Fish or Foul
(Page 3 of 3)
September-October 2008
by Taras Grescoe, from the book Bottomfeeder
“Ask questions,” says marine ecologist Boris Worm, lead author of the much-publicized study published in Science that projected the collapse of the world’s fisheries. “Always ask questions—it’s the only way. We have to become conscious about the fish we’re eating. We do that with other products: We’ll look at the list of ingredients and make choices that help the environment and are good for our own health and the health of our children. We need to apply the same standard to seafood.”
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When we do, we find that there is still a lot for an ethically inclined seafood lover to eat. Quite a lot, in fact, given all that is happening to the oceans. In spite of all the news about residues of banned antibiotics, about dementia-inducing mercury, about hunting of the last big predator fish to near extinction—in spite of all the bad news, I have not sworn off seafood. For every fish to cross off your list, there are several more to add.
I now get excited about sardines, especially if they are fresh-caught and barbequed. I have discovered a world of fantastically flavorful clams, quahogs, razorshells, and mussels. I don’t have to go through life without fish and chips: line-caught haddock is a sustainable choice, and one I actually prefer to cod. To my surprise, I am happy to eat fast-food sandwiches made with sustainably fished Alaskan pollock. I’ve learned the pleasures of oak-smoked kippers, herring in cream sauce, and sake-marinated sablefish. I now seek out oily fish like anchovies and mackerel: so high in omega-3s, so low in toxins.
What you choose to have for dinner matters. For your health, and for the oceans. When a hot chef chooses to put a deep-sea fish like orange roughy on the menu, it matters. When a food writer raves about another to-die-for toro dinner, without mentioning that bluefin is close to extinction, it matters. When a supermarket buyer sources flounder or halibut from an overfished stock, it matters. And when we buy fish without caring enough to find out where it came from—well, when you multiply that decision by a couple of billion mouths—it really, really matters.
Excerpted from Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafoodby Taras Grescoe; www.tarasgrescoe.com. Copyright © 2008 by Taras Grescoe. Reprinted with permission of Bloomsbury USA.
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