I learned something new today - another sad unnecessary inhumane fact today.. the scoop on pearls. So, what is a pearl? It is an ulcer that is formed when irritant, such as a parasite, enters an oyster, who responds by coating it with nacre, which is a crystalline substance that gives pearls their lister. An oyster makes this coating when stressed - just as we gets ulcers when we are stressed.
Because pearls naturally only form in only 1 in 10,000 oysters and the creation of the pearl can take up to three years, pearl makers have devised a process called culturing that allows them to exploit oysters cheaper and faster. Of course they have.. Culturing involves surgically opening each oyster shell and inserting an irritant inside the oyster. Freshwater pearls are cultured by inserting another oyster' mantle tissue. Saltwater pearls have beads and another oyster's mollusk tissue inserted. Less than half survive this unnatural process.
Culticators further stress them by suspending them in water in a cage, washing their shells, moving them around in different, unknown water, and raising and lowering their cages to subject them to changing water temperatures. After the pearls are extracted from the oysters, one third of the animals are "recycled" and put through the process again, which the rest are killed and thrown away. And, for those concerned with the environment, there is another reason to avoid pearls. Aquaculture has contributed to destruction of natural pearl oyster beds from pollution and over harvesting. With so many imitations of pearls, it is EASY to do without pearls.. effortless actually.
Because pearls naturally only form in only 1 in 10,000 oysters and the creation of the pearl can take up to three years, pearl makers have devised a process called culturing that allows them to exploit oysters cheaper and faster. Of course they have.. Culturing involves surgically opening each oyster shell and inserting an irritant inside the oyster. Freshwater pearls are cultured by inserting another oyster' mantle tissue. Saltwater pearls have beads and another oyster's mollusk tissue inserted. Less than half survive this unnatural process.
Culticators further stress them by suspending them in water in a cage, washing their shells, moving them around in different, unknown water, and raising and lowering their cages to subject them to changing water temperatures. After the pearls are extracted from the oysters, one third of the animals are "recycled" and put through the process again, which the rest are killed and thrown away. And, for those concerned with the environment, there is another reason to avoid pearls. Aquaculture has contributed to destruction of natural pearl oyster beds from pollution and over harvesting. With so many imitations of pearls, it is EASY to do without pearls.. effortless actually.
ew
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