The diagram illustrates how olive oil is produced, from the harvesting of the fruit to the finished bottled product.
Overall, the process consists of eight main stages, beginning with the picking of the fruit and continuing at a mill, where the olives are cleaned, broken down and separated before the oil is stored and packaged. The process also generates a solid by-product, which is put to practical use rather than wasted.
First, the olives are picked between October and December and are transported to the mill within 24 hours. On arrival, any leaves are removed and the fruit is washed in water. The clean olives are then crushed into a paste, which is mixed slowly for a period of between 30 and 45 minutes.
At the next stage, the paste is fed into a centrifuge, which separates the oil from the water and solid material. This solid waste, known as pomace, is not discarded but is used either to feed animals or as fuel. The oil itself, meanwhile, is transferred to steel tanks and left to settle. In the final stage, it is filtered and then poured into bottles.
In many countries, pets are now treated less as working animals or guards than as members of the family, and spending on them has grown accordingly. This shift has both economic and cultural causes, and its consequences for society are partly beneficial and partly troubling.
Two main forces lie behind the trend. The first is rising disposable income: as households have become wealthier, they can afford not only an animal but also premium food, insurance and veterinary treatment that would once have seemed extravagant. The second is a change in attitudes. Many people, especially in busy cities where contact with neighbours is limited, value a dog or cat as a source of companionship and daily routine, and a vast pet industry reinforces this view through advertising and social media.
Some of the effects are clearly positive. Caring for an animal gives owners a sense of purpose and a reason to be active, and research has consistently linked dog ownership with higher levels of physical activity. The pet economy also supports a large number of jobs, from veterinary nurses to groomers and specialist retailers.
On the other hand, the trend creates costs that the wider community has to bear. Animals bought on impulse are frequently abandoned once their owners realise how much time and money they require, placing a heavy burden on rescue shelters. In addition, the sheer number of pets has an environmental impact: domestic cats kill large numbers of wild birds, and meat-based pet food adds noticeably to the carbon footprint of agriculture.
In conclusion, people are keeping more pets, and spending more on them, mainly because they can afford to and because they now value animals as companions. While this brings real benefits for health and employment, societies need to discourage impulsive purchases and take the ecological cost of so many animals seriously.