Oysters have been caught and eaten by people for centuries. Today, there is increasing awareness of how climate-friendly oysters are (alongside other bivalves like mussels and scallops) as a food source as we search for alternatives to industrial agriculture to feed the world’s ever increasing population. This is as they do not require feed unlike fish and other livestock, and therefore have a relatively lower carbon footprint, alongside the other ecological benefits as discussed in the rest of this exhibition. Compared to plant crops, they do not require land (and thus deforestation), freshwater and fertilisers. They are also quite nutritious, being particularly high in Vitamin B12, Vitamin A and iron.
幾百年來，蠔都被人們捕捉食用。為了養活世界上不斷增長的人口而正尋找工業化農業的替代品時，現在有越來越多的人意識到當我們利用蠔（或是其他雙殼類動物如貽貝及扇貝）作為食材時，是如何對氣候友好的。這是因為它們不像魚或是其他牲畜一樣需要餵食，所以相對而言有著較低的碳足跡。在其餘的展覽中，我們也提到過其他的生態效益。相對於農作物而言，它們不需要土地（也就不會有森林砍伐的問題），也不需要淡水與肥料。它們也挺有營養的，尤其是維他命B12，維他命A以及鐵的含量特別高。
References:
- https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/the-simple-shellfish-that-fights-climate-change.html
- Willer, D. F., & Aldridge, D. C. (2020). Sustainable bivalve farming can deliver food security in the tropics. Nature Food, 1(7), 384-388.