Experiment with Suspected GM Soy and Tenebrio Molitor: Day 15
Last time I posted, on May 25, I said I would clean and count the mealworms that evening, and change the feed of the "?GM" labelled container to suspected GM soy from China. Well, I did it.
This time around, I ground the soy meal from dry beans in a clean coffee grinder, because turning dried beans into meal with a mortar and pestle last time was hard work. I have also punched holes in the containers (15 small holes in each lid) so that I can do away with the pantyhose screen and elastics. With pupae turning into beetles soon, those lids need to be firmly on!
As of today, May 27, the "?GM" mealworms have been eating the non-organic soy from China for two days with no ill effects. Therefore, there can't have been any measurable amount of pesticide in the beans, nor is it likely that the soy beans were genetically engineered or modified. When I compare the wellness of these mealworms to the rapid death of crickets fed non-organic produce (the crickets were purchased to feed our son's pet tarantula spider - we have since learned to give the crickets either certified organic greens or greens from our back yard)... Well, I can see how some organic products are definitely worth it, and in other cases it seems to make little difference other than the price and perhaps some good feelings about supporting organic farmers.
Anyway, I might as well record the mealworm counts from around 10 PM on May 25:
This time around, I ground the soy meal from dry beans in a clean coffee grinder, because turning dried beans into meal with a mortar and pestle last time was hard work. I have also punched holes in the containers (15 small holes in each lid) so that I can do away with the pantyhose screen and elastics. With pupae turning into beetles soon, those lids need to be firmly on!
As of today, May 27, the "?GM" mealworms have been eating the non-organic soy from China for two days with no ill effects. Therefore, there can't have been any measurable amount of pesticide in the beans, nor is it likely that the soy beans were genetically engineered or modified. When I compare the wellness of these mealworms to the rapid death of crickets fed non-organic produce (the crickets were purchased to feed our son's pet tarantula spider - we have since learned to give the crickets either certified organic greens or greens from our back yard)... Well, I can see how some organic products are definitely worth it, and in other cases it seems to make little difference other than the price and perhaps some good feelings about supporting organic farmers.
Anyway, I might as well record the mealworm counts from around 10 PM on May 25:
- "?GM" labelled container had 57 living Tenebrio Molitor, including worms and pupae
- Unlabeled container, in which organic soy meal was provided, had 58 living Tenebrio Molitor, including worms and pupae
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