Comment on Blueberry milkshakes

• CluckN@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  It’s catch and release so they let them go afterwards where they found them. Horseshoe crab blood is an essential biomedical tool that’s saved countless lives.

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  • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    What are some example uses for the blood? I’m fascinated.

    Thanks for the reply too.

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    • CluckN@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      It’s an anticoagulant and can detect the smallest traces of endotoxins in medicine. I’m sure I’m missing some details but there are some great medical journals that detail the process and help explain why it’s $60,000 a gallon.

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      • someguy3@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        $15.85 per ml, for a more at scale measurement.

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      • Mercival@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        It is not an anticoagulant, quite the opposite actually. The blood (limulus amoebocyte lysate) will coagulate at the slightest hint of gram-negative bacteria and their endotoxins.

        It’s most likely a defense mechanism against bacterial infections.

        It’s widely used in medicine to check for bacterial contamination of injectable pharmaceuticals.

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      • Zron@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Where can someone find these horseshoe crabs?

        And are they able to be bred in captivity?

        Pls respond fast, I’m already driving to home depot to buy the largest above ground pool they have.

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    • EvilCartyen@feddit.dk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The blood contains a coagulent which clots in the presence of bacterial toxins. It is extracted and used to ensure that medical equipent and stuff such as vaccines are sterile and safe.

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    • prayer@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      The main use is to detect how much endotoxins (proteins that cause our immune system to react) are present in a sample. This is important because we often use bacteria to produce medicine and then remove the bacteria from that medicine. This checks for anything left behind in that process, far more sensitive than any other test or machine can do.

      If it wasn’t for horseshoe crab blood, creating medicine that is safe for injection would be a lot harder and potentially more dangerous.

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      • Rolder@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Wonder why we can’t just make the coagulant ourselves. Or maybe we can but milking crabs is still cheaper.

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    • Vorticity@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Here’s an interesting article

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• Alabaster_Mango@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  

  It’s specifically non-fatal:

  Bleeding horseshoe crabs to death is not an acceptable practice in the U.S.

  The volume of blood taken is actually quite small, as most of the material in the collection jars is anticoagulant.

  It may look uncomfortable to us humans, but keep in mind that horseshoe crabs are not human. What’s normal for the spider is chaos for the fly. Granted, it would be kinda weird to be hoisted from your home by a giant ape and forced into a blood drive. It’s done as gently as possible though.

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  • bstix@feddit.dk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Unfortunately the practice often results in death anyway. 30% die in the process.

    It also has unforseen consequences in the food chain, so by all means we should look for alternatives.

    Thankfully alternatives already exist .

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    • abraxas@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Last I read synthetic LAL was nowhere near scaleable. Bleeding Crabs is very expensive.

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    • cashews_best_nut@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      By vegan moral logic they shouldn’t be allowed to accept vaccines.

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      • Gabu@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Not taking vaccines is endangering far more people

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      • bstix@feddit.dk ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Hmm. Assuming that the production was actually harmless, what’s the difference between wearing a wool sweater made from excess animal production of wool and using a vaccine made from excess animal blood?

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  • shalafi@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Still, I was disappointed to find that a large percentage of released crabs die anyway. Can’t find the number, but it’s significant. 1/3rd?

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    • lemmylommy@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Afair estimates put the portion of dead crabs between 10 and 30%. Some might also be unable to reproduce due to the bleeding.

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      • Mercival@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Sadly a lot of the companies harvesting them will just kill and sell them for bait anyways.

        Of those that are released, about a third die. Not to say about the decrease in overall fitness, which can lead to them falling prey more easily.

        It’s obviously a traumatic experience for the animal in the best case scenario and that is going to reflect on their ability to survive in the wild.

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  • voluble@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Thanks for the link and info.

    Not a reply directly to you, but to contrast the dominant view in the thread - what would it matter if even 100% of the crabs died? Sustainability considerations aside - a crab died for my delicious salad, who cares if they die for a life saving vaccine? Who cares if it’s painful and disorienting for the crab, it’s a crab. As humans, why should we prioritize crab life and well-being over our own?

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    • spacecowboy@sh.itjust.works ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Because we aren’t special and every time we make a stupid decision like that it has disastrous ripple effects.

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      • voluble@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        Ripple effects, sure, I’m with you there, sustainability considerations, which I haven’t seen anyone mentioning ITT.

        I completely disagree with you about the status of humanity. Is it really your view that the well-being of a crab has equivalent moral status to your own well-being?

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    • Kedly@lemm.ee ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Because we HAVE to kill a crab to eat it, we shouldnt be killing or harming other animals unless we “need” to. If theres a way to harvest blood without killing the animal, that is the ethically cleanest option. I do think we should prioritize helping our own species over others, but that doesnt mean ignoring the suffering or harm of other species

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• ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Highest chance of survival/low stress

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• Darken@reddthat.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  That’s how blueberry is made Freeze some of this add some structure, let it set, then put it on trees

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• Emerald@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Because we as a species have decided its okay to torture others for personal gain

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  • erin@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    This is a necessary evil to save many many human lives. Alternatives are being worked on, but this isn’t just for money or food, it’s for lifesaving medicine.

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    • Emerald@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      At the expense of others, also we have synthetic versions of this now.

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