought it up, because I don’t know how nutritious wood pulp is.

I gave you a link to an article about the nutritional value of wood but I don't doubt that you still don't know.

33 posted on 11/21/2023 10:34:44 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: TigersEye

I never said I didn’t know after you posted the article. I said, at that point, it didn’t matter.

Unless it has a split hoof and cud or it has fins or it doesn’t creepy crawl, it is not meant for us to eat So, I won’t eat it. If it was the only food, I would choose starvation because I will be a participant of the debasement of man.


34 posted on 11/21/2023 10:38:49 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: TigersEye

I never said I didn’t know after you posted the article. I said, at that point, it didn’t matter.

Unless it has a split hoof and cud or it has fins or it doesn’t creepy crawl, it is not meant for us to eat So, I won’t eat it. If it was the only food, I would choose starvation because I will not be a participant of the debasement of man.


35 posted on 11/21/2023 10:44:27 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: Jonty30
I won't be eating them either. But I wonder: cows eat grass which we can't digest. Possibly the worms turn the wood into something with nutritive value. Plants do that with dirt

Anyway, I grew up hearing that our 21st century descendants would be eating processed algae, so bug and worm eating seems like part of the general plan.


36 posted on 11/21/2023 10:58:17 PM PST by x
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To: x

I can do algae. Algae is nutritious and it’s plant. I don’t have much of a problem with eating plants, as long as they are nutritious.

However, with meat, God told which ones are the ones that we should eat and not eat. He had his reasons for saying that certain meats were not for us to eat.

Your point is my point. Everything has a place in the world, but not everything belongs on a dinner plate. We should be paying attention as to how the unclean meat creatures function, so we can use them for our good.

I saw an interesting show on Youtube showing that black fly larvae can be used to produce chemicals and, apparently the flies can be customized to produce chemicals. That’s useful, but I don’t want it on my dinner plate even they are nutritious.


37 posted on 11/21/2023 11:05:12 PM PST by Jonty30 (It turns out that I did not buy my cell phone for all the calls I might be missing at home.)
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To: Jonty30

I will voluntarily starve to death before I consent to eat that shit.


38 posted on 11/22/2023 12:45:16 AM PST by HKMk23 (https://youtu.be/LTseTg48568)
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To: Jonty30
How nutritious can a worm be whose sole source of nutrition for it is wood pulp?

Wood is primarily the substrate that they live in, and are protected by.

Per Wikipedia:

Like most marine based bivalves, teredo worms are primarily filter feeders and consume mostly seston, and not wood.[2] Wood supplements their primary diet and is consumed with the assistance of bacteria inside their [gill] cells.[3] However, wood is not a necessary part of their diet and they can live on the surface both of wooden and non-wooden structures.[4]

39 posted on 11/22/2023 1:19:15 AM PST by gundog (It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. )
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To: Jonty30

Ah ship worms with insects as an appetizer


40 posted on 11/22/2023 1:20:47 AM PST by 2nd Amendment
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