Sustainability has become a very popular term, hopefully because it makes so much sense, and because it is very needed in so many ways. Sustainable food production, which includes aquaculture and commercial fishing, in the long run is really the only means of feeding the world in a healthy manner, without degrading our environment. Sustainable energy production is ultimately the only way to meet the world's energy needs, without catastrophically altering the world's climate.
So, should you eat farmed fish? Marc Guenther addresses this complicated question and provides some optimistic insights into what the aquaculture industry is doing to become more sustainable. New to me was the size of the aquaculture industry. "Already, roughly half the world’s supply of fish is farmed."
“Aquaculture’s big,” said Jose Villalon, a fisheries biologist who leads the aquaculture program at the World Wildlife Fund. “It’s the fastest growing food industry in the world. It’s not a trend. It’s here to stay.” He said that aquaculture has been growing about 9% a year for at least a decade, and that fish farming can become one of the most sustainable sources of healthy food.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a leading non-profit working to promote sustainable seafood through their Seafood Watch program. They offer free pocket seafood guides which clarify which fish species are harvested in a sustainable manner. Monterey Bay also offers an app with their Sea Watch program. One key criteria for sustainability is that the fishing technique does not have a large bycatch, and that it does not seriously harm the marine environment.
Another approach to sustainable seafood which gaining in popularity is voluntary certification. There are two organizations involved in a world-wide effort: the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
So if you refuse to become a vegan, you can still switch the cattle, dairy, poultry portion of your diet to healthy, sustainable seafood, as I have done.
So, should you eat farmed fish? Marc Guenther addresses this complicated question and provides some optimistic insights into what the aquaculture industry is doing to become more sustainable. New to me was the size of the aquaculture industry. "Already, roughly half the world’s supply of fish is farmed."
“Aquaculture’s big,” said Jose Villalon, a fisheries biologist who leads the aquaculture program at the World Wildlife Fund. “It’s the fastest growing food industry in the world. It’s not a trend. It’s here to stay.” He said that aquaculture has been growing about 9% a year for at least a decade, and that fish farming can become one of the most sustainable sources of healthy food.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a leading non-profit working to promote sustainable seafood through their Seafood Watch program. They offer free pocket seafood guides which clarify which fish species are harvested in a sustainable manner. Monterey Bay also offers an app with their Sea Watch program. One key criteria for sustainability is that the fishing technique does not have a large bycatch, and that it does not seriously harm the marine environment.
Another approach to sustainable seafood which gaining in popularity is voluntary certification. There are two organizations involved in a world-wide effort: the Marine Stewardship Council and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.
So if you refuse to become a vegan, you can still switch the cattle, dairy, poultry portion of your diet to healthy, sustainable seafood, as I have done.
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