Think Twice Before Taking That Krill Oil, If You Love Whales, That Is
You want to stay healthy, so you’ve been thinking about taking krill oil. From what you’ve heard, it’s a great supplement, filled with Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your heart. So, what’s the problem with taking this oil? Well, it seems that every time you pop one of these so-called “helpful” pills, you’re taking food away from multiple sea creatures.
According to Treehugger, “Krill, a tiny creature of which there are billions, is a critical source of food for the Antarctic ecosystem.” This may sound crazy, but apparently, one blue whale can eat 40 million krill a day. And blue whales aren’t the only “krill eaters” — many fish species, penguins, and seals also subsist the crustacean, too.
Krill is a keystone species — it’s “foundational to the whole ecosystem, directly or indirectly providing more than 90 percent of the dietary needs of all Antarctic species.” Sadly, the krill population is in trouble — its “numbers have dropped by 80 percent over the last 40 years.” And guess what — things may get worse because of our old pal, global warming. (This is why it stinks that krill is used in Vitabiotics, Megared, and Bioglan, all supplements. It’s also used to feed farmed fish and is in a lot of pet food.)
“Average surface temperatures across the continent [Antarctica] are projected to rise by 0.34 °C per decade, while sea ice is likely to decline by 3 percent in the same time period,” Treehugger reports. “Krill depend on sea ice for their food and habitat.”
This news isn’t well known, or it’s being ignored, because “the market for Omega-3 supplements is growing and China has recently announced that it will increase the catch of krill seven-fold.”
While some organizations (such as SumOfUs) are working to get krill oil removed from stores (its recent campaign to get it taken off the shelves in Sainsbury’s, as British supermarket, was successful), that’s not enough. We all need to do our part and stop buying this product now.
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Image of blue whale via Shutterstock
