Haunted by Consumerism
Chloe Fishman | December 2018
I first discovered my love for puffins when I was young, but when I say puffins I do not restrict the definition to the seabird in the auk family. No, before I loved birds of the puffin genus, I loved Barbara’s Puffins, the children’s cereal, and to this day I still do. Barbara’s is just one in a long line of food brands that use the cute or majestic appeal of threatened and endangered animals to sell products. Other examples include the Endangered Species Chocolates and Nature’s Path Panda Puffs, Koala Crisps, and Gorilla Munch. Many of these brands support conservation by sharing information and providing financial support to the effort. I imagine this is to maximize their appeal to animal lovers and ethical consumers, give back, or likely some combination of the two.
As a child, I was first drawn to Barbara’s Puffins because of the appearance of birds on the box; I thought they looked cheerful and friendly with their brightly striped orange beaks and round figures. After I learned to read, I discovered fun puffin facts on the back of the cereal boxes, and that was what really piqued my interest in puffins. I am sure many other Puffins cereal eating children also enjoyed learning, for instance, that unlike penguins, puffins can fly, only grow 10-12 inches tall, and nest in underground burrows.
Ironically, it is the human spirit of consumption that made puffin conservation a necessity in the first place. Historically, American settlers hunted the Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica, for their eggs, meat and feathers, until by the 1900s there were only two colonies left in the Gulf of Maine. In response, “Project Puffin,” sponsored by the National Audubon Society, was launched in 1973 to protect puffin populations and re-establish the Eastern Egg Rock Colony.
Between 1973-1981 scientist Stephen Kress led an effort to transplant 954 chicks from the large Newfoundland colony to restore the Eastern Egg Rock colony. Eastern Egg Rock is a 7-acre island located 6 miles east of New Harbor in Muscongus Bay, and like typical puffin nesting habitats it is composed of rocky and grassy maritime slopes and sea cliffs. After they hatch puffins typically spend two to three years at sea then return to the colony where they hatched annually from April to August. Usually mates reunite at the same burrow each year. In 1977, scientists placed decoy puffins and mirror boxes on Eastern Egg Rock to entice the transplant chicks to return there to mate. In 1981, five puffin pairs began nesting on Eastern Egg Rock, and by 2017 at least 172 puffin pairs called the island their summer home.
Although the colonies in Maine are under protection, Atlantic Puffins are still plagued by the effects of human consumerism. Classified as a vulnerable population by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Atlantic Puffin has a decreasing population of 12-14 million individuals and are at a high risk of extinction in the wild. One reason for this vulnerability is that in their European habitats, especially in Iceland, puffins are still hunted. There is a hefty demand for their meat from locals who consider it a delicacy as well as from curious tourists. However, it is climate change, a byproduct of human consumerism, that has recently been recognized as the most serious threat to Atlantic Puffin populations.
The temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean are affected by Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Records show that between the 1965-1995 cold cycle and the current warm cycle winter ocean temperature averages have increased by one degree Celsius around Atlantic Puffin breeding grounds. This trend of ocean warming has caused the populations of cold water fish that puffins prey on to decline. In particular, puffins’ favorite food, sand eels, have experienced especially disastrous declines. The effects of these climate change induced population declines are compounded by the effects of overfishing. The result is that puffins are forced to fly farther to find food, and because of the extra energy this requires they often struggle to feed themselves during breeding season and leave their chicks to starve.
Puffins have long life spans, the average is 20 years, and low rate of reproduction with each pair of mates raising a single chick each year. Because of this, the effects of chick starvation on the Atlantic Puffin population are not yet abundantly visible. Additionally, climate change and consumerism, the ultimate drivers of the puffin decline, are disembodied forces, and the naked eye cannot connect them to their effects. People tend to only take seriously the threats they can see, and this is a major reason for the hold up on many conservation efforts; we wait until it is too late. What will it take to instate comprehensive protections for Puffins against the effects of hunting, overfishing, and climate change?
On the Barbara’s puffins website there is a link to the “Puffin Cam” where you can watch puffins while they are on land for breeding season. I’m guessing this video feed, geared toward children, does not show starving puffin chicks, but hopefully it is inspiring the next generation of conservationists. Ironic though it may be, consumer products like Puffins can play an important role in raising awareness of issues like species endangerment that are byproducts of our society’s tendency toward mass consumption. Sadly, while researching for this paper, I realized that Puffins cereal boxes, or at least the ones I found, now have advertisements rather than puffin trivia on the back. I called Barbara’s to ask whether the extra profit this generates at least goes toward Project Puffin. The representative I spoke to said she would look into it, but the email response I received only vaguely confirmed that some portion of total annual profits go toward the effort. Ultimately, the question is will our society prioritize environmental ethic over consumerism, or will children’s cereal companies run out of species due to the 6th mass extinction?
Chloe Fishman | December 2018
I first discovered my love for puffins when I was young, but when I say puffins I do not restrict the definition to the seabird in the auk family. No, before I loved birds of the puffin genus, I loved Barbara’s Puffins, the children’s cereal, and to this day I still do. Barbara’s is just one in a long line of food brands that use the cute or majestic appeal of threatened and endangered animals to sell products. Other examples include the Endangered Species Chocolates and Nature’s Path Panda Puffs, Koala Crisps, and Gorilla Munch. Many of these brands support conservation by sharing information and providing financial support to the effort. I imagine this is to maximize their appeal to animal lovers and ethical consumers, give back, or likely some combination of the two.
As a child, I was first drawn to Barbara’s Puffins because of the appearance of birds on the box; I thought they looked cheerful and friendly with their brightly striped orange beaks and round figures. After I learned to read, I discovered fun puffin facts on the back of the cereal boxes, and that was what really piqued my interest in puffins. I am sure many other Puffins cereal eating children also enjoyed learning, for instance, that unlike penguins, puffins can fly, only grow 10-12 inches tall, and nest in underground burrows.
Ironically, it is the human spirit of consumption that made puffin conservation a necessity in the first place. Historically, American settlers hunted the Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica, for their eggs, meat and feathers, until by the 1900s there were only two colonies left in the Gulf of Maine. In response, “Project Puffin,” sponsored by the National Audubon Society, was launched in 1973 to protect puffin populations and re-establish the Eastern Egg Rock Colony.
Between 1973-1981 scientist Stephen Kress led an effort to transplant 954 chicks from the large Newfoundland colony to restore the Eastern Egg Rock colony. Eastern Egg Rock is a 7-acre island located 6 miles east of New Harbor in Muscongus Bay, and like typical puffin nesting habitats it is composed of rocky and grassy maritime slopes and sea cliffs. After they hatch puffins typically spend two to three years at sea then return to the colony where they hatched annually from April to August. Usually mates reunite at the same burrow each year. In 1977, scientists placed decoy puffins and mirror boxes on Eastern Egg Rock to entice the transplant chicks to return there to mate. In 1981, five puffin pairs began nesting on Eastern Egg Rock, and by 2017 at least 172 puffin pairs called the island their summer home.
Although the colonies in Maine are under protection, Atlantic Puffins are still plagued by the effects of human consumerism. Classified as a vulnerable population by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Atlantic Puffin has a decreasing population of 12-14 million individuals and are at a high risk of extinction in the wild. One reason for this vulnerability is that in their European habitats, especially in Iceland, puffins are still hunted. There is a hefty demand for their meat from locals who consider it a delicacy as well as from curious tourists. However, it is climate change, a byproduct of human consumerism, that has recently been recognized as the most serious threat to Atlantic Puffin populations.
The temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean are affected by Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. Records show that between the 1965-1995 cold cycle and the current warm cycle winter ocean temperature averages have increased by one degree Celsius around Atlantic Puffin breeding grounds. This trend of ocean warming has caused the populations of cold water fish that puffins prey on to decline. In particular, puffins’ favorite food, sand eels, have experienced especially disastrous declines. The effects of these climate change induced population declines are compounded by the effects of overfishing. The result is that puffins are forced to fly farther to find food, and because of the extra energy this requires they often struggle to feed themselves during breeding season and leave their chicks to starve.
Puffins have long life spans, the average is 20 years, and low rate of reproduction with each pair of mates raising a single chick each year. Because of this, the effects of chick starvation on the Atlantic Puffin population are not yet abundantly visible. Additionally, climate change and consumerism, the ultimate drivers of the puffin decline, are disembodied forces, and the naked eye cannot connect them to their effects. People tend to only take seriously the threats they can see, and this is a major reason for the hold up on many conservation efforts; we wait until it is too late. What will it take to instate comprehensive protections for Puffins against the effects of hunting, overfishing, and climate change?
On the Barbara’s puffins website there is a link to the “Puffin Cam” where you can watch puffins while they are on land for breeding season. I’m guessing this video feed, geared toward children, does not show starving puffin chicks, but hopefully it is inspiring the next generation of conservationists. Ironic though it may be, consumer products like Puffins can play an important role in raising awareness of issues like species endangerment that are byproducts of our society’s tendency toward mass consumption. Sadly, while researching for this paper, I realized that Puffins cereal boxes, or at least the ones I found, now have advertisements rather than puffin trivia on the back. I called Barbara’s to ask whether the extra profit this generates at least goes toward Project Puffin. The representative I spoke to said she would look into it, but the email response I received only vaguely confirmed that some portion of total annual profits go toward the effort. Ultimately, the question is will our society prioritize environmental ethic over consumerism, or will children’s cereal companies run out of species due to the 6th mass extinction?