Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Story About....Salmon.
We live in a fast-paced consumerist culture, so it shouldn't surprise you that what happened to our poultry and cattle farming over the years is now being mirrored by salmon farming.
Bigger, faster and more always seem to prevail over quality. My girlfriends and I call inexpensive trendy clothing "disposable clothes" — meaning they're mass manufactured and worn only for one season, then tossed — mainly because they don't survive more than two or three washings. In both scenarios, we're sacrificing quality for quantity — something I'm occasionally willing to do with my wardrobe. But when it comes to my diet and health, not so fast.
There are actually six species of Pacific salmon found along the West coast from California to Alaska and all are wild: chum, coho, king, pink, sockeye and steelhead. Each have varied seasons and are available at different times of the year.
Atlantic salmon, which swims in the Atlantic Ocean, is very different than Pacific salmon. For starters, there is practically no wild-caught Atlantic salmon anymore, and the fish is available all year. So when you're at the grocery store or reading a restaurant menu, if you find salmon labeled "Atlantic," you can be certain it's not wild. Of course, you can also tell by the price — on a menu, a salmon entree selling for less than $25 is most likely farm raised.
Salmon's popularity skyrocketed in the 1990s after the government issued warnings about mercury content in other large fish — namely tuna and swordfish. Not long after, salmon itself became a cause for concern, not on account of its mercury content, but for polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are industrial chemicals that have been banned since 1977, and although there are no known natural sources of PCBs, they are still evident in the environment. Not easily broken down, they remain in our water, soil and food supply. PCBs are potential carcinogens. There are no acceptable limits, and we don't know for sure if the chemical causes cancer in humans. We do know that it does cause cancer as well as other serious ailments in animals. I don't know about you, but that's all I need to hear. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, levels of PCBs in farm-raised salmon could be high enough to damage the brains of fetuses and infants.
Farm-raised salmon appear to get their dose of PCBs from salmon chow — a mixture of ground-up fish and oil. Farm-raised salmon are contained in small aquatic pens, similar to the way poultry is farmed on land. (There are some salmon farms that are more like free-range systems — still a controlled environment, but resembling life in the free ocean). Salmon chow is formulated to get the fish big and fat fast. PCBs accumulate in the fat. The bigger the fish often means more PCBs.
As for the environmental concerns about fish farming, excess feed escapes the net pens polluting the ecosystem. Additionally, farmed salmon, living in such close quarters, are prone to sea lice and other diseases, requiring medications like antibiotics. These also pool into the ecosystem. Lastly, farmed salmon are swimming around in their own waste. All salmon, being fish eaters themselves, tend to have some toxins in their bodies. In 2004, the Journal of Science commented that farm-raised salmon may contain 10 times more toxins than wild. Studies do show that wild salmon also have PCBs, but because of their varied diet in the wild, they consume much less.
The issue of which salmon contains more heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids still seems to be debatable. Farm-raised salmon are fattier and therefore thought to have an average of double or even triple the amount of omega-3 fatty acids than its wild sister. Other studies show that they have similar amounts, but of course, the farmed variety also come with excess PCBs. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to prevent blood clots, inflammation and lower triglycerides.
There are other sources of omega-3s — for example, flax seed and walnuts. According to the EPA, consumers should stick to one serving of farmed salmon per month (8 ounces). The Food and Drug Administration is a little more lax. They recommend 12 ounces of a variety of fish per week. Why the discrepancy? The FDA monitors commercially sold fish and the EPA, recreationally caught fish. According to the Environmental Working Group, the EPA's current standards are 500 times more protective than the FDA for fish sold commercially. The EPA argues that they have read scientific literature and are more current than the FDA.
Researchers note the FDA's PCB limit is a regulatory advisory, while the EPA limit is based only on health effects.
The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish per week from varied species to gain heart healthy benefits and limit health risks. There are plenty of choices: mahi-mahi, haddock, tilapia, flounder and sole are not only low in PCBs, but mercury as well. Women who are pregnant or of childbearing age need to be extra cautious. I recommend wild and smaller portions. There are no organic regulations for seafood, regardless of what is labeled. When all is said and done, I still purchase wild salmon — always.
Betsy Klein is a registered dietitian and nutritional consultant in Miami.
Source
Bigger, faster and more always seem to prevail over quality. My girlfriends and I call inexpensive trendy clothing "disposable clothes" — meaning they're mass manufactured and worn only for one season, then tossed — mainly because they don't survive more than two or three washings. In both scenarios, we're sacrificing quality for quantity — something I'm occasionally willing to do with my wardrobe. But when it comes to my diet and health, not so fast.
There are actually six species of Pacific salmon found along the West coast from California to Alaska and all are wild: chum, coho, king, pink, sockeye and steelhead. Each have varied seasons and are available at different times of the year.
Atlantic salmon, which swims in the Atlantic Ocean, is very different than Pacific salmon. For starters, there is practically no wild-caught Atlantic salmon anymore, and the fish is available all year. So when you're at the grocery store or reading a restaurant menu, if you find salmon labeled "Atlantic," you can be certain it's not wild. Of course, you can also tell by the price — on a menu, a salmon entree selling for less than $25 is most likely farm raised.
Salmon's popularity skyrocketed in the 1990s after the government issued warnings about mercury content in other large fish — namely tuna and swordfish. Not long after, salmon itself became a cause for concern, not on account of its mercury content, but for polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are industrial chemicals that have been banned since 1977, and although there are no known natural sources of PCBs, they are still evident in the environment. Not easily broken down, they remain in our water, soil and food supply. PCBs are potential carcinogens. There are no acceptable limits, and we don't know for sure if the chemical causes cancer in humans. We do know that it does cause cancer as well as other serious ailments in animals. I don't know about you, but that's all I need to hear. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, levels of PCBs in farm-raised salmon could be high enough to damage the brains of fetuses and infants.
Farm-raised salmon appear to get their dose of PCBs from salmon chow — a mixture of ground-up fish and oil. Farm-raised salmon are contained in small aquatic pens, similar to the way poultry is farmed on land. (There are some salmon farms that are more like free-range systems — still a controlled environment, but resembling life in the free ocean). Salmon chow is formulated to get the fish big and fat fast. PCBs accumulate in the fat. The bigger the fish often means more PCBs.
As for the environmental concerns about fish farming, excess feed escapes the net pens polluting the ecosystem. Additionally, farmed salmon, living in such close quarters, are prone to sea lice and other diseases, requiring medications like antibiotics. These also pool into the ecosystem. Lastly, farmed salmon are swimming around in their own waste. All salmon, being fish eaters themselves, tend to have some toxins in their bodies. In 2004, the Journal of Science commented that farm-raised salmon may contain 10 times more toxins than wild. Studies do show that wild salmon also have PCBs, but because of their varied diet in the wild, they consume much less.
The issue of which salmon contains more heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids still seems to be debatable. Farm-raised salmon are fattier and therefore thought to have an average of double or even triple the amount of omega-3 fatty acids than its wild sister. Other studies show that they have similar amounts, but of course, the farmed variety also come with excess PCBs. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to prevent blood clots, inflammation and lower triglycerides.
There are other sources of omega-3s — for example, flax seed and walnuts. According to the EPA, consumers should stick to one serving of farmed salmon per month (8 ounces). The Food and Drug Administration is a little more lax. They recommend 12 ounces of a variety of fish per week. Why the discrepancy? The FDA monitors commercially sold fish and the EPA, recreationally caught fish. According to the Environmental Working Group, the EPA's current standards are 500 times more protective than the FDA for fish sold commercially. The EPA argues that they have read scientific literature and are more current than the FDA.
Researchers note the FDA's PCB limit is a regulatory advisory, while the EPA limit is based only on health effects.
The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish per week from varied species to gain heart healthy benefits and limit health risks. There are plenty of choices: mahi-mahi, haddock, tilapia, flounder and sole are not only low in PCBs, but mercury as well. Women who are pregnant or of childbearing age need to be extra cautious. I recommend wild and smaller portions. There are no organic regulations for seafood, regardless of what is labeled. When all is said and done, I still purchase wild salmon — always.
Betsy Klein is a registered dietitian and nutritional consultant in Miami.
Source
Labels: fish farming, healthy eating, Omega-3s fish oil, salmon, tilapia, Wild vs. Farmed
Post a Comment