First check out these Northern Lights in Sitka! It’s usually too cloudy—but we got the full experience this week.
In this episode we explore if oysters—those cuddly, delicious bivalves—are vegan. It’s an interesting debate which teaches us about oyster anatomy, oyster farming and more.
Here are some vocab words and links!
Vocab!
Animal liberation (Peter Singer)
Dead Zones
Nitrogen
Oyster dredging
Oyster sauce (vegan alternatives)
Ostroveganism
Phil Collins / Genesis: In Concert
Phosphorous
Scallops
Selenium
Speciesism / speciesist
Vegan
Vitamin B-12
Zinc
Links!
Oyster Habitat, Farming & Anatomy
Oyster Reef Habitat – NOAA Fisheries
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/habitat-conservation/oyster-reef-habitat
Sustainable Pacific Oyster Farming – NOAA Fisheries
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/sustainable-pacific-oyster-farming
Oyster Life Cycle & Anatomy – Florida State University Marine Lab
https://marinelab.fsu.edu/absi/community-engagement/aboutoyster/lifecycle_anatomy/
Environmental Benefits of Shellfish Aquaculture – Connecticut Dept. of Agriculture
https://portal.ct.gov/doag/aquaculture1/aquaculture/environmental-benefits-of-shellfish-aquaculture?language=en_US
Do Oysters Feel Pain? / Sentience & Biology
Do Oysters Feel Pain? – Biology Stack Exchange
https://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/77246/do-oysters-feel-pain
Somewhere Between (On Animal Sentience)
https://metazoan.net/61-somewhere-between/
Do Oysters Feel Pain? – The Naked Scientists
https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/questions/do-oysters-feel-pain
Bivalve Nervous Systems & Behavior (Scientific Paper – PMC)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3040303/
Blurring the Line Between Plants and Animals – Ask A Biologist (ASU)
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/plosable/blurring-line-between-plants-and-animals
Psychological Perspectives on Animal Sentience – Frontiers in Psychology (2022)
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.848434/full
Biology of Mollusks – National Academies of Sciences
https://www.nationalacademies.org/read/10796/chapter/5#63
Veganism, Ostroveganism & Ethics
“Oysters Are Vegan – Change My Mind” (Reddit Debate)
https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateAVegan/comments/n3zm6x/oysters_are_vegan_change_my_mind/
Oyster Mushrooms vs Oysters – Ethical Debate (Reddit)
https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateAVegan/comments/oxggaq/whats_more_ethical_oyster_mushrooms_or_oysters/
Is It OK to Eat Oysters? (Reddit Discussion)
https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateAVegan/comments/zkybd2/i_think_its_ok_to_eat_oysters/
It’s OK for Vegans to Eat Oysters – Slate
https://slate.com/human-interest/2010/04/it-s-ok-for-vegans-to-eat-oysters.html
Definition of Veganism – The Vegan Society
https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism
Scallops
Are Scallops Vegan? – VICE
https://www.vice.com/en/article/are-scallops-vegan/
Nutrition: B-12, Zinc, Selenium & Health
Vitamin B12 in Aquatic Foods – ScienceDirect (Aquaculture Journal)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0044848622008298
Vitamin B-12 Content of Foods – USDA (PDF)
https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/page-files/Vitamin%20B-12.pdf
Are Oysters Good for You? – WebMD
https://www.webmd.com/diet/oysters-good-for-you
Oysters, Zinc, and Coronavirus – Gothenburg Health
https://www.gothenburghealth.org/oysters-zinc-and-coronavirus
Oysters: Nutrition & Health Benefits – APENutrition
https://apenutrition.co.uk/blogs/blog/oyster-article?srsltid=AfmBOop9GXgcuJF6OC6DuBeFH2YyqbQnG3orTjH_5R-oWp7WtNeIFR_1
Seasonal Selenium Variations in Mussels and Oysters – ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279363258_Seasonal_Selenium_Variations_in_Mussels_and_Oysters_from_a_French_Marine_Farm
Oysters & Pollution / Dead Zones
Oysters and Pollution Tolerance – NOAA Coastal Science
https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/news/oysters-can-handle-some-but-not-all-pollution-we-dump-into-the-nations-estuaries-al-com/
Dead Zones in the Chesapeake Bay – Chesapeake Bay Foundation
https://www.cbf.org/issues/dead-zones/
Animal Rights, Speciesism & Key Figures
Save the Animals – Ingrid Newkirk (Archive.org)
https://archive.org/details/saveanimals101ea00newk
Peter Singer Renews Fight for Animal Rights – Princeton
https://paw.princeton.edu/article/bioethics-professor-peter-singer-renews-his-fight-animal-rights
Animal Liberation – Peter Singer (Archive.org)
https://archive.org/details/animalliberation00sing/page/n7/mode/2up
A Conversation with Peter Singer – Nautilus
https://nautil.us/a-conversation-with-animal-rights-pioneer-peter-singer-307372/
Ingrid Newkirk – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingrid_Newkirk
Oyster Sauce (Vegan Context)
Is Oyster Sauce Vegan? – PETA
https://www.peta.org/living/food/oyster-sauce/
Sound & Music References
Boxing Bell “Ding Ding” Sound Effect – Sample Focus
https://samplefocus.com/samples/harsh-boxing-bell-fx?search_id=186079525
Genesis: In Concert – Wikipedia (Phil Collins era)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis:_In_Concert
Jeremiah’s Investigative Reporting Tip of the Day!
How to Get Around Paywalls – Life Pro Tips (Reddit)
https://www.reddit.com/r/LifeProTips/comments/3o0m7v/lpt_you_can_get_by_the_paywalls_for_online/
