<![CDATA[Grist - Comment Feed for Is your favorite seafood unhealthy for the planet?]]> Grist Comment Feed en Comment #1 by rachsoup http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/ Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:49:22 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/1 In view of the similarly themed article re: the state of fisheries worldwide, this is a really timely article.  With increased attention on cafos and the environmental impact of eating a red meat based diet, it seems more and more people are turning to the other other other white meat.  But as the author points out, fish are not as innocuous as they first appear.  Many of the fish you might buy at the supermarket--unless expressly labeled otherwise--are in fact factory farmed, and as such are pumped with antibiotics and hormones.  Furthermore, many of the food savored in the West are at the top of their respective food chains, and thus not only bio-accumulate toxins such as mercury and PCBs, but also are really energy intensive.  Remember the food chain from middle school--sun to grasses to antelope to lion?  Well, eating tuna or swordfish is the equivalent of eating a lion.  There are no other (in the West) carnivorous animals that are habitually eaten...why should top level fish species be the exception? 

While clearly no choice is ever completely free from consequences, choosing fish that are lower down the food chain at least reduces the toxin levels in the flesh and energy needed to produce it.

]]> In view of the similarly themed article re: the state of fisheries worldwide, this is a really timely article.  With increased attention on cafos and the environmental impact of eating a red meat based diet, it seems more and more people are turning to the other other other white meat.  But as the author points out, fish are not as innocuous as they first appear.  Many of the fish you might buy at the supermarket--unless expressly labeled otherwise--are in fact factory farmed, and as such are pumped with antibiotics and hormones.  Furthermore, many of the food savored in the West are at the top of their respective food chains, and thus not only bio-accumulate toxins such as mercury and PCBs, but also are really energy intensive.  Remember the food chain from middle school--sun to grasses to antelope to lion?  Well, eating tuna or swordfish is the equivalent of eating a lion.  There are no other (in the West) carnivorous animals that are habitually eaten...why should top level fish species be the exception? 

While clearly no choice is ever completely free from consequences, choosing fish that are lower down the food chain at least reduces the toxin levels in the flesh and energy needed to produce it.

]]> Comment #2 by gristle http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/ Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:48:10 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/2 You know, if you want to be healthy and are concerned about healthy oceans then avoid the fish altogether and eat what makes them seem so healthy. How do fish get their omega 3 profiles? By eating kelp and other plant-based phytonutrients. You don't need to process it through the fish first and then serve it up with an unhealthy dose of mercury, PCBs and dioxins. Then also work on making people aware of companies such as Monsanto, coal-fired power plants, ocean dumping and plastic islands, as well as deep overfishing (by boat cities fudging nationalities) and the hazards of fish farms. There's even a great PBS special that shows how Bush Meat affects the oceans.

http://www.pbs.org/strangedays/episodes/dangerouscatch/

]]> You know, if you want to be healthy and are concerned about healthy oceans then avoid the fish altogether and eat what makes them seem so healthy. How do fish get their omega 3 profiles? By eating kelp and other plant-based phytonutrients. You don't need to process it through the fish first and then serve it up with an unhealthy dose of mercury, PCBs and dioxins. Then also work on making people aware of companies such as Monsanto, coal-fired power plants, ocean dumping and plastic islands, as well as deep overfishing (by boat cities fudging nationalities) and the hazards of fish farms. There's even a great PBS special that shows how Bush Meat affects the oceans.

http://www.pbs.org/strangedays/episodes/dangerouscatch/

]]> Comment #3 by Clifford Wells http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/ Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:54:50 -0700 http://www.grist.org/article/is-your-favorite-seafood-unhealthy-for-the-planet/3 Bush meat?  Is that like those country club, conservative folks that listen to right-wing radio like Glenn Beck?  Weeell, I can sorta see your point in a perverted way.  Now that's funny!

But I don't have time for people to pass judgment on fish when they don't know the facts, the history, the markets, and the bioaccumulation of certain toxics (can you say "ciguatera"?).  I ignore all those lists that are prepared by people who have third-hand knowledge, and like to use fish as a political football.  Most all work done these days on the topic is either pro-industry or anit-industry and that's just how it is.  I might have expected Grist to have a more "fair and balanced" approach but consistently, throughout the years, it is the same madness.  The ultimate conclusion is that you shouldn't eat any meat, ever.

Well that's a personal feeling, opinion, and decision, not anything based on the facts.  In another "fish story" an author recommends eating jellyfish instead of real fish.  How uneducated and silly!  Every once in a while there is a passing reference to some success stories, such as mariculture ... you know, growing mussels and oysters in cages.  However, these stories aren't even balanced either, because mariculture is at the mercy of algal blooms, farm runoff (E. Coli), pollution, hypoxia, and disease. 

I liked Suzanna from Oceana who used to write guest articles here, and I guess I wrote some strong rebuttals on her Grist postings but I don't think I ran her off.  But she really did have some of the industry, politics, and history down.  Hey I'm not trashing anyone, just some more thinking about what is a truly global problem - getting protein from the ocean.

In this case, I will give extra points to Scott the writer about the huge gyres of plastic that are spinning around in the world's oceans.  There is a very large one never mentioned in the popular literature that is in the Gulf of Mexico.  Aye, that is a very sad thing, and something we cannot fix. 

]]> Bush meat?  Is that like those country club, conservative folks that listen to right-wing radio like Glenn Beck?  Weeell, I can sorta see your point in a perverted way.  Now that's funny!

But I don't have time for people to pass judgment on fish when they don't know the facts, the history, the markets, and the bioaccumulation of certain toxics (can you say "ciguatera"?).  I ignore all those lists that are prepared by people who have third-hand knowledge, and like to use fish as a political football.  Most all work done these days on the topic is either pro-industry or anit-industry and that's just how it is.  I might have expected Grist to have a more "fair and balanced" approach but consistently, throughout the years, it is the same madness.  The ultimate conclusion is that you shouldn't eat any meat, ever.

Well that's a personal feeling, opinion, and decision, not anything based on the facts.  In another "fish story" an author recommends eating jellyfish instead of real fish.  How uneducated and silly!  Every once in a while there is a passing reference to some success stories, such as mariculture ... you know, growing mussels and oysters in cages.  However, these stories aren't even balanced either, because mariculture is at the mercy of algal blooms, farm runoff (E. Coli), pollution, hypoxia, and disease. 

I liked Suzanna from Oceana who used to write guest articles here, and I guess I wrote some strong rebuttals on her Grist postings but I don't think I ran her off.  But she really did have some of the industry, politics, and history down.  Hey I'm not trashing anyone, just some more thinking about what is a truly global problem - getting protein from the ocean.

In this case, I will give extra points to Scott the writer about the huge gyres of plastic that are spinning around in the world's oceans.  There is a very large one never mentioned in the popular literature that is in the Gulf of Mexico.  Aye, that is a very sad thing, and something we cannot fix. 

]]>