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Jelly

Jelly

Jelly is a sweet or savoury food gel, usually made through the addition of gelatin or pectin. Sweet food gels include gelatin desserts such as Jell-O and blancmange or pectin based fruit jam. Savoury food gels include aspic or plain gelatine. Vegetarians & Vegans make jelly not with gelatine (which comes from cows), but with agar (which comes from seaweed) which comes as crystals into which you pour water. In beekeeping, royal jelly is a specific foodstuff made by bees which, when fed to bee larvae, turns them into queen bees. Jelly rubber is a soft, porous material made from PVC and softeners. It is often used in sex toys. Jellies are also a type of fungi. See Jelly fungi.

Regional variations

In the United States, the term is often used to mean jam in general, whether it has gelled or not. Concord grape jelly is usually used in the staple of North American school lunches - the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (PBJ or PB&J). Mayhaw jelly is a delicacy in the American South. In cookery the term jelly is sometimes reserved for a smooth pectin-based jelly made from fruit juice, as opposed to jam, which contains not only juice but actual chunks of the fruit, or marmalade, which contains also some rind or peel (especially of citrus fruit). There is also fruit butter, which is a sweet spread made of fruit cooked to a paste, then lightly sweetened. Thus: grape jelly, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, apple butter. Jelly babies are a popular gelatine based confectionery in the UK and gummi bears are popular worldwide.

Misc.

- There is a Weebl and Bob cartoon called Jelly, see Jelly (Weebl and Bob episode) Category:Foods Category:Gels ja:ゼリー

Gel

:In optical filters and theatrical lighting a color gel is a transparent or translucent colored panel used to change the color of transmitted light. A gel (from the lat. gelu—freezing, cold, ice or gelatus—frozen, immobile) is an apparently solid, jellylike material formed from a colloidal solution. By weight, gels are mostly liquid, yet they behave like solids. An example is gelatin. Many gels display thixotropy - they become fluid when agitated, but resolidify when resting. By replacing the liquid with gas it is possible to prepare aerogels, materials with exceptional properties like very low density, very high surface area, and excellent thermal insulation properties. In 2005 a sound induced gelation effect was demonstrated.

Applications

Many substances can form gels when a suitable thickener or gelling agent is added to their formula. This approach is common in manufacture of wide range of products, from foods to paints, adhesives. In fiber-optic communications, a gel resembling petroleum jelly in viscosity is used to surround a fiber, or multiple fibers, enclosed in a loose buffer tube. This gel serves to lubricate and support the fibers in the buffer tube. It also prevents water intrusion if the buffer tube is breached. Gels are also used in fiber-optics as index-matching materials. Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from the FAA Glossary of Optical Communications Terms

Gelatin

Gelatin (also gelatine) is a translucent brittle solid substance, colorless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless and odorless, which is created by prolonged boiling of animal skin and connective tissue. It has many uses in food, medicine, and manufacturing.

Physical properties

It is a protein product derived through partial hydrolysis of the collagen extracted from skin, bones, cartilage, ligaments, etc. The natural molecular bonds between individual collagen strands are broken down into a form that rearranges more easily. Gelatin melts when heated and solidifies when cooled again. Together with water it forms a semi-solid colloidal gel.

Production

On a commercial scale, gelatin is made from by-products of the meat and leather industry, mainly pork skins, pork and cattle bones, or split cattle hides. Contrary to popular belief, horns and hooves are not commonly used. The raw materials are prepared by different curing, acid, and alkali processes which are employed to extract the dried collagen hydrolysate and which may take several weeks. The worldwide production amounts to 250,000 tons per year. As for home cooking, boiling certain cartilagenous cuts of meat, or bones, will result in gelatin being dissolved into the water. Depending on the concentration, the resulting broth, when cooled, will naturally form a jelly. This process may for instance be used for the pot-au-feu dish.

Edible gelatins

Household gelatin comes in the form of sheets, granules or as a powder. Instant types can be added to the food as is; others need to be soaked in water beforehand. Special kinds of gelatin are made only from certain animals or from fish in order to comply with Jewish kashrut or Muslim halal laws. Vegetarians and vegans may substitute similar gelling agents such as agar, pectin, or konnyaku sometimes incorrectly referred to as "vegetable gelatins." There is no chemical relationship; they are carbohydrates, not proteins. The name "gelatin" is colloquially applied to all types of gels and jellies, but properly used, it should refer solely to the animal protein product. There is no vegetable source for gelatin.

Uses

Probably best known as a gelling agent in cooking, different types and grades of gelatin are used in a wide range of food and non-food products:

Food uses

Common examples of foods that contain gelatin are gelatin desserts or jelly, trifles, aspic, marshmallows and confectioneries such as Peeps and gummy bears. Gelatin may be used as a stabilizer, thickener, or texturizer in foods such as ice cream, jams, yogurt, cream cheese, margarine; it is used, as well, in fat-reduced foods to simulate the mouth feel of fat and to create volume without adding calories. Gelatin is used for the clarification of juices, such as apple juice, and of vinegar. Isinglass, from the swim bladders of fish, is still in use as a fining agent for wine and beer. Beside hartshorn jelly, from deer antlers, isinglass was one of the oldest sources of gelatin.

Technical uses

- Gelatin typically constitutes the shells of pharmaceutical capsules in order to make their contents easier to swallow.
- Animal glues such as hide glue are essentially unrefined gelatin.
- It is used to hold silver halide crystals in an emulsion in virtually all photographic films and photographic papers. Despite some efforts, no suitable substitutes with the stability and low cost of gelatin have been found.
- Used as a carrier, coating or separating agent for other substances, it, for example, makes beta-carotene water-soluble, thus imparting a yellow color to any soft drinks containing beta-carotene.
- Gelatin is closely related to bone glue and is used as a binder in match heads and sandpaper.
- Cosmetics may contain a non-gelling variant of gelatin under the name "hydrolyzed collagen".
- As a surface sizing it smoothes glossy printing papers or playing cards and maintains the wrinkles in crepe paper.

Other uses

- Blocks of ballistic gelatin simulate human tissue as a standardized shooting target for testing firearms and ammunition.
- Gelatin is used by synchronized swimmers to hold their hair in place during their routines as it will not dissolve in the cold water of the pool. It is frequently referred to as "knoxing", a reference to Knox brand gelatin. Though commonly used, the owners of the trademark object to the genericized use of the term.
- When added to boiling water and cooled, unflavored gelatin can make an effective home-made hair styling gel that is cheaper than many commercial hair styling products, but by comparison has a shorter shelf life (about a week) when stored in this form (usually in a refrigerator). Some people claim that gelatin/water-based hair gel does not cause hair to thin with constant long-term use, compared to commercial products because it does not contain certain chemicals. After being applied to scalp hair, it can be removed with rinsing and some shampoo. Striking results can be achieved when hair is held in place and a hair dryer is used, to create spikes, the Mohawk hairstyle, etc.

Medicinal properties

For decades, gelatin has been touted as a good source of protein. It has also been said to strengthen nails and hair. However, there is little scientific evidence to support such an assertion, one which may be traced back to Knox's revolutionary marketing techniques of the 1890s, when it was advertised that gelatin contains protein and that lack of protein causes dry, deformed nails. Actually, the human body itself produces abundant amounts of the proteins found in gelatin. Furthermore, dry nails are usually due to a lack of moisture, not protein. Although gelatin is 98–99% protein by dry weight, the body cannot readily use it. Gelatin is notable for its exceptionally low nutritional value. The approximate amino acid composition of gelatin is: glycine 21 %, proline 12 %, hydroxyproline 12 %, glutamic acid 10 %, alanine 9 %, arginine 8%, aspartic acid 6 %, lysine 4 %, serine 4 %, leucine 3 %, valine 2 %, phenylalanine 2 %, threonine 2 %, isoleucine 1 %,hydroxylysine 1 %, methionine and histidine <1% and tyrosine < 0.5 %. These values vary, especially the minor constituents, depending on the source of the raw material and processing technique(3). Gelatin is unusually high in the non-essential amino acids glycine and proline, (i.e., those produced by the human body), while lacking certain essential amino acids (i.e., those not produced by the human body). Gelatin is one of the few foods that cause a net loss of protein if eaten exclusively. It contains no tryptophan and is deficient in isoleucine, threonine, and methionine. Several people died of malnutrition in the 1970s while on popular 'liquid protein' diets. Gelatin is claimed to promote general joint health. A study at Ball State University, sponsored by Nabisco (the former parent company of Knox gelatin[http://www.gelita.com/]), found that gelatin supplementation relieved knee joint pain and stiffness in athletes. These results remain yet to be replicated by other researchers. It has been claimed that an early procedure for creating gelatin was discovered by a 17th-century Franciscan Abbot who was seeking a way to purify human blood. Having failed in this endeavor, he noted that his method of solidifying fluid might be more useful with water, although the supposed records of this were allegedly lost during the Nazi invasion of France.

Safety concerns

Due to Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as "mad cow disease", and its link to the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, there has been much concern about using gelatin derived from possibly infected animal parts. One study released in 2004, however, demonstrated that the gelatin production process destroys most of the BSE prions that may be present in the raw material (1). However, more detailed recent studies regarding the safety of gelatin in respect to mad cow disease have prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to re-issue a warning and stricter guidelines for [http://www.fda.gov/opacom/morechoices/industry/guidance/gelguide.htm The Sourcing and Processing of Gelatin to Reduce the Potential Risk Posed by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy] from 1997.

References

(1) Grobben, A. H.; Steele, P. J.; Somerville, R. A.; Taylor, D. M. [http://www.babonline.org/bab/039/0329/0390329.pdf Inactivation of the bovine-spongiform-encephalopathy (BSE) agent by the acid and alkali processes used in the manufacture of bone gelatine.] Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry (2004), 39, 329-338. (2) Dr. Roland Heynke [http://www.mad-cow.org/~tom/gel_Roland.html Gelatin Production and Prion Theory] General Information about Gelatin and Mad Cow Disease including references to various studies. (3) P.V. Stevens. Food Australia. 44(7): 320-324, 1992. Described on [http://www.gelatin.co.za/gltn1.html Dr Bernard Cole's website] 2005-08-11. Category:Animal products Category:Edible thickening agents Category:Proteins ja:ゼラチン

Gelatin dessert

By far the most popular use for gelatin products is as gelatin dessert, in the United Kingdom and Australia gelatin desserts are referred to as jelly, and in the United States and Canada (where "jelly" is a clear preserve stiffened by pectin and spread on bread) by its trademarked name, Jell-O. Gelatin for desserts is marketed as a flavored powder and sometimes in the form of loosely attached cubes, resembling a wobbly chocolate bar. Popular brands include Jell-O from Kraft Foods in North America, Rowntree's Jelly in the United Kingdom and Aeroplane Jelly in Australia.

Agar

Some gelatinous desserts can be made with agar instead of gelatin, allowing them to congeal more quickly and at higher temperatures. Agar, a vegetable product, is used especially in quick jelly powder mix and Asian jelly deserts, but also for vegetarian alternatives. Agar is more closely related to pectin and other gelling plant carbohydrates.

Extraction of collagen

Animal rendering is a key step in the manufacture of gelatin desserts. The production of gelatin starts with the boiling of bones, skins, and hides of cows and pigs, in 70-foot vats to remove collagen, which is then soaked and filtered. Horns or hooves are not used, as is traditionally thought. The extract is then dried and ground to form a powder, and is mixed with sugar, adipic acid, fumaric acid, disodium acid, sodium citrate, and artificial flavorings and food colors. Because the collagen is processed extensively, the final product is not categorized as a meat or animal product by the federal government. food color

Safety

Eating tainted beef has lead to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans, but there are no known cases of variant CJD transmitted through collagen products such as gelatin.

Trivia

- Jell-O is the official state snack food of Utah, which is reported to have the highest per capita sales of green gelatin dessert of any US state. Over-fondness of Jell-O is often considered a cliché trait of Mormons even in other areas.
- Bill Cosby is often associated with Jell-O because of the many commercials he made for Jell-O branded products. Category:Desserts Category:Kraft brands

Blancmange

Blancmange, pronounced , is a jelly dessert made of milk and/or cream, sugar, gelatin or cornstarch, and flavouring (usually almond). It is set in a mould and served cold. Blancmange originated in the Arab world and reached medieval Europe through Sicily and Spain. Its basic form involved shredded capon flesh and almond milk or ground almonds, often with rosewater. In the 16th century, a meatless version using cream, sugar and eggs was developed, and towards the end of the 17th century, a new kind of blancmange, a calf's foot or hartshorn jelly flavoured with almond and rosewater, and perhaps including milk, was introduced. In the 19th century, this was prepared using arrowroot, today cornflour is usually used. Blancmanges should always be pink. The term blancmange is derived from the Middle English blankmanger, from Old French blanc mangier: blanc, white (of Germanic origin) + mangier, to eat, food (from Latin manducare). Several medieval recipes for blancmange have survived, and the dish is mentioned in the prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Blancmanges are also featured prominently in an episode long series of sketches by Monty Python's Flying Circus, wherein enormous sentient puddings attack and eat famous tennis stars in an effort to win Wimbledon. The evil blancmanges are thwarted by being eaten by a couple, leading to the unlikely result of a Scotsman winning Wimbledon.

External links

- [http://www.hertzmann.com/articles/2003/blanc/ Blanc-Mange: A Journey Through Time] Category:Desserts Category:Puddings

ASPIC

ASPIC can refer to:
- Advanced SCSI Programmable Interrupt Controller
- Application Service Provider Industry Consortium
- Armed Services Personnel Interrogation Center
- Association for Strategic Planning in Internal Communications
- Author's Standard Prepress Interfacing Cod

Vegetarian

:For plant-eating non-human animals, see Herbivore. Vegetarianism is the practice of not eating meat, poultry, fish or their by-products, with or without the use of dairy products or eggs [http://www.ivu.org/about.html]. The exclusion may also extend to products derived from animal carcasses, such as lard, tallow, gelatin, rennet and cochineal. Some who follow the diet also choose to refrain from wearing products that involve the death of animals, such as leather, silk, wool, feather, and fur. It should be noted that although many vegetarians abstain from all animal by-products, others make exceptions in their diet and attire. Vegetarians may consume dairy products; a stricter diet is veganism and the strictest is fruitarianism. fruitarianism
History
Vegetarianism has been common in the Indian subcontinent, since possibly the 2nd millennium BC for spiritual reasons, such as ahimsa (nonviolence) and reducing bad karmic influences. Jainism, which claims between eight to ten million adherants, enjoins its followers to be vegetarian. Many Buddhist monks have also historically practiced vegetarianism. In looking for parallels in Jewish and Christian antiquity for these practices, some Christian vegetarians feel a kinship with Nazirite, Essenes and Ebionite practices. Many Hindu scriptures advocate the diet. The secular literature of Tirukural in Tamil Nadu, India, proclaimed over 2000 years ago: "Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion will not feed on flesh abandoned by life. How can he practise true compassion, he who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?" Vegetarians in Europe used to be called "Pythagoreans" , after the philosopher and his followers abstained from meat in the 6th century BC. These people followed a vegetarian diet for nutritional and ethical reasons. According to the Roman poet Ovid, Pythagoras said: "As long as Man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings he will never know health or peace. For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." In 1847, the first Vegetarian Society in Ramsgate, England, agreed that a "vegetarian" — from the Latin uegetus "lively", and suggestive of the English word "vegetable" — was a person who refuses to consume flesh of any kind. Seventh-Day Adventists and Rastafarians, denominations founded in the 19th and 20 century, are also frequently vegetarian. African Hebrew Israelites only eat an organic vegetarian diet that also excludes dairy products such as milk.
Recent trends
Indian vegetarians, primarily lacto-vegetarians, are estimated to make up more than 70% of the world's vegetarians. They make up 20 to 30% of the population in India, while occasional meat-eaters make up another 30%. Most Asian countries had a predominantly vegetarian diet until the past few decades, when increasing industrialization and westernization changed that. Perhaps the most famous vegetarian group is the Hunzas that reside near the Himalayas in Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and India. These people usually live to be over a 100 years old and have an exclusively vegetarian diet. In the Western world, the popularity of vegetarianism steadily grew over the 20th century as a result of nutritional, ethical, and more recently, environmental concerns. In the U.S., as of 2000, 2.5 to 3% said they never eat meat [http://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2000may/2000maypoll.htm], which may mean they are vegetarian, while 5 to 6% said they do not eat meat [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDE/is_3_22/ai_106422316]. This represents an increase over the last decade [http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/poll.htm] and a great increase since 1950 when vegetarianism was very rare, although per-capita meat consumption has increased considerably since then, as the price of meat has fallen due to factory farming, and the average income has risen.
Terminology and varieties of vegetarianism
Different practices of vegetarianism include:
- Lacto vegetarianism — Lacto vegetarians do not eat meat or eggs, but may consume dairy products. Most vegetarians in India and those in the classical Mediterranean lands, such as Pythagoreans, are or were lacto vegetarian.
- Lacto-ovo vegetarianism — Lacto-ovo vegetarians do not eat meat, but may consume dairy products and eggs. This is currently the most common variety in the Western world.
- Ovo vegetarianism — Ovo vegetarians do not eat meat or dairy products, but may eat eggs.
- Veganism — Those who avoid eating any animal products, including eggs, milk, cheese, and sometimes honey, are known as dietary vegans. Those who avoid eating or using animal products, such as leather and some cosmetics, are called vegans. The following are less common practices of vegetarianism:
- Raw food diet — Involves food, usually vegan, which is not heated above 116°F (46.7°C); it may be warmed slightly or raw, but never cooked. Raw foodists argue that cooking destroys enzymes and/or portions of each nutrient. However, some raw foodists believe certain foods become more bio-available when warmed slightly as the process softens them, which more than negates the destruction of nutrients and enzymes. Other raw foodists, called "living foodists", activate the enzymes through soaking the food in water a while before consumption. Some spiritual raw foodists are also fruitarians and many eat only organic foods.
- Macrobiotic diet — Involves a diet consisting mostly of whole grains and beans, and is usually spiritually based like fruitarianism.
- Natural Hygiene — Involves a diet principally of raw vegan foods.
- Fruitarianism — Fruitarians, or fructarians, eat only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant (some fruitarians eat only plant matter that has already fallen off the plant). This typically arises out of a holistic philosophy. Thus, a fruitarian will eat beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins, and the like, but will refuse to eat potatoes or spinach. It is disputed whether it is possible to avoid malnutrition with a fruitarian diet, which is rarer than other types of vegetarian or vegan diet. The following similarly named diets are not considered full vegetarianism:
- Semi-vegetarianism ("pesco" or "pesco/pollo")— Some people choose to avoid certain types of meat for many of the same reasons that others choose vegetarianism: health, ethical beliefs, etc. For example, some people will not eat "red meat" (mammal meat – beef, lamb, pork, etc.) while still consuming poultry and seafood. It may also be used as an interim diet by individuals who are on a path to becoming fully vegetarian.
- Flexitarianism — Flexitarians adhere to a diet that is mostly vegetarian but occasionally consume meat. Some, for instance, may regard the suffering of animals in factory farm conditions as their sole reason for avoiding meat or meat-based foods, and will eat meat or meat products from animals raised under more humane conditions or hunted in the wild.
- Freeganism — Freegans practice a lifestyle based on concerns about the exploitation of animals, the earth, and human beings in the production of consumer goods. Many tend towards veganism but this is not an inherent practice. Those that eat meat generally support the arguments for vegetarianism, but as freegans are very concerned about waste many prefer to make use of discarded commodities than to allow them to go to waste and consume landfill space. [http://freegan.info]
Motivation

Religious
The majority of the world's vegetarians, according to the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians, follow the practice for religious reasons. Many religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, the Bahá'í Faith, Sikhism, and especially Jainism, teach that ideally life should always be valued and not willfully destroyed for unnecessary human gratification. Smaller denominations that prescribe the diet include the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Rastafarianism and Sufism. Hinduism and Jainism both hold vegetarianism as the ideal. They believe that food shapes the personality, mood and mind. They believe that meat promotes aggressiveness and a mental state of turmoil known as "Rajas" while a vegetarian diet promotes Satvic qualities, calm the mind, and is essential for spiritual progress. They believe that animals have souls (a manifestation of the eternal monistic consciousness Brahman) and killing animals have karmic repurcussions that are bound to be reaped later by oneself. Also, the principle of Ahimsa (non-violence) compels one to refrain from injuring any living creature, physically, mentally or emotionally. Most of the secular motivations for vegetarianism such as ethical considerations and nutrition apply to Hindu & Jain motivations as well. Mahayaha Buddhists believe that Buddha stongly denounced meat while Theravadins believe that he did not. Accordingly, monks from the Mahayana school practice vegetarianism while other schools do not. Jews, Christians, and Muslims are left with the biblical ideal of the Garden of Eden diet, which from all appearances is fruitarian. However, only a relative minority within these religions practice such diets, since the book of Genesis later gives permission to Noah to consume animal flesh further citing that God gave Adam and Eve dominion over them.
Nutritional
Adam and Eve Some nutritionists claim that a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables but low in, or excluding, animal fat and protein offers numerous health benefits, including a significantly lower risk of heart disease, cancer, renal failure, obesity, diabetes and stroke. The American Dietetic Association, the largest organization of nutrition professionals , states on its website "Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer." [http://www.eatright.org/Public/GovernmentAffairs/92_17084.cfm] [http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=HQ01596] The American Heart Association's website states "Many studies have shown that vegetarians seem to have a lower risk of obesity, coronary heart disease (which causes heart attack), high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and some forms of cancer." [http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4777] [http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/breastpest.cfm Studies] show that a vegetarian mother's breast milk has significantly lower levels of pesticide residue than a non-vegetarian's. Some vegetable protein sources lack in one or more "essential" amino acid. For example, Grains and nuts are low in lysine and legumes are low in methionine. While everyone should eat a variety of foods to ensure a balanced nutrition, the body’s requirement for essential amino acids now appears to be much less important than researchers once believed. Vegetarians get all the protein and amino acids they need from eating a normal variety of whole grains (whole wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice), beans, nuts, and soy (tofu, veggie burgers/hotdogs, edamame, etc). The intake of such foods has to be larger since the protein percentage in these foods are comparitively lower than in a similar serving of meat. Attaining sufficient protein intake is rarely a problem in developed countries and the lower protein intake of vegetarians has even been suggested as a possible cause of some of the health benefits above. A vegetarian diet does not include fish - a major source of Omega 3, though some plant-based sources of it exist such as soy, hempseed, pumpkin seeds, canola oil and, especially, walnuts and flaxseed. Some suggest that vegetarians have higher rates of deficiencies in those nutrients which are found in high concentrations in meat. Surprisingly, studies endorsed by the ADA found that this was not the case for iron or calcium. On the other hand, Vitamin B-12 and zinc from vegetarian sources other than dairy products and eggs are not readily absorbed by the body and a vegan diet usually needs supplements. [http://www.cyberparent.com/nutrition/vegandiet.htm]. Nonetheless, these nutrients are now commonly supplemented in milks and cereals in the western world, and is not necessarily a problem in a vegetarian diet.
Ethical
zinc Many vegetarians consider the production, subsequent slaughtering and consumption of meat or animal products as unethical. Reasons for believing this are varied, and may include a belief in animal rights, or an aversion to inflicting pain or harm on other living creatures. In developed countries, ethical vegetarianism has become popular particularly after the spread of factory farming, which has reduced the sense of husbandry that used to exist in farming and led to animals being treated as commodities. Many believe that the treatment which animals undergo in the production of meat and animal products obliges them to never eat meat or use animal products. In addition to the ethical issues involved, some vegetarians find meat, animal products, and their production unappetizing or emotionally disturbing.
Environmental
Environmental vegetarianism is the belief that the production of meat and animal products at current and likely future levels is environmentally unsustainable. Industrialization has lead to intensive farming practices and diets high in animal protein, primarily in first world countries and mainly the United States. According to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) "Most of the world's population today subsists on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets for reasons that are economic, philosophical, religious, cultural, or ecological." [http://www.nap.edu/books/0309039940/html/41.html] Thus, the main protest of environmental vegetarians is primarily of intensive farming in first world countries. According to the United Nations Population Fund "Each U.S. citizen consumes an average of 260 lbs. of meat per year, the world's highest rate. That is about 1.5 times the industrial world average, three times the East Asian average, and 40 times the average in Bangladesh." [http://www.unfpa.org/6billion/ccmc/u.s.scorecard.html] As well "The ecological footprint of an average person in a high-income country is about six times bigger than that of someone in a low-income country, and many more times bigger than in the least-developed countries." [http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2004/english/ch3/] All modern, intensive farming practices consume heavy amounts of fossil fuel and water resources and have lead to emissions of harmful gases and chemicals. As well, they consume heavy amounts of fossil fuel and water resources and destroying far greater areas of habitat (large industrial monoculture corn and soy fields, etc.) than is found in more sustainable farming practices such as organic farming, permaculture, arable, pastoral, and rainfed agriculture. Animals fed on grain, and also those which rely on grazing, need far more water than grain crops [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3559542.stm]. According to the USDA growing the crops necessary to feed farmed animals requires nearly half of the United State's water supply and 80 percent of it's agricultural land. As well animals raised for food in the U.S. consume 90 percent of the soy crop, 80 percent of the corn crop, and a total of 70 percent of it's grain. [http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/sb973/sb973.pdf]. In tracking food animal production from the feed trough to the dinner table, the inefficiencies of meat, milk and egg production range from 4:1 energy input to protein output ratio up to 54:1. [http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html] The result is that producing animal based food is typically much less efficient than the harvesting of grains, vegetables, legumes, seeds and fruits. Environmental vegetarianism can be compared with economic vegetarianism. An economic vegetarian is someone who practices vegetarianism from either the philosophical viewpoint concerning issues such as public health and curbing world starvation, the belief that the consumption of meat is economically unsound, part of a conscious simple living strategy or just out of necessity. According to the WorldWatch Institute "Massive reductions in meat consumption in industrial nations will ease the health care burden while improving public health; declining livestock herds will take pressure off of rangelands and grainlands, allowing the agricultural resource base to rejuvenate. As populations grow, lowering meat consumption worldwide will allow more efficient use of declining per capita land and water resources, while at the same time making grain more affordable to the world's chronically hungry." [https://www.worldwatch.org/press/news/1998/07/02]
Social
Some people are vegetarian because they were raised in a vegetarian household. Others may have become vegetarians because of a vegetarian partner, family member, or friend. Some people live in a predominantly vegetarian society (such as India), and so adopt this practice to avoid ostracism, or for the difficulty of buying meat in such a society .
Spiritual
Many Eastern religions claim that spiritual awareness and experiences are greatly enhanced on a vegetarian diet. They believe that vegetarianism helps an individual to explore deeper levels of consciousness and establish a connection with the Divine, through such practices as meditation, yoga or whirling. In the Western world there are also individuals like James Redfield who, independent from any specific religious beliefs, share the same sentiment. In the West this motivation is regarded by many as a New Age reason for being vegetarian.
Physiological
There is considerable debate over whether humans are physiologically better suited to a herbivore or omnivore diet. Some, such as Albert Einstein, regard an evolution to a vegetarian diet as part of our human evolution, with each new generation moving slowly away from the necessity of eating meat. Others study statistical information, such as comparing life expectancy with regional areas and local diets. For example, eskimos whose carnivore diet consists of only seal meat and fish have one of the lowest life expectancies on Earth [http://www.energygrid.com/health/2004/05ap-atkins.html] (cancer is one of the highest causes of death, although this could equally be due to the harsh climate in which they live), while the Chinese whose diet is basically semi-vegan have some of the oldest living people in the world [http://www.chinahand.com/qigong/ckhistory.htm]. Other examples include looking within countries themselves. For instance, life expectancy is considerably greater in southern France where a semi-vegetarian Mediterranean diet is common (fresh fruit, vegetables, olive oil, goats cheese and fish), than northern France where an omnivore diet is more common (which also includes pork, beef, butter, cows cheese and cream) [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050425111008.htm] [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/bmj;330/7498/991]. Although it must be noted that many other influences come into life expectancy, such as clean water, sunshine, pollution, genetics and lifestyle (alcohol, smoking, stress etc), so it is difficult to provide conclusive proof of a link between regional diets and life expectancy. It is also worth pointing out that these comparisons assume food is available and there is no malnutrition, which is an overriding life expectancy influence in parts of the developing world for instance. Some vegetarian beliefs (such as Hare Krishna and Modern Buddhism) suggest that human beings are "designed" to consume vegetable matter rather than meat. The reasons are mainly associated with the differences between predators and plant-eating animals. Predators usually have sharp teeth to tear fresh meat. Dogs, cats or lions are examples, while plant-eating animals have no sharp teeth to tear meat. Horse, dear, sheep and human beings have no sharp teeth to consume meat. The intestines of predators are relatively short compared with those of plant-eating animals. This allows meat eaten by predators to pass more quickly though the intestines. Since meat rots much faster than vegetables, it is neccessary for predators to have short intestines to prevent meat rotting inside the body that could harm the creature. Herbivores, however, need a much longer intestine to allow sufficient time for the digestion of vegetable fibres. Human kind could have the same digestive system with the plant-eating animals. According to The Straight Dope, this is not actually factually correct. [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_087.html] as humans have evolved to be omnivores. Human intestinal length is, taken as a ratio, half way between carnivores, like cats and dogs and herbivores like cows and horses. If there is a need for predator's intestines to be short enough to digest meat and excrete it as soon as possible before it is harmful(rotten) to the predators, any considerable longer intestine length could still harm the eater. Human digestive system may have evoluted to have shorter intestine than those herbivores as a alternative measures to reduce harmful effect from eating meat. As the food source for human become wider, human become less depend on the blind gut that digesting fibres. Those omnivores may be "forced" to consume meat(herbivores) or consume vegetables(predators) provided there was a food shortage. Consuming meat may harm the herbivores with long intestine length. Predators' short intestines may not capable to digest vegetables that need more time to digest. Any form of omnivores may be an alternative way to confront enivronment difficulties. Either shorter or longer intestine, would be well suit for either eating meat nor vegetables. There seems no mid-way in-between. The way in which predators and plant eating mammals drink is another reason that is suggested. Predators like dogs, cats or lions use their tongue to drink water as digesting meat does not consume as much water compared with digesting vegetables. Plant-eating animals like horses, deer or sheep, suck water as do humans. Some Modern Buddhism proponents even hypothesize that human ancestry were ultimately vegetable eaters. During the last ice age, much of human ancestry could not have survived by eating vegetables eclusively. As there was a lack of vegetables at that time, human beings would have had to change their diet (consume meat). The dead bodes of the large animals in the ice age that did not rot would have provided a stable food supply. This eating habit continued in humans after the ice age, as eating both meat and vegetables would have ensured a larger food supply.
Vegetarian cuisine
This generally means food which excludes ingredients under which an animal must have died, such as meat, meat broth, cheeses that use animal rennet (some vegetarians will eat all cheeses and others none, because of its milk content), gelatin (from animal skin and connective tissue), and for the strictest, even some sugars that are whitened with bone char (e.g. cane sugar, but not beet sugar) and alcohol clarified with gelatin or crushed shellfish and sturgeon.
Country specific information

- In India vegetarianism is usually synonymous with lacto vegetarianism, although lacto-ovo vegetarianism is practiced as well. 20 to 30% of Indians are estimated to be vegetarians and vegetarian restaurants (almost always lacto vegetarian) abound . There are usually many vegetarian (Shakahari (~plant-eater) in Hindi) options available in all restaurants ('hidden' meat ingredients such as lard, gelatin, meat stock are not used in the traditional cuisine).
- In the United States, vegetarianism is usually synonymous with ovo-lacto vegetarianism. However, vegetarians are sometimes wrongly assumed to be pesco/pollo vegetarians who will tolerate some meat. Many restaurants and caterers provide vegetarian options to patrons, often explicitly indicated as such. It is also possible to order a vegetarian meal and be served meat. Polls find that 2.8% of Americans are vegetarian as of 2004 [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6008949/]. In addition, vegetarianism in the United States generally reflects regional cultural differences. It is more difficult to find vegetarian options in rural restaurants than in urban ones. The same applies to Midwestern city restaurants compared to West Coast restaurants. This seems to be slowly changing as vegetarian market innovations (such as veggie burgers) attain wider acceptance, demand, and distribution.
- In the UK, voluntary labelling of vegetarian foods is widespread, but far from universal. Many manufacturers will label food as "suitable for vegetarians" though there is currently no agreed definition of this. In addition, the Vegetarian Society operates a scheme where foods that meet its strict criteria can be labelled as "Vegetarian Society-approved". Cheese is often labelled as well, making it possible to identify cheeses that have been made with non-animal rennet. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin, which can make identifying vegetarian foods difficult if they are not otherwise labelled as such. 5% of the UK are estimated to be vegetarians. The British Vegetarian Society regards a product as vegetarian if it is free of meat, fowl, fish, shellfish, meat or bone stock, animal or carcass fats, gelatin, aspic, or any other ingredient resulting from slaughter, such as rennet. Where eggs are used, they must be free range, and the product should not have involved animal testing. [http://www.vegsoc.org/business/corporate/symbintro.html]
- In Ireland, food labelling is in place.
- In Spain, most vegetarian meals will be served with egg, or even tuna. Stock is normally used in vegetable soups and many sauces.
- In France the situation is similar to that in Spain, but is slightly less unfavourable.
- In Germany, the confusion of vegetarianism with pesco/pollo vegetarianism is also common. There is no food labelling in place, and buying only vegetarian foods can involve having to read the fine printed ingredients list ("Zutaten") on many food products. However widespread Wholefood emporia provide sources for vegetarian foods in even remote areas.
- In Australia the same conditions apply as in Germany. Some manufacturers who target the vegetarian market will label their foods, however except for foods intended for export to the United Kingdom, this labelling can be inconsistent. Flavourings in ingredients lists do not need to specify if they come from animal origin. As such, natural flavour could be derived from either plant or animal sources.
Vegetarian societies
Vegetarian societies (apart from India) were first formed in majority meat eating European countries both as a means to promote the diet and to gather together vegetarians for mutual support. By 2000, most western and developing nations had functioning vegetarian societies. The countries that were first to establish societies are still the ones most likely to have the greatest proportion of vegetarians within their populations. The first societies were:
- 1847 — United Kingdom
- 1850 — United States of America
- 1867 — Germany
- 1880 — France
- 1886 — Australia
- 1889 — India
- 1890 — Ireland
- 1893 — Switzerland
- 1894 — Netherlands
- 1895 — Sweden
- 1896 — Denmark
- 1896 — Hungary
- 1899 — Belgium
- 1900 — Austria The International Vegetarian Union [http://www.ivu.org/], a union of all the national societies, was founded in 1908.
Quotations

- Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet - Albert Einstein.
- The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men - Leonardo da Vinci
- I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals - Henry David Thoreau
- A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite - Leo Tolstoy.
- I do feel that spiritual progress does demand, at some stage, that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants - Mahatma Gandhi. (Gandhi however saw the consumption of sterile eggs as acceptable.)
- To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana - Buddha. (Buddha himself consumed meat and advised his disciples not to avoid meat that was offered to them to be polite)
- Do not turn your stomach into graveyard of animals - Mohammad, the prophet of Islam (religious Muslims can be assumed to be semi-vegetarian, Muslims are encouraged by their prophet to eat less meat).
- Almost all vegetarians were indoctrinated into a meat and cruelty-based culture since birth; until that fateful moment when, by one means or another, we were lucky enough to encounter a vegetarian viewpoint, we really didn't have the choice to be anything but a flesh-eater. - Peter Singer
Criticism
There are some people who criticise vegetarianism on the grounds that it is difficult, if not impossible, to get a sufficient amount of B12 from a strictly vegetarian diet, although the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada statement on vegetarianism which has been reaffirmed four times over 15 years strongly disputes this [http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML.htm]. Additionally, since B12 is produced in relatively copious amounts by bacteria in the human digestive system as well as organically cultivated soil, it is argued that only our recent age of obsessive cleanliness (in particular the excessive cleaning of vegetables) has made possible the potential for B12 deficiency in a vegan diet. In any case involving B12 deficiency, this can be easily remedied by simply taking a B12 supplement. Some people have allegedly suffered from health problems because of various types of vegan diets . However, many other people have suffered from health problems due to various types of non-vegan / non-vegetarian diets. For example, the World Health Organization indicates that [http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/cancer/en/ eating animal fats increases your risk of cancer], and [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/oup/aje/2005/00000161/00000003/art00239 a study published in The American Journal of Epidemiology] in February 2005 finds that consuming meat and/or dairy products increases the risk of death due to cardiovascular disease. Some question the assumption that food given to livestock could instead be used to feed humans. In developing countries particularly, such food is usually of poor quality and not fit for human consumption, though the land it utilizes could be turned over to human food production. However, Cornell scientists have advised that the U.S. could feed 800 million people with grain that livestock eat [http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Aug97/livestock.hrs.html] Also, there exist some types of terrain (such as mountains) that are suitable for grazing animals, but not suitable as farmland. Some people produce environmental criticism based on the water consumption of local farmers: In most of the poor countries in Asia, the main source of carbohydrates and intake of cereals comes from rice consumption. The cultivation of paddy requires two to four times as much water when compared to cultivation of other dry crops [http://www.fao.org/rice2004/en/pdf/renault.pdf (FAO)] thus making it far more environmentally friendly to diversify the production. Other criticism of vegetarianism comes from people who exclusively eat meat and dairy products produced locally in humane conditions. They consider that vegetarians are undermining the market for these products and tacitly supporting factory farming.
References
(2002). Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary. Sixth Edition. p. 1798. ISBN 0323014305. [http://www.mountainman.com.au/kural/kural026.htm Thirukural Chapter 26: Abstaining from Meat] Spencer, Colin. (2002). Vegetarianism: A History. Four Walls Eight Windows; 2nd edition. p. 38. ISBN 1568582382 L. Beckett & J. W. Oltjen. (1993). Estimation of the water requirement for beef production in the United States. Journal of Animal Science, 71, 818-8268. FAO., United Nations. (1996). Livestock & the Environment. Shierry Weber Nicholsen, The Love of Nature and the End of the World : The Unspoken Dimensions of Environmental Concern (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2003). ISBN 0262640511. Techno Economics of Paddy cultivation, State Bank of India Publications. Excerpt from the book The extended circle, by Jon Wynne-Tyson, ISBN 0747406332. [www.fas.usda.gov/htp/highlights/2001/india.pdf Indian consumer patterns] - US dept of agriculture report, [http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/February04/Features/ElephantJogs.htm Agri reform in India] - USDA , [http://www.fao.org/WAIRDOCS/LEAD/X6170E/x6170e09.htm#TopOfPage Diary and poultry sector growth in India ] [http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/India/India.htm Vegetarian restauraunts in india]
See also

- Christian vegetarianism
- Fruitarianism
- List of notable vegetarians
- Natural Hygiene
- Veganism
- Vegetarian cuisine
- List of vegetarians
- List of vegans
External links

- [http://www.brook.com/veg/ Eco-Eating: Eating as if the Earth Matters]
- [http://ananimalfriendlylife.com/ An Animal-Friendly Life] Offers a wide variety of vegan links
- [http://www.vegsoc.org/ The Vegetarian Society]
- [http://www.recipedelights.com/indianvegdishes.htm Delights of Indian Vegetarian Cooking]
- [http://www.ivu.org/ The International Vegetarian Union]
- [http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/ Vegetarian Recipes] - All Recipes has 800 free vegetarian recipes.
- [http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php?showforum=34 Vegetarian Discussion Forum]
- [http://www.christianveg.com/ Christian Vegetarian Association]
- [http://www.brook.com/jveg/ The Vegetarian Mitzvah]
- [http://tonysamara.org/vegetarian.htm Vegetarianism and Spirituality]
- [http://www.vegparadise.com/protein.html Protein Basics Chart] Tells how much and what kinds of proteins are required for different lifestyles and has great detailed charts showing how much protein is in various foods.
- [http://www.happycow.net/index.html/ HappyCow.net] A world guide to vegetarian restaurants and health food stores.
- [http://www.vegetarianusa.com/index.html VegetarianUSA.com] A more extensive guide to vegetarian restaurants and health food stores for the USA only.
- [http://www.vegweb.com/ Vegweb] An extensive, collaborative vegetarian cookbook
- [http://www.e-gourmet-recipes.com Gourmet Vegetarian Recipes]
- [http://famousveggie.com/quotes.cfm Quotes by Famous Vegetarians]
- [http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=mym2002 PETA TV: Alec Baldwin Narrates Revised “Meet Your Meat”] streaming video or download (83 MB)
- [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=77318 What Gives Us the Right to Kill Animals? - A Jewish view on Vegetarianism] chabad.org Category:Nutrition Category:Diets Category:Vegetarian cuisine Category:Spirituality ko:채식주의 ja:ヴェジタリアン

Gelatine

Physical properties

Production

Edible gelatins

Uses

Probably best known as a gelling agent in cooking, different types and grades of gelatin are used in a wide range of food and non-food products:

Food uses

Technical uses

Other uses

Medicinal properties

Safety concerns

References

Beekeeping

Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, a bee) is the practice of intentional maintenance of honeybee hives by humans. A beekeeper may keep bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, or for the purpose of pollinating crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary.

History of beekeeping

Beekeeping is one of the oldest forms of food production. Some of the earliest evidence of beekeeping is from rock painting, dating to around 13,000 BC. It was particularly well developed in Egypt and was discussed by the Roman writers Virgil, Gaius Julius Hyginus, Varro and Columella. Traditionally beekeeping was done for the bees' honey harvest, although nowadays crop pollination service can often provide a greater part of a commercial beekeeper's income. Other hive products are pollen, royal jelly and propolis, which are also used for nutritional and medicinal purposes, and wax which is used in candlemaking, cosmetics, wood polish and for modelling. The modern use of hive products has not changed much. Western honeybees are not native to the Americas. American, Australian and New Zealand colonists imported honeybees from Europe, partly for honey and partly for their usefulness as pollinators. The first honey bee species imported were likely European dark bees. Later italian bees, carniolan honeybees and caucasian bees were added. Western honeybees were also brought to the Primorsky Krai in Russia by Ukrainian settlers around 1850s. These Russian honey bees that are similar to the Carniolan bee were imported into the US in 1990. The Russian honey bee has shown to be more resistant to the bee parasites, Varroa destructor and Acarapis woodi. Prior to the 1980s, most US hobby beekeepers were farmers or relatives of a farmer, lived in rural areas, and kept bees with techniques passed down for generations. The arrival of tracheal mites in the 1980s and varroa mites and small hive beetles in the 1990s removed most of these beekeepers because they did not know how to deal with the new parasites and their bees died. In Asia other species of Apis exist which are used by local beekeepers for honey and beeswax. Non-Apis species of honeybees, known collectively as stingless bees, have also been kept from antiquity in Australia and Central America, although these traditions are dying, and the trigonine and meliponine species used are endangered. endangered]]

Types of beekeepers

There are several types of beekeepers:
- Hobbyists — have a different day job but find beekeeping fun as just a hobby.
- Sideliners — have other income but moonlight as "beekeepers" for extra money.
- Commercial — beekeeping is their only source of income. The modern hobby beekeeper is more likely to be a suburbanite: he or she tends to be a member of an active bee club, and is well-versed on modern techniques. Some southern US and southern hemisphere (New Zealand) beekeepers keep bees primarily to raise queens and package bees for sale. In the US, northern beekeepers can buy early spring queens and 3- or 4-pound packages of live worker bees from the South to replenish hives that die out during the winter. In cold climates commercial beekeepers have to migrate with the seasons, hauling their hives on trucks to gentler southern climates for better wintering and early spring build-up. Many make "nucs" (small starter or nucleus colonies) for sale or replenishment of their own losses during the early spring. In the US some may pollinate squash or cucumbers in Florida or make early honey from citrus groves in Florida, Texas or California. The largest demand for pollination comes from the almond groves in California. As spring moves northward so do the beekeepers, to supply bees for tree fruits, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries and later vegetables. Some commercial beekeepers alternate between pollination service and honey production but usually cannot do both at the same time. California In the Northern Hemisphere, beekeepers usually harvest honey from July until September, though in warmer climates the season can be longer. The rest of the year is spent keeping the hive free of pests and disease, and ensuring that the bee colony has room in the hive to expand. Success for the hobbyist also depends on locating the apiary so bees have a good nectar source and pollen source throughout the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, beekeeping is an all-the-year-round enterprise, although in cooler areas (to the south of Australia and New Zealand) the activity may be minimal in the winter (May to August). Consequently, the movement of commercial hives is more localised in these areas.

Protective clothing

When interacting with the bees, novice beekeepers usually wear protective clothing (including gloves and a hooded suit or hat and veil). Experienced beekeepers do not use gloves because they make movement clumsy and can transmit disease from one hive to another. The face and neck are the most important areas to protect, so most beekeepers will at least wear a veil. Bees are calmed with a puff of smoke, triggering a feeding response in anticipation of possible hive abandonment due to fire and masking any alarm pheromone, before the beekeeper opens the hive. Knowledge of bee behavior is the beekeeper's first line of defense. Smoke is the beekeepers second line of defense; protective clothing provides remarkably little protection from agitated bees. Source: The Hive and the Honey Bee, Dadant & Sons, Hamilton IL, ISBN 0-915698-09-9

Types of beekeeping equipment

The bees are usually kept in a Langstroth hive, that is wooden boxes, or supers, filled with frames that each hold a sheet of wax or plastic foundation: the bees produce wax and build honeycomb using the wax sheets as a starting point, after which they may raise brood or deposit honey and pollen in the cells of the comb. These frames can be freely manipulated and honey supers with frames full of honey can be taken and extracted for their honey crop. A few hobby beekeepers are adapting various top-bar hives commonly found in Africa. These have no frames and the honey filled comb is not returned to the hive after extraction, as it is in the Langstroth hive. Because of this the production of honey in a top bar hive is only about 20% that of a Langstroth hive, but the initial costs and equipment requirements are far lower. Top-bar hives also offer some advantages in interacting with the bees.

External links

- [http://www.abfnet.org/ The American Beekeeping Federation]
- [http://www.bbka.org.uk/ The British Beekeepers' Association]
- [http://www.nba.org.nz/ National Beekeepers Association of New Zealand]
- [http://www.ibra.org.uk/ International Bee Research Association]
- [http://www.apicultura.com/apimondia/ Apimondia - the international federation of beekeepers assocations] Category:Agricultural occupations Category:Hobbies Category:Survival skills ja:?? simple:Beekeeping

Bee

Andrenidae
Apidae
Colletidae
Halictidae
Heterogynaidae
Megachilidae
Melittidae
Oxaeidae
Sphecidae
Stenotritidae Bees (Apoidea superfamily) are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. They are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source, and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used for food for the brood. Bees have a long proboscis that enables them to obtain the nectar from flowers. Bees have antennae made up of thirteen segments in males and twelve in females. They have two pairs of wings, the back pair being the smaller of the two. Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are called pollinators. Bees may focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen, depending on their greater need at the time. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators. It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of this accomplished by bees. Bees are fuzzy and carry an electrostatic charge, thus aiding in the adherence of pollen. Bees periodically stop foraging and groom themselves to pack the pollen into specialized pollen baskets which are on the legs of honeybees and some other species, and on the ventral abdomen on other species. Bees are extremely important as pollinators in agriculture, with contract pollination having overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. Monoculture and pollinator decline have increasingly caused honeybee keepers to become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in areas of pollination need at the appropriate season. Many other species of bees are increasingly cultured and used to meet agricultural pollination need. Bees also play a major, though not always understood, role in providing food for birds and wildlife. Many of these bees survive in refuge in wild areas away from agricultural spraying, only to be poisoned in massive spray programs for mosquitoes, gypsy moths, or other pest insects. There are over 16,000 described species, and possibly around 30,000 species in total. Many species are poorly known. The smallest bee is a dwarf bee (trigona minima) and it is 1/12 in long. The largest bee in the world is the Megachile pluto.

Eusocial and quasisocial bees

Bees may be solitary, or may live in various sorts of communities. The most advanced of these are eusocial colonies, found among the honeybees and stingless bees. Sociality is believed to have evolved separately in different groups of bees. Eusocial bees live in colonies, each of which has a single queen, together with workers and drones. When humans provide a home for a colony, the structure is called a hive. A hive can typically contain up to about 40,000 individual bees at their annual peak, which occurs in the spring, but usually have fewer. Visiting flowers is a dangerous occupation, with very high mortality rates. Many assassin bugs and crab spiders hide in flowers to capture unwary bees. Others are lost to birds in flight. Insecticides used on blooming plants can kill large numbers of bees, both by direct poisoning and by contaminating their food supply. A honeybee queen may lay 2000 eggs per day during spring buildup, but she also must lay 1000 to 1500 eggs per day during the foraging season, simply to replace daily casualties. Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris, B. pratorum, et al.) are referred to as quasisocial because the queen bee is typically able to survive on her own for at least a short time (unlike queens in eusocial species who must be cared for at all times). Bumblebee colonies typically have from 50 to 200 individual bees at peak population, which occurs in mid to late summer. The population value of bees depends partly on the individual efficiency of the bees, but also on the population. Thus, while bumblebees have been found to be about ten times more efficient pollinators on cucurbits, the total efficiency of a colony of honeybees is much greater, due to greater numbers. Likewise, during early spring orchard blossoms, bumblebee populations are limited to only a few queens, thus they are not significant pollinators of early fruit. Bumblebee] The life cycle of bumblebees begins in the spring when the queen bee rises from hibernation. At this time the queen bee is the one who does all the work as there are no worker bees to do the work yet. She searches for a place to build her nest and she builds the honeypots. She also does the foraging to collect nectar and pollen. Bumblebee colonies die off in the autumn, after raising a last generation of queens, which survive individually. Interestingly bumblebee queens sometimes seek winter safety in honeybee hives, where they are sometimes found dead in the spring by beekeepers, presumably stung to death by the honeybees. It is not known whether any succeed in winter survival in such an environment. With honeybees, which survive winter as a colony, the queen begins egg laying in mid to late winter, to prepare for spring. This is most likely triggered by longer day length. She is the only fertile female, and deposits all the eggs from which the other bees are produced. Except a brief mating period, when she may make several flights to mate with drones or if she leaves in later life with a swarm to establish a new colony, the queen rarely leaves the hive after the larvae have become full grown bees. The queen deposits each egg in a cell prepared by the worker bees. The egg hatches into a small larva which is fed by nurse bees (worker bees who maintain the interior of the colony). After about a week (depending on species), the larva is sealed up in its cell by the nurse bees and begins the pupal stage. After another week (again, depending on species), it will emerge an adult bee. The larvae and pupae in a frame of honeycomb are referred to as frames of brood and are often sold (with adhering bees) by beekeepers to other beekeepers to start new beehives. brood Both workers and queens are fed royal jelly during the first three days of the larval stage. Then workers are switched to a diet of pollen and nectar or diluted honey, while those intended for queens will continue to receive royal jelly. This causes the larva to develop to the pupa stage more quickly, while being also larger and fully developed sexually. Queen breeders consider good nutrition during the larval stage to be of critical importance to the quality of the queens raised, good genetics and sufficient number of matings also being factors. During the larval and pupal stages, various parasites can attack the pupa/larva and destroy or damage it. Queens are not raised in typical horizontal brood cells of the honeycomb. They are specially constructed to be much larger, and have a vertical orientation. As the queen finishes her larval feeding, and pupates, she moves into a head downward position, from which she will later chew her way out of the cell. At pupation the workers cap or seal the cell. Just prior to emerging from their cells, young queens can often be heard "piping." This is considered likely to be a challenge to other queens for battle. honeycomb Worker bees are infertile females. Worker bees secrete the wax used to build the hive, clean and maintain the hive, raise the young, guard the hive and forage for nectar and pollen. In honeybees, the worker bees have a modified ovipositor called a stinger with which they can sting to defend the hive. Contrary to popular belief, the bee will not always die soon after stinging: this is a misconception based on the fact that a bee will always die shortly after stinging a mammal; however, the stinger evolved primarily for inter-bee combat. Drone bees are the male bees of the colony. Drone honeybees do not forage for nectar or pollen. The primary purpose of a drone bee is to fertilize a new queen. Drones mate with the queen in flight. They die immediately after mating. In some species, drones are suspected of playing a contributing role in the temperature regulation of the hive. Drone bees have no stinger, since a stinger is actually a modified ovipositor. Queens live for up to three years, while workers have an average life of only three months (during the foraging season, but longer in places with extended winters). Honeybee queens release pheromones to regulate hive activities, and worker bees also produce pheromones for various communications. pheromone By collecting nectar from flowers, bees produce honey, which is a clear liquid consisting of nearly 80% water with complex sugars. The collecting bees store the nectar in a second stomach and return to the hive where worker bees remove the nectar. The worker bees digest the raw nectar for about 30 minutes using enzymes to break up the complex sugars into simpler ones. Raw honey is then spread out in empty honeycomb cells to dry, which reduces the water content to less than 20%. When nectar is being processed, honeybees create a draft through the hive by fanning with their wings. Once dried, the cells of the honeycomb are sealed (capped) with wax to preserve the honey. Honey itself is so sweet that bacteria cannot grow on it, and dry enough that it does not support yeasts. Anaerobic bacteria may be present and survive in spore form in honey, however, as well as anywhere else in common environments. Honey (or any other sweetener) which is diluted by the non-acidic digestive fluids of infants, can provide an ideal medium for the transition of botulism bacteria from the spore form to the actively growing form, which produces a toxin. When infants are weaned to solid foods, their digestive system becomes acidic enough to prevent such growth and poisoning. No sweeteners should be given to infants prior to weaning, as there is a small but real risk of lethal poisoning.

Honeybee pheromones

Honeybees use special pheromones, or chemical communication, for almost all behaviors of life. Such uses include (but are not limited to): mating, alarm, defense, orientation, kin and colony recognition, food production, and integration of colony activities. Pheromones are thus essential to honeybees for their survival.

Solitary, and communal bees

Other species of bee such as the carpenter bee, Orchard Mason bee (Osmia lignaria) and the hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifrons) are solitary in that every female is fertile. There are no worker bees for these species. Solitary bees typically produce neither honey nor beeswax. They are immune from acarine and varroa mites, but have their own unique parasites, pests and diseases. (See diseases of the honeybee.) Solitary bees are important pollinators, as pollen is gathered for provisioning the nests with food for their brood. Often it is mixed with nectar to form a paste-like consistancey. Many solitary bees have very advanced types of pollen carry structures on their bodies. Most solitary bees are wild, with a few species being increasingly cultured for pollination. Solitary bees are often specialists, in that they only visit one or more species of plant (unlike honeybees and bumblebees which are generalists). In some cases only one species of bee can pollinate a plant species, and some plants are endangered because their pollinator is dying off. Solitary bees create nests in hollow reeds, bored holes in wood, or in tunnels in the ground. The female typically creates a compartment with an egg and some provisions for the resulting larva, then seals it off. A nest may consist of numerous compartments, usually the last (the closest to the entrance) being eggs that will become males. The adult does not care for the brood, and usually dies after making one or more nests. The males emerge first and are ready for mating when the females emerge. Providing nest boxes for solitary bees is increasingly popular for gardeners. Solitary bees are usually stingless or very unlikely to sting. While solitary females each make individual nests, some species are gregarious, preferring to make nests near others of the same species, giving the appearance to the causual observer that they are social.

Kleptoparasitic bees

Cuckoo bees are bumblebee look-alikes that invade bumblebee nests and lay their eggs. The bumblebees raise the young as their own. Megachilid bees also have other megachilid Coelioxys bees whose young are placed into the already provisioned nests of these solitary bees. They destroy the host larvae and eat the food. See also Kleptoparasitism
Communication
:"The general story of the communication of the distance, the situation, and the direction of a food source by the dances of the returning (honeybee) worker bee on the vertical comb of the hive, has been known in general outline from the work of Karl von Frisch in the middle 1950s." The dance involve a returning bee running around in a tight figure of eight dance, waggling its abdomen as it does so. All the other bees gather around, apparently scrutinising the ceremonial manoeuvre.
Miscellaneous
Bees figure more prominently in myth than any other insect. See Bee (mythology). Bees are the favorite meal of Merops apiaster, a bird. Other common predators are kingbirds, mockingbirds, and dragonflies. Bee stings have also been reputed to help alleviate the associated symptoms of Multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases. This is an area of ongoing research. Image:Vanderwoning_bee5515.jpg|Bee Image:Bees-wings.web.jpg|Bees wings Image:Bee mid air.jpg|Bee flying Image:Bee taking off.jpg|Bee Taking off from flowers Image:Bee on dandelion.JPG|A bee on a dandelion Image:Bee flying to almond flower.jpg|Bee flying to almond flower Image:Bee landing on rosemary02.jpg|Bee landing on rosemary bush Image:Bee landing on rosemary.jpg|Bee landing on rosemary bush Image:Rosemary with bee landing02.jpg|Bee landing on rosemary bush
See also

- Africanized bee
- Bee anatomy (mouth)
- Bee learning and communication
- Beekeeping
- Bee sting therapy
- Characteristics of common wasps and bees
- Honeybee
- Honeybee life cycle
- Western honeybee
- Maya the Bee
External links and references

- Bees of the World, C. D. Michener (200)
- [http://www.bwars.com/ Bees, Wasps and Ants Recording Society] (UK)
- [http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov Carl Hayden Bee Research Center]
- [http://www.pollinatorparadise.com/ Pollinator Paradise] (solitary bees)
- [http://www.kutikshoney.com/grafting/queens.htm Kutik's Honey Farm] Raising honeybee queens
- [http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/may2003/default.htm Rescuing Australian stingless bees]
- [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/3294/pheromo.htm Honey Bee Pheromones]
- [http://www.sankey.ws/firstbee.html The first bee of spring] Category:Aculeate Hymenoptera Category:Insects Category:Pollination ko:벌 ms:Lebah ja:ハチ simple:Bee

Larvae

The word Larvae also is the plural of larva, the juvenile form of animals with indirect development. See larva. ----- In Roman mythology, the larvae or lemures were the spectres or spir