Go Fish: Our Consumption of Everything in the Water
Don’t eat meat to save the planet, but eat fish? I was at the amazing Georgia Aquarium over the holidays and was amazed at all the sea creatures. I know they are in the biggest tanks in the North America, but I couldn’t help but wonder sometimes, do the fish and the sharks and all the other creatures get bored swimming around and around in a man-made house of glass?
Do I know at what price my seafood consumption pays for the environment and for the wild animals who live in the waters?
Jellyfish at the Georgia Aquarium
I’m always a little perplexed by those who say they won’t eat meat because they don’t want to eat animals or hurt the planet, yet seafood is often an exception….
Seafood. Frutas del mar.Frutti de mare. We don’t call four-legged animals we eat “landfood,” yet we think our oceans are forever overflowing.
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Salmon at Jaleo, Bethesda, MD
If you eat anything from the seas, do you know how it’s caught? Is it endangered? Is it sustainable? If you eat any kind of fish or animal from the waters, I highly recommend first reading Four Fish by Paul Greenberg.
Four Fish by Paul Greenberg
- One of the best written and clear books I’ve read, Greenberg investigates the fishing industry and what “seafood” and sustainability means through the four fish that have characterized much of our “seafood” today: salmon, cod, bass, and tuna. Being from New England, cod, lobster, and clam chowder were givens. We ate like there was no tomorrow.
Sea bass
But Greenberg warns otherwise, and investigates which fish are more sustainably raise, fish that have had less fame – tilapia, Kona Kampachi, carp. He also makes it clear that wild fish are not “seafood,” there for our consumption, but like any creature, deserves to fulfill its destiny. Francis Lam from Salon interviewed Greenberg via email recently, and you can read the transcript here.
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Fresh shrimp by the road, Wilmington, NC
For a while now, I have been buying my fish and other “seafood” from Whole Foods only because they are one of the few grocery stores that really pays attention to sustainable fishing practices. They use these third party certifies like the Marine Stewardship Council to identify these practices. MSC even has a pocket guide for consumers.
Yet recent reports, like Treehugger and Guardian’s pieces by Lewis Smith raise concern about whether MSC is rushing too label certain fish or sea animals sustainable when they may not be.
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Georgia Aquarium
Rights to animals in the water and what constitutes as our food is coming to a head, literally. Do you remember that report of Gordon Ramsey getting doused with gasoline for investigating illicit shark fin trade? I love Gordon Ramsey!! Sorry for the digression…but he rocks.
An important video to watch is End of the Line (also streaming on Netflix. Netflix, I love you!). Check out their site and join the campaign to protect our “seafood” before we can no longer “see” anything in the ocean. See trailer here:
If we pay more attention to the animals that come from the waters, we may start hearing better news. Recently, Barry Eastabrook of Politics of the Plate noted that haddock stocks have been replenishing. Marc aka Mental Masala wrote a great piece on Ethicurean on what some restaurants in San Francisco, i.e. Fish and Chez Panisse, are doing. Follow fish2fork (on Twitter too) which is a “campaigning restaurant guide for people who want to eat fish – sustainably” – done by the folks who did End of the Line.
Seafood is a misnomer. Animals in the oceans are wild, roaming animals, and we need to recognize and honor their place, especially if we ask them to give their lives for us.
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Giant Turtle, Potomac, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington, DC
Category: Featured Articles: Food Politics, Featured Articles: Health & Nutrition, Food Politics, Health & Nutrition
This is a great post on seafood. The ocean is the last bastion of conservation. People are simply not aware of the impact our daily lives from consumption to environmental standards has on the sea. Also, I hope more people will read Four Fish.
Great post. I sometimes direct people to Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Center. They have a pocket guide you can print out and carry around with you. I’ve been meaning to see, End of the Line. Thanks for the reminder and for the thought-provoking post.
Great post, Belinda. I was curious to know – the author mentioned that tilapia is more sustainable to raise, but is farmed tilapia ok? Is that what he is referring to? It is the only type of tilapia I have found in the stores and yet, I thought that farm fishing wasn’t so sustainable (therefore, a push for wild caught).
Hey Belinda, wonderful informative post. This is a bit of a touchy subject for me. I often go to an “organic” grocery that supportively focuses on sustainability. The seafood counter carries a wide array of choices, including fish they label “at risk.” Here’s the kicker, if you actually give in to temptation buy the “at-risk” seabass, you get a lecture and a dirty look. BUT why then do they still carry it??? It’s already dead at that point. I asked them once about this and all I got was a bunch of lip! I try to make responsible choices, but it irritates me when those that parade themselves as leaders in environmental issues, are so wishy-washy! …Sorry for the rant.
Great post. I’m not a vegetarian, but I actually stay away from fish because it’s too confusing for me to figure out what’s okay and what isn’t. Thanks for a thoughtful essay.
Hey guys – check this out: #Greenpeace Canada ranks 14 tuna brands FIS – Worldnews – Greenpeace releases first tuna brand sustainability ranking http://t.co/kABZWr5
well said and its good to be informed and choice seafood wisely
Good points raised here. A sustainable seafood is the only way to go.
Great and informative article! I’ve been wanting to educate myself more on sustainable seafood (there’s so much conflicting information out there!) so I was glad to see a book rec. Will definitely pick that up soon
Finding sustainable seafood is definitely a confusing task. I haven’t read Four Fish yet, but now it’s on my list! I work in the marine conservation field so the plight of our oceans is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Thanks for sharing some great information!
What a fabulous post, Belinda. We often forget how mistreated our oceans/lakes are…we think that fish are swimming around in abundance…when the opposite is often the reality. I only buy my fish from Whole Foods too, and now I’m eager to look into that book. Thank you for sharing!
Spot on, Belinda. I stopped eating swordfish years ago, although I love it, because of how depleted the stock is and how they are fishing younger and younger individuals, thereby not allowing them to even procreate before being fished. How can we sustain them when we fish the juveniles before they can grow to full maturity???
And sadly, although I love salmon, I stick mostly with farm-raised.
Good post! I was shocked to read a headline the other day imploring Americans to eat more fish for a healthy diet — when I compare those to the headlines about the rapidly declining fish stocks, I can only shudder at what this will mean to “sustainability.”
Luckily, here in the Pacific Northwest, we have access to albacore, spot prawns, farmed mussels and oysters — all of which (for the most part) are well managed sources of sustainable seafood.
But there’s no doubt that we all have to learn to eat less. The earth can’t support all of us going to “Drivers, Dine-ins and Dives” anymore.
Theresa
Yikes!! My family just went fishing yesterday
But they didn;t catch any tuna, cod, bass or salmon:) I LOVE tuna *blush* but avoid the other 3 because I know they are being depleted at a ridiculous rate, but like someone else said, I’m not so sure what the other “endangered” varieties are or what is sustainable. Thanks for an enlightening article and helpful links. I think I’ll just gradually go vegetarian – tough I gotta have my cheese LOL
Belinda, nice and very informative post…I tried to buy fish that are farmed, but many places they do not state the origin of the fish…
This is an amazing post!My husband is a vegetarian and he loves to read this kind of posts!!! Great info!
Great post, I believe food bloggers have the power to campaign to change the seafood market. The NE chefs changed the regulations for Swordfish…..
Belinda, I enjoy this entry…thought-provoking and informative. The seafood I can get here are mainly the frozen ones…
Fascinating report on whether the End of the Line had social impact http://site.britdoc.org/custom_forms/7/submit
Very informative loved this!
I love how your posts always push me to THINK. I am putting that book on my list … here’s hoping I have time to read it soon!
This is SUCH an important issue. I used to be one of those people who didn’t eat meat but ate fish … but I realized this didn’t make sense. Now I actually eat much less seafood but have incorporated humanely raised “land food.” Great article!
I feel so passionate about this. There is a huge campaign in the UK at the moment called ‘Fish Fight’. All the big names are behind it and it’s to stop half of all fish that are being caught from being thrown back into the ocean dead.
I really hope they start listening soon otherwise our oceans will be bare. I couldn’t believe what happened with Gordon Ramsey either, I seriously hope shark fins become increasingly less popular.
Great post on the seafood consumption Belinda. There are many people who don’t eat meat yet eat seafood like you say. not sure why. I eat everything though.
Great post! I can be very difficult to get enough information on how sustainable practices are as far as most foods, fish and seafood are among the most difficult. Thank you for the links and info
great piece , we are trying to cut back on meat and fish, people need to realize that they are overconsuming..thanks for the links…
sweetlife
Great post Belinda! Thanks for the book suggestion, I remember you had mentioned that before and I should have it soon!!