Freediving in local news!

Some well-earned publicity for freedivers in Singapore!

http://mypaper.sg/lifestyle/spore-hits-new-depths-free-diving-20140922

At the Andaman Freediving Challenge in 2012, my first freediving competition

If pigs could fly

I know pigs aren't marine mammals but I feel compelled to write about this..... 

Today I was at a shop and the TV there was on. There was a food show playing, where chefs were frying up bacon and sausages on a food show. The show went on to detail how bacon is immensely popular and pretty much any food (even chocolate, ice cream, peanut butter etc) with bacon in it would be a hit, and also showed some gourmet sausage competitions. 

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with eating bacon or sausages, or any kind of meat for that matter. It just struck me as rather one-sided and sad that so many of those sort of shows that tempt people into eating these foods are aired, but to date I haven't seen one show on TV that is about the way those pigs (and other food animals) are brought up. Granted, I am not a TV junkie and I do not watch TV all day so I can't be 100% sure that they don't air, but I do believe programs detailing farm animal lives are shown much less than cooking shows. 

Of course there are many different types of farms and I'm not saying that farming in general is bad. I'm talking about factory farming. Factory farming is done to increase the efficiency and speed at which animals products (meat, eggs, milk) is produced. And as a result, animal welfare suffers. Here are some photos to whet your appetite:

http://ecomerge.blogspot.sg/2013/06/factory-farms-and-human-health-hazards.html

 

http://www.change.org/p/oppose-the-cruel-practice-of-factory-farming-of-egg-laying-hens

As a vet, I've been on some factory farms and it's exactly as these photos show. 

Again, I'm not saying that eating meat is bad. Just that there's a simple solution: if people didn't eat so much meat (and you definitely don't have to have it at every meal, there are people who survive on no meat at all), the demand for meat probably wouldn't be so high and the conditions in factory farms could be improved immensely. There could be a happy balance between meat and egg production and the way animals are farmed.  

And so, I think programs that show how animals are farmed (not just factory farming but also free range and in between) should be as readily available as those cooking shows. Then people could be well informed and make their own (hopefully) wise choices. 

Maybe you could make a wise choice right now. 

FATUWR featured on Yahoo Singapore!

Yup, this is my team! I don't have to say anymore, it's all in the write-up. Includes a video too! Click here:  https://sg.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/fit-to-post-sports/singapore-and-asia-s-first-underwater-rugby-team-makes-a-splash-072018379.html

Grilled seafood platter with a side of Plastic, please!

Singapore is well known for being a clean and green Garden City. Better yet, the National Parks Board is rolling out plans to transform Singapore into a "City in a Garden". 

But what about our waterways? 

Over the weekend I went to Lazarus Island, which is one of our Southern Islands. 

Yes, this beautiful beach is actually in Singapore

So beautiful on the surface, and visibility that day was about 6m, considered great for the waters here! 

But below the surface...  

Within 20 minutes of snorkelling, I collected all of this:

There was much more rubbish lying on the sea floor that I could not fit into my bag. Judging from what I collected and saw, most of the rubbish was made up of PLASTIC food wrappers and drink cups.

And this is what I saw at Marina South Pier where the public ferry leaves for the Southern Islands:

And so you might wonder why this is important. Like, it's just trash right? Once it sinks below the surface, it's gone! NOT REALLY. Plastic actually gets into your food. See my previous post on Spastic Plastic to see how.

Still not convinced? In this video, you can actually see tiny pieces of plastic making their merry way into plankton.

And here's an article about it too: Tiny plastic particles are polluting our waterways, and potentially our seafood.

So yup, if you eat seafood, there's a good chance you are ingesting plastic as well. Even if you don't eat seafood, fish meal is fed to food animals like poultry and cattle so it may well be transferred to you through them.

What should you do then? If you're out at the beach or diving, pick up the plastic that you see. It doesn't take that much effort! And of course, reduce, reuse and recycle. More ideas here Spastic Plastic.

Wave House Sentosa

I've been thinking about checking out the Wave House at Sentosa for some time and my feet have recently been itching to catch some waves, so I grabbed a friend and went to do exactly that.

On the FlowBarrel. Yup, still holding that beginner's rope. And looking down and leaning forward.. bad posture! Managed to fix that somewhat later on though! 

Turns out, its pretty different to surfing! The board is way smaller and so much more responsive. And it felt kind of weird to have the water rushing towards you. There are similarities to most board sports though, like the way you turn on the board. 

But it was definitely fun! Each wipeout felt like going down a slide at a waterpark. I can definitely see myself going back for some fun rides. 

Mark and I after the sesh