Suppose you are a life/earth scientist on some kind of field expedition. Some calamity occurs that leaves you stranded without food. You are forced to gather and hunt for resources. Let's say that the ecosystem where you are stranded is not very productive, so there are few wild food options in low abundances. You have no indication of when help will come -- you could be rescued tomorrow or maybe not at all. I won't define your group size, i.e. if you are alone or with colleagues.
Would you eat an endangered species to stay alive?
What if it were your study organism?
What if you knew no one would ever find out?
12 comments:
Good question. I would definitely eat my study organism in that situation. If I really thought I would otherwise die, I would probably eat it if it were an endangered species but obviously that would be my last choice and I'd eat a male. Then I'd really have to spend the rest of my life improving the situation for that species!
Wow. Interesting question. I am not sure I can totally put myself in the shoes of a life/earth scientist and how it would feel to eat your study organism, but as an environmentalist it would be really hard for me to eat an endangered species. But I am pretty sure I would. Because if I was dying of hunger, I am guessing any ethics would go out the window. Karina makes a good point about eating a male. If I could be sure I was killing a male, I would try to do that, but I'm not sure I could spot a male from a hunting distance.
In many cases, I probably wouldn't know which species were endangered. If I did, though, I would eat it to stay alive. I'm not sure it would matter which sex it was (if not a plant) - unless you knew the reproduction dynamics. Although one would never be able to be sure that a female wasn't just newly pregnant, so male is probably the best choice.
Great question!
Very interesting. I'd eat it and would try to find out about their mating system and sex ratio. You don't want to eat the last male, uh?
But this reminded me of some question we came up a few years ago:
If you would have to choose between the Louvre (and all that's in it at this moment, but no people) and an endangered island bird species, which would you choose to destroy?
I find that a very difficult question. Now I am inspired. I'll start a post on my blog, let me know your answer!
Wow, big questions for a Tuesday.
I would wait until I knew it was a life or death decision. Then I think I would eat just about anything. We all have a survival instinct that kicks in in situations like that, it would take more self discipline than I have to consciously sacrifice myself for the good of the endangered species.
If it was my study organism: hopefully by keeping myself alive I could benefit more members of the species in the long term than just the one animal I chose to kill and eat.
Louvre vs endangered bird species: I'd blow up the Louvre for sure. All the artwork is photographed and catalogued, which obviously isn't the same as seeing the originals, but there is no way to get even that close to replacing the birds.
Oh, forgot to say: whether or not anyone else would ever find out would be immaterial.
I would eat my study organism. Probably even if it were endangered. Whether or not anyone would find out about it.
I would savor every last endangered organism. But I am an engineer, not a animal/plant scientist- and as such, I value my own life more than a tiny bit of planetary diversity.
Candid, you're harsh! Sciencemama, you're a little less harsh. :) Like all of you, I think I'd eat whatever I had to if I were starving. I think it would be more difficult if I were studying a particular species but I'm pretty sure I'd eat it anyway. I'd hope I wouldn't have to tell the world if there were a press conference after my rescue.
I think I'd blow up the Louvre for the same reason Cath gave. It's an interesting question though. We've had discussions about how the long term legacy of basic research is not that different from the contributions of art and music to society.
I'd eat anything.
I wouldn't blow up the Louvre. At least not until I have seen it and its contents.
I would hope my study organism would be an endangered edible plant, since I've a vegetarian. But I, like everyone else, would do what I had to to survive. I would also hope that my hunting skills would heighten in my state of starvation, but likely by the time I decided to hunt I would be very weak. Unlike Ecogeo I think if there was a press conference about my rescue the first thing I would say would be, "I had to eat the last of this precious species and I feel so guilty!" Well the first think I would say is, "give me water."
Absolutely. If it was all I had to eat, I would chow down.
(my lack of theoretical hesitation is just another example of why I wouldn't make it as a biologist.)
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